17 Years Later, A Seminal Slasher Franchise Is Getting A TV Prequel

Considering that it was one of the inescapable horror franchises of the 1980s, it’s kind of unbelievable to think that there hasn’t been an official Friday the 13th film released in 17 years. 2009’s simplistically titled Friday the 13th marked the start of an almost two-decade hiatus for a series that, during its heyday, released 8 installments across nine years — like Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers — Jason Voorhees was a ubiquitous horror icon that pretty much defined the 80s slasher era. Despite disappearing from theater screens, the hockey-masked murderer has had an eclectic journey through cinema, traveling everywhere from Manhattan to the depths of Hell to even the far reaches of space.

Courtesy of the original Scream, a well-known bit of horror trivia is that despite how immediately recognizable Jason is as a character, he’s actually not the primary antagonist of the franchise’s first film. That distinction belongs to his mother, Mrs. Voorhees, one of the all-time great horror moms right next to Norma Bates and Carrie’s Margaret White. Even though she only appears alive in the original, her presence looms large over the rest of the franchise, and 46 years after Friday the 13th, Mrs. Voorhees is coming back in a TV series that marks the long-awaited return to the cursed campgrounds her son calls home.

On July 23, the first trailer for Crystal Lake was released, Peacock and A24’s upcoming Friday the 13th prequel TV series. A show set in the world of the franchise has been a concrete possibility since 2014, with an initial pitch for CW revolving around a new group of teenagers contending with the return of Jason Voorhees. However, the current prequel incarnation was developed back in 2022 with A24 and original showrunner Bryan Fuller (with Scream’s Kevin Williamson in talks to write an episode), before Fuller was replaced with current showrunner Brad Caleb Kane.

The 30 second teaser feels expectedly like a sleek, modern reimagining of the original film expanding backwards in the timeline – not only do we catch a glimpse of Linda Cardellini’s Pamela Voorhees jumping into the lake in a futile attempt to save her son, but there’s also a brief shot of her staring lovingly at baby Jason on the day of his birth, contrasted with a group of teenagers in the present day retelling the story of his drowning around a campfire. The trailer also, of course, teases her murderous rampage, with shots of Pamela covered in blood and a few counselors screaming in terror, as is the franchise’s long-standing tradition. While none of this is particularly new ground for the series, there is a small and subtle new touch in the background — an official Camp Crystal Lake song, an upbeat tune which will no doubt serve as a sharp juxtaposition to Mrs. Voorhees' descent into madness and brutality.

This is the first time the franchise has existed on television, but beloved horror franchises coming to TV isn’t new: 2016’s short-lived The Exorcist series was met with solid praise, and A&E’s Psycho prequel Bates Motel debuted back in 2013 and ran for 5 seasons before ending with a final season that served as a loose remake of the original movie. Despite her lack of screentime in the original series, Pamela Voorhees is one of the most crucial figures in the Friday mythos, and a prequel exploring the immense grief that warped her into a murderer has a lot of potential – and although there’s no discussion of a second season just yet, there’s a small chance that the show could transform into an anthology of sorts, with each season telling a story about different massacres throughout Crystal Lake’s history. It’s been a long time coming, but the fact that the Friday the 13th franchise is finally returning is cause enough for celebration. Just not too rowdy a celebration, because Mrs. Voorhees doesn’t take too kindly to that sort of thing.

Crystal Lake premieres on Peacock on October 15, 2026.