Matt Dillon stars in “Wayward Pines”

The rules: Do not try to leave. Do not discuss the past. Do not discuss your life before. Always answer the phone if it rings. Work hard, be happy and enjoy your life in Wayward Pines!

Wayward Pines, Idaho. Population: 461. It's an idyllic little town that seems perfect on the surface -- a close-knit community, townsfolk who seem genuinely happy. There's a secret, though, and it's a dark secret. A mysterious secret. A creepy secret. Follow the rules, though, and you should be OK. If you don't follow the rules? Well, you can find out as the story of this curious town plays out in a new star-studded miniseries aptly titled "Wayward Pines," premiering Thursday, May 14, on Fox.

The 10-episode event series comes from the brain of bestselling author Blake Crouch, who penned the "Wayward Pines" novels from which the show gets its name and material. The trilogy -- like the show -- focuses on Secret Service Agent Ethan Burke, who travels to the rustic town of Wayward Pines on a mission to find two missing federal agents. Everything changes after he's involved in a car accident and finds himself trapped in the town, unable to leave or reach the outside world, as strange things keep happening around him.

Oddly enough -- or perhaps not so oddly enough -- Crouch says that the inspiration for "Wayward Pines" actually came from a very real place, though undoubtedly with considerably less mystery and secrecy. Family vacations often took him to an old mining county in southwest Colorado called Ouray, and it's there he found the inspiration for "Pines."

"It looks visually exactly like Wayward Pines is described in the books -- surrounded by cliffs, filled with quaint, charming Victorian houses," Crouch said in an email exchange with TV Media. "One of the first times I visited this town, it just hit me how beautiful and how eerie it was. So quiet. So secluded. I wondered, 'What if I was stuck here, trying to leave, but couldn't? And what if one man owned every house, every building in the town?' Those two questions set me off down the road to Wayward Pines."

Five years ago, with just a computer, Crouch fleshed out the three books that would make up the "Wayward Pines" trilogy -- "Pines," "Wayward" and "The Last Town." It wasn't until recently that Crouch and his agents decided to take a stab at turning the books into a TV series.

"We actually sent the first book out to a bunch of producers before 'Pines' was published," he said. "One of them, Donald De Line, responded very positively to the idea of a TV series, and then he brought Chad Hodge into the conversation, who went on to write the pilot episode on spec."

From there, "Wayward Pines" grew exponentially, nabbing some big Hollywood stars with some impressive credentials for both in front of and behind the camera.

Melissa Leo in “Wayward Pines”

Academy Award nominee Matt Dillon ("Crash," 2004) stars as the dutiful Secret Service Agent Ethan Burke; Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard ("Empire") plays the secretive and generally creepy Sheriff Arnold Pope; Academy Award winner Melissa Leo ("The Fighter," 2010) takes to the screen as the unpredictable Nurse Pam; and Academy Award nominee Juliette Lewis ("The Firm") plays bartender Beverly, who forms a bond with Ethan. Renowned screenwriter, director and producer M. Night Shyamalan ("The Sixth Sense," 1999, "Signs," 2002) also boarded the project to executive produce the series, as well as direct the pilot episode.

It's been quite an experience for Crouch, who has been very much involved in the show's production -- on his Twitter page, there's a retweeted photo of him and Shyamalan in London having "decadent 3pm drinks" (sic). What was once words painting a picture on a page now comes to life on screen, something that not many people get to see happen.

"It has been an incredible privilege and one of the most surreal experiences of my life," Crouch said. "I have loved seeing what brilliance our actors, writers and directors -- all working at the top of their game -- have added to this story, which just started five years ago with me and a computer."

"Added" being the operative word. While some movies and series do a straight adaptation of the books (think season 1 of "Game of Thrones" or the first couple of "Harry Potter" movies), Crouch promises fans of the "Wayward Pines" books that the TV series won't be a direct reproduction. Like the nature of the story itself, there will be a few surprises.

"Even if you know what the big mystery of 'Wayward Pines' is, there is so much new story and characters in the show that, while it will feel familiar to you, there are still so many surprises to come."

Follow along as the story of this curious town plays out in the star-studded miniseries "Wayward Pines," premiering Thursday, May 14, on Fox.