It’s not a Friday, and it’s not the 13th, but the release date for the latest entry in the Friday the 13th franchise does hold some significance. Peacock just announced that Crystal Lake, the prequel series starring Linda Cardellini as Pamela Voorhees, will premiere on October 15. That’s a Thursday, but it’s the first official piece of Friday the 13th to ever debut in October.
That means, yes, this Halloween you can celebrate with Jason Voorhees. Only a much younger, less hockey-obsessed one. Or so we assume.
Since the first Friday the 13th film in 1980, all the way up to its 12th film in 2009, Friday the 13th movies have all debuted between February and August, with the majority in May or August. None of them have even been released in the fall, let alone in October, let alone two weeks before Halloween, with, presumably, a new episode every week. And with an eight-episode season on the way, you’ll be living at camp all throughout spooky season and even a little into the holidays. (The show could also be running on the year’s final Friday the 13th in November.)
So what exactly will we be watching? We don’t really know. Most of the specifics about the show are still rather secret. We do know that Cardellini is Pamela Voorhees, the mother of Jason, who—50-year-old spoiler alert—is the mysterious killer that got things started off at Camp Crystal Lake after counselors let her son drown. This series is expected to explore a bit of how Pamela got such murderous tendencies, her relationship with her young son Jason (yes, Jason is in the show), and, according to early teases, maybe even some carnage at camp.
Crystal Lake had a very bumpy road on its way to reality, so whatever the case may be, we’re just relieved that it’s done, it’s coming, and now we know when the killing begins. Plus, the fact that it’s at Halloween makes it a little bit sweeter.
Co-starring William Catlett, Devin Kessler, Cameron Scoggins, and Gwendolyn Sundstrom, Crystal Lake debuts on Peacock on October 15.
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