Peacock placed an order directly in series to a “Friday 13» prequel currently titled « Crystal Lake », Variety has learned.
Exact plot details are being kept under wraps, though it’s described as an “extended prequel”. The show will be written by Bryan Fuller, who is also the showrunner and an executive producer. Victor Miller, who wrote the original franchise film, will also serve as executive producer along with Marc Toberoff, Rob Barsamian and A24. A24 will also serve as the studio behind the series.
“‘Friday the 13th’ is one of the most iconic horror franchises in cinematic history and we’ve been dying to revisit that story with our upcoming drama series ‘Crystal Lake,'” said Susan Rovner, President entertainment content for NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “We look forward to working with Bryan Fuller, a gifted and visionary creator who I’ve had the pleasure of being a longtime friend and collaborator, and our incredible partners at A24, in this updated version for Peacock. that will delight long-time fans of the franchise.
Miller and Toberoff, his attorney, have already been embroiled in a lengthy court case to secure the rights to the original film script for Miller. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Miller’s favor in 2021, granting him U.S. rights to the script. As such they are not permitted to use any elements of the films set after the original “Friday the 13th”, which includes Jason Vorhees’ trademark hockey mask, but are able to explore prequels like in the case of the Peacock series.
Fuller is known for creating or co-creating shows like “Hannibal” on NBC, “Pushing Daisies” on ABC, “Dead Like Me” on Showtime, “American Gods” on Starz, and “Star Trek: Discovery” on Paramount+. He is also known for his work on “Star Trek: Voyager” as well as “Heroes”.
He is replaced by WME, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Ziffren Brittenham.
“I discovered ‘Friday the 13th’ in the pages of Famous Monsters magazine when I was 10 and have been thinking about this story ever since,” Fuller said. “When it comes to horror, A24 raises the bar and pushes the envelope and I’m excited to explore Crystal Lake Campgrounds under their banner. And Susan Rovner is simply the best at what she does It is a pleasure and an honor to work with her again.”
The original “Friday the 13th” was released in 1980. In this film, Jason is a drowning child at Camp Crystal Lake. His death leads his mother Pamela to take revenge on the counselors she blamed for her son’s death. It grossed nearly $60 million against a reported budget of $550,000.
Since then, there have been eleven more films in the franchise, including “Jason X”, “Freddy vs. Jason” and the 2009 reboot. Jason became the main antagonist starting with the second film.
