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If you thought you knew everything about Camp Crystal Lake and the Voorhees family… Think again.
Just in time for the spooky season, dormancy friday the 13th The franchise has been revived. crystal lakeIt’s an A24/Peacock collaboration that will release all eight episodes on October 15th. Set in the 1970s, this prequel series retells the backstory of Pamela Voorhees, played by Emmy winner Linda Cardellini and her son Jason (Callum Vinson). As in the franchise slasher film released in 1980, crystal lake It depicts Jason’s drowning and Pamela’s transformation into a murderer. But modifying the established legend, there’s also a group of strangers investigating her past as mysterious and gruesome murders begin to occur around town.
Peacock hosted a preview screening and panel at the 2026 New York Comic Con on Thursday. Showrunner and executive producer Brad Caleb Kane joins stars Cardellini and Vinson, as well as supporting players William Catlett, Devin Kessler, Nick Cordileone, Cameron Scoggins and Gwendolyn Sundstrom.
Fans of the brutal 12-film series are probably most curious about whether the series as a whole lives up to the brutal levels of the original films. Don’t be afraid. Kane noted that although a lot of time was invested in developing the characters of Pamela and Jason early on, the series remains committed to character development. friday A legacy of creatively brutal murder.
“If you’re wondering if we’re going to give it our all friday the 13th“They go out there and drop a lot of bodies,” Kane told the crowd, “and it’s a lot more brutal.” I think even more “Some of the movies were brutal in many ways.”
Here are the rest of our bloody takeaways. crystal lakeThis is the NYCC panel.
Everything you wanted to know about Pamela Voorhees* (*you were afraid to ask)
Horror fans have long revered Betsy Palmer’s iconic, terrifying transformation as Mrs. Voorhees in the original film, and her climactic beheading left viewers wanting more. Kane said he wanted to scratch that creative itch.
“We met Pamela Voorhees for 10 minutes in the last movie and she cut her hair,” he said. “So, I think I have some F13 blue balls, but I feel like I’d like to know more.”
Cardellini admitted she was surprised when Kane approached her for the role, but embraced the rare opportunity to explore the character’s spirit and rage. “Of course I was very happy, but I didn’t understand the connection.” DTF: St. Louis Star said. “I have never been allowed to act with so much anger and you can only do it in this genre.”
Cardellini later added how refreshing it was to show the journey of a woman who wasn’t born a psychopath and anchor the show in the complex relationship between a loving mother and a sweet young boy. “Jason and Pam’s relationship starts in a new place because we all know how it ends,” Cardellini said. “He’s been through so much on the show, and I think it’s such a beautiful piece of the puzzle.”
Going back to the OG roots (literally New Jersey)
later friday The sequel took place far from home, with Jason heading to Atlanta, various locations in California, and even Manhattan. Kane’s joke was essentially “Jason takes Toronto.” That’s why the showrunners insisted on returning to the franchise’s exact location, Blairstown, New Jersey (the original filming location of the 1980 film), to capture the authenticity of Camp Crystal Lake and the surrounding woods.
“We set up a video village in the middle of town, with no real effective barriers,” Kane recalled. “The villagers would come from different parts of Jersey and sit down. [there]And I want to say, ‘Who are these people?’ “They’re just fans.”
chemistry problem
Catlett, who plays local cop Levon Brooks, spoke about how he had to find a real headspace to play a police officer in New Jersey circa 1972. So rather than relying on standard procedural tropes, the actors relied on real police officers while working in the field.
“I would look them in the eye and shake their hand,” Catlett remembered. “I was like, ‘Okay, cool. He shook my hand like this. He probably moves and walks like this.’ So when Cameron and I are at the police station, we can just pull out and get into the scene easily.”
When it comes to building chemistry with Cardellini, Catlett said she prefers to maintain an impressive first impression. “I knew some of Linda’s work, but I don’t like actually researching it when I know I’m going to be reading with other actors,” he explained. “I just saw her picture online… and I thought, ‘Oh, I could fall in love with that girl.’”
Catlett’s Levon is a new addition to the franchise, along with his sister Brianna Brooks (Devin Kessler), whose journalist character is said to bring ambition and fear to the 1972 setting. “She is a woman of her time,” the actress said. “She wants to mean something to the world and make some kind of statement, so she will chase the story even if it involves danger.”
The series dabbles in familiar horror tropes.
In another creative departure from the film franchise, crystal lake The creative team set out to add more dimensions to existing horror tropes and archetypes. “What Brad did, what the writing team did, was take what could be a horror movie trope… [and] Cordileone, who plays local oddball Crazy Ralph, said: “It was an absolute gift to be able to just come and live. He’s an unreliable narrator, but in some ways he’s very positive, so it becomes a real tug-of-war.”
“I’m biased, of course he’s the hero of the show,” Scoggins said of his alter ego, Officer Dorf. “It was really interesting to explore what he was talking about when he talked about the strangeness here, because it’s been around. He brings some comic relief to this as well… but he ends up in a very dangerous place.”
Being Jason Voorhees
Rated R horror can be difficult to perform with child actors, but Vinson, 12, and Sundstrom, 14, who play Crystal Lake camper Grace, said they felt as if they were part of the show’s adult cast.
“I just thought that was it. friday the 13th Like the third callback,” Sundstrom said. “When I first read the line, I was really interested… and I immediately fell in love with Grace.”
Meanwhile, Vinson said he was told to keep his summer performance a secret from his classmates. This was a tough challenge considering he is a longtime fan of the franchise. “I watched [all the films] maximum Part 6“He revealed: “I’ve loved Jason since I was little. I missed you [the movies] “I waited so long to finally book this and I was like, ‘I can finally see this!’”
“Callum was running around with a machete the whole time.” Kane said. “He reaches out to people. [with it]. I loved it.”
Kane added that Cardellini, who is also a real-life mother, became protective of Vinson on set. This is especially true when wearing prosthetics and makeup in the South Jersey summer heat. “I thought, ‘Now get that out of your head. He’s so hot,’” Kane recalled. “’You’re setting his brain on fire.’ Get away from him.”