Crystal Lake: Friday the 13th Series by Hannibal Creator, and Everything We Know

Horror has come a long way since the campy 1980s slashers we have come to know and love. Instead of an outright evolution and abandonment of those formulas many of us grew up with, we’ve seen excellent, loving homages to those stories in recent years alongside the more modern stories. While we’ve received wonderful, artistically bold shows in previous years, it could be argued that audiences weren’t quite fully ready to embrace these incredible programs for more than a couple of seasons. But recently, Crystal Lake was announced, signaling renewed confidence in bold horror storytelling, by the creator of Hannibal, Bryan Fuller.

What Is the Friday the 13th Prequel Series by Bryan Fuller?

Crystal Lake is a fresh, expansive take on the Friday the 13th story and has received a series order, and will be available on the Peacock TV streaming service. It will feature the beautifully twisted writing of Bryan Fuller, a creative virtuoso behind excellent series such as numerous installations of the Star Trek series, Heroes, American Gods, and most notably, Hannibal.

For those unfamiliar with his work on Hannibal, this alone should excite any horror fan. This will be a lot like how Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter’s dynamic was more thoroughly explored in the 2013 show. It’ll surely be an exceptional, psychological dive into Pamela Voorhees and her young, future iconic son, Jason, and the poorly-run Camp Crystal Lake that serves as the backdrop of their tale.

Hannibal was one of the best horror series of the past decade on television, with gorgeous arthouse visuals and an incredible cast. For fans of the slasher aspects of Friday the 13th, you’ll be happy to hear this means the show will likely be filled with plenty of gore. This hype is further bolstered by the surprising announcement of A24 helping with the production!

A24: The Studio Producing Crystal Lake

As you may have heard, A24 will serve as the production studio for Crystal Lake, which will act as an additional excitement factor for fans wanting to see something bold and artistic like Hannibal. For those unfamiliar, A24 has made a name in the general moviegoing scene as a bit of a crowd-pleaser to modern cinephiles looking for something new, bold, and original.

Sometimes these productions are disappointing like Spring Breakers, but the majority of the memorable titles people recall include bangers like Midsommar, The Lighthouse, or HBO’s Euphoria. The studio has earned a distinctive reputation, and with Bryan Fuller involved as showrunner, it appears to be the fated reunion between him and NBC, in the form of their streaming service, Peacock.

When Does the Friday the 13th Prequel Release?

Crystal Lake has yet to receive a release date, as it was just announced on Halloween 2022. It’s big news for Friday the 13th fans hoping for something new, as we’d been waiting for over a decade while the legal battles between the original 1980 film director Sean Cunningham and the movie’s writer Victor Miller to simmer down. While Miller won the rights to the screenplay, Cunningham has the rights to the adult character Jason Voorhees, so it appears this is Fuller and A24’s way of sidestepping this legal battle, by creating this expanded prequel. Stay tuned for more updates.