Crystal Lake TV Series Won't Embrace Slasher Label, And That's Absurd For Friday The 13th

It's been 16 years since we've had a feature-length "Friday the 13th" movie. Fortunately, things are starting to change. We had the official short "Sweet Revenge" released earlier this year, but more importantly, A24 and Peacock's upcoming prequel TV series "Crystal Lake" is due to premiere in 2026. One might think it's time for slasher fans to rejoice — but not so fast! Showrunner Brad Caleb Kane appears to be leaning away from the franchise's slasher roots. Or, at the very least, he's not interested in embracing the slasher label proudly.

Kane, who also serves as the co-showrunner on HBO's "It: Welcome to Derry," recently spoke with Entertainment Weekly about "Crystal Lake." Kane took over as showrunner on the "Friday the 13th" prequel series after Bryan Fuller exited over creative disagreements. As for what his version looks like? As he tells it, it's a psychological thriller and "a slasher without quite being a slasher," whatever the heck that means. Here's what he had to say:

"In many ways, it's a psychological thriller. It's a paranoid '70s thriller. It has all of the DNA of a slasher without quite being a slasher. There are rivers of blood in the show. There are very, I think, ingenious kill sequences and deaths and murders, but it's all done in service of character and theme and place and time."

There's nothing wrong with trying to do something different within the framework of a long-running franchise. That said, Jason Voorhees is, in many ways, the ultimate slasher. Granted, this is a prequel series focused largely on his mother, Pamela Voorhees (played by Linda Cardellini). All the same, the original 1980 film is a slasher classic featuring Pamela as the killer. Not fully embracing its slasher DNA feels absurd. 

"I tried to think about Crystal Lake and a 'Friday the 13th' prequel as, 'What era did the first movie come out of?' It came out of the paranoid '70s thriller era," Kane added. "It came out of the mistrust-of-institutions era. It came out of the women's lib era, the National Organization for Women era, this consciousness-raising awakening era in America. I wanted to go and play with all of those themes."

Again, I commend anyone for trying to do something new within a long-running franchise. "Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives" is considered one of the best entries for that very reason, as it bordered on becoming a horror/comedy, changing up the formula that had started to show limitations after five movies. But it was still a slasher movie at its heart.

It's worth understanding that "Crystal Lake" is predicated on telling the story of Pamela Voorhees, not entirely unlike "Bates Motel" sort of telling the story of "Psycho" before "Psycho." All the same, Pamela is, herself, a great slasher icon; killing sex-crazed, debaucherous camp counselors on behalf of her beloved son Jason. Her presence looms large over the series for that reason, with Jason even keeping her head in his shack in the woods.

Kane's unwillingness to fully embrace the show as a slasher show just feels wrong. "Friday the 13th" is, at its core, a pretty simple idea. It's certainly good to try to expand upon what that can look like, but this doesn't necessarily need the "elevated horror" approach. Rivers of blood in the snow sounds great. Focusing on characters is great. But that whole "without quite being a slasher" bit looms large. Fans such as myself very much want a slasher. 

The main reason why a new "Friday the 13th" movie hasn't happened had to do with a lawsuit that created major rights issues. There were assumptions that this show was focusing on Pamela because they couldn't get the rights to the adult version of Jason Voorhees with his hockey mask and machete. In which case, a "Pamela Voorhees '70s thriller series" would make some sense, even if it wouldn't scratch the itch fans such as myself have.

That said, when Fuller's version was first announced, he confirmed that nothing was off the table. "We can use everything. We can go to Hell, we can go to space," Fuller said at the time. When Kane took over for Fuller and things undoubtedly changed, presumably, they were still able to use everything. So, why shy away from the slasher identity that has made this franchise what it is?

A very young actor by the name of Callum Vinson was cast as Jason Voorhees in "Crystal Lake." Evidently, we're not going to see the version of Jason people are largely familiar with, for better or worse. So be it. It's still bewildering to have the showrunner distancing the show in any way from the slasher sub-genre. It'd be like making a "Jurassic Park" movie but saying, "It has all of the DNA of a dinosaur movie without being a dinosaur movie."

Perhaps it's best to temper one's expectations with regard to this show. Understand it won't be "Friday the 13th." If nothing else, a new "Friday the 13th" movie is in the works, disconnected from this show entirely. Maybe that will wear the slasher badge proudly, as it should.

"Crystal Lake" is expected to premiere sometime in 2026 on Peacock.