Many genre fans have fond memories of Showtime's two-season anthology Masters of Horror, and now is the perfect time to revive it for a new audience. Debuting in fall 2005, Masters of Horror was a grand experiment, organized by noted Stephen King collaborator Mick Garris. The idea was simple, yet genius, gather up a group of well-regarded horror directors, and give them each one hour to tell whatever story they wanted. Thanks to being on premium cable, they were also allowed almost complete freedom when it came to sex and gore, with the notable exception of Takashi Miike's episode Imprint.
While Masters of Horror, like any anthology show, had its share of clunkers, it still produced some really great stuff, chief among that John Carpenter's episode Cigarette Burns. There was also Joe Dante's politically-charged zombie story Homecoming, and Lucky McKee's delightfully gruesome Sick Girl, all within season 1. Season 2 brought William Forsythe's evil clown Buster in We All Scream for Ice Cream, and the terrifying scenario presented in The Screwfly Solution, in which a contagion drives men to kill women when they become aroused.
Those are just some of the better episodes of Masters of Horror, and while the show got canceled way too soon, it remains readily available to stream. It's been 13 years since Masters of Horror ended, and there couldn't be a better time to bring it back.
Why It's The Perfect Time For A Masters of Horror Revival
One reason now is the right time for a Masters of Horror revival is how the landscape of TV has changed since it was canceled. During Masters of Horror's original run, the anthology TV show seemed to be in its death throes, with the form being almost nonexistent elsewhere on TV at the time. Now, the anthology format is booming like it hasn't in decades, with Creepshow on Shudder, The Twilight Zone on CBS All Access, Channel Zero recently running for four seasons on Syfy, the continued success of American Horror Story on FX, Black Mirror on Netflix, and more where those came from.
Plus, there's a new crop of horror directors who could get in on the action, as could the older guard like Garris, Carpenter, Dante, and John Landis if they wanted to return. Sure, some of them might be too busy, but a new Masters of Horror should absolutely reach out to people like James Wan, Mike Flanagan, Jordan Peele, Radio Silence, Karyn Kusama, Rob Zombie, and Robert Eggers. There's also lots of rising indie directors who would probably love to participate. However, it would be absolutely essential for a new Masters of Horror to remain on premium cable or streaming, where it could truly let loose with adult content.