Teen horror show Goosebumps, based on the books by R.L. Stine, premieres on Disney Plus and Hulu October 13. A Goosebumps series aired in Canada for four seasons in the late ’90s and the Stine novels also hatched a couple of feature films, with Jack Black portraying the author.
Whereas the Canadian series had an anthology motif, each episode having a distinct story with a beginning, middle and end, the new series spreads story and characters across 10 episodes. Justin Long, Rachael Harris and Zack Morris are in the cast.
Stine is part of the production, but does not have an official title. “As someone who grew up reading his books as a tween, it’s incredible to be able to have anything to do with R.L. Stine,” executive producer Conor Welch said. “To have him involved is really awesome.”
The books focused on middle-school kids and the series ages them up to high school. The aim was to make the show something that both children and parents can enjoy together. “It was important to us, when we were developing the new version of the show, that it would be authentically funny and dramatic and scary,” executive producer Pavun Shetty said. “Five high-school kids face real high-school issues that kids face, and their parents face real issues that adults face. A lot of times those issues are messy and awkward and absurd and frightening.”
The show shoots in Vancouver. Rob Letterman and Nicholas Stoller developed Goosebumps and are executive producers along with Hilary Winston.
Five episodes roll on premiere day and subsequently premiere weekly
on Fridays.
Shetty described Goosebumps as “a total genre mashup” that blends horror and comedy. “Our aim was, when you expect a scare you actually start laughing, and when you laugh at something awkward, you actually get super scared,” he said. “It takes the traditional scary elements, jump scares and gross-out scares and psychological scares, and combines them with everyday life.”
Besides horror and comedy, Goosebumps has some drama, too. “It’s a grounded, funny, real-feeling show about an awkward set of kids figuring out high school and that time of life,” Shetty said.
