Peacock officially confirms a full series order for Bryan Fuller's Friday the 13th prequel series entitled Crystal Lake. Fuller is a prolific television producer and writer credited with creating shows like Pushing Daisies, Hannibal, and most recently, the Paramount+ Original, Star Trek: Discovery. The writer of the first Friday the 13th film, Victor Miller, joins the series as one of the executive producers. A24, the massively popular production company responsible for horror hits like Midsommar, Pearl, and The Witch, will bring the slasher series to life.
Friday the 13th is a 1980 slasher horror film about a mother seeking revenge on the camp counselors whose neglect led to her son's death. In 1957, a young boy named Jason Voorhees drowned in Crystal Lake because the counselors who were supposed to watch him were instead having sex with each other. Over two decades pass, and Alice and a new group of counselors return to fix up the camp despite the concerns and suspicions of locals. A mysterious killer picks them off one by one until Alice is confronted by Jason's mother, Mrs. Voorhees, who reveals her motivations for seeking vengeance on the counselors. After Alice manages to kill Mrs. Voorhees, she is attacked by Jason's corpse, who somehow has been lurking under the lake years after his supposed death.
Top executive of NBCUniversal's Television and Streaming division, Susan Rovner, expressed excitement at the opportunity to work with Fuller on the prequel series Crystal Lake. Rovner states that she entrusts both Fuller and A24 will bring a new perspective to the Friday the 13th franchise that longtime fans of the slasher films will appreciate. When discussing his vision for the show, Fuller expresses that he has been a fan of Friday the 13th since he was ten years old, and he looks forward to A24's horror expertise helping to shape the series.
Rovner: "’Friday the 13th’ is one of the most iconic horror franchises in movie history and we were dying to revisit this story with our upcoming drama series ‘Crystal Lake.’ We can’t wait to get to work with Bryan Fuller, a gifted, visionary creator who I’ve had the pleasure of being a longtime friend and collaborator, along with our incredible partners at A24, in this updated version for Peacock that will thrill long-standing fans of the franchise.”
Fuller: "I discovered ‘Friday the 13th’ in the pages of Famous Monsters magazine when I was 10 years old and I have been thinking about this story ever since. When it comes to horror, A24 raises the bar and pushes the envelope and I’m thrilled to be exploring the campgrounds of Crystal Lake under their banner. And Susan Rovner is simply the best at what she does. It’s a pleasure and an honor to be working with her again.”
What The Prequel Series Could Be About
Crystal Lake is described as an "expanded prequel" and a drama series, indicating what audiences might expect from the Friday the 13th series. After a lengthy legal battle, Miller, the original film's screenwriter, finally obtained the right to use any material from the original movie for future projects. While this allows the prequel series to pull from the first film, any additional sequels in the Friday the 13th franchise are off-limits. Casual fans of the franchise may be surprised to learn that this means Jason Voorhees, particularly his iconic hockey mask, will not appear in the prequel, as Jason did not become the main antagonist until the second film. The prequel series will probably delve into the personal lives of the Voorhees family and the events that led up to Jason's death which set the franchise in motion.
The title Crystal Lake allows them to explore the history of the campgrounds over the years, filling in some mysteries left unanswered by the films. The prequel series may even attempt to explain how the lake played a role in granting Jason's signature supernatural strength. Despite the distance from the sequels, fans of Friday the 13th will have much to look forward to with this prequel series. Fuller and A24 promise to bring a fresh take on the slasher series while staying true to what makes Jason Voorhees a horror icon.
Source: Peacock