Paramount Plus’s reboot of the popular 1990s sitcom Frasier leads a busy list of shows set to debut this week.

Frasier premieres on the streaming service October 12 with Kelsey Grammer reprising the role of psychiatrist Frasier Crane. The series also stars Jack Cutmore-Scott and Nicholas Lyndhurst, with guest appearances from original series stars Bebe Neuwirth and Peri Gilpin. The first two episodes of the series will also air on CBS on October 17.

Debuting on October 13 is the premiere of Disney Plus’s Goosebumps, the latest TV adaptation of the R. L. Stine book franchise. The 10-episode, kids-targeted, horror-themed series will also debut its first two episodes on Freeform on the same night.

Also premiering on Friday the 13th is the fourth season of streaming service Shudder's horror-based anthology series Creepshow. The first episode of the series will also debut on AMC Plus and AMC. 

Here are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting during the week of October 9-15. For some videos, viewer discretion is advised.

October 11: Messi Meets America (sports documentary), Apple TV Plus

October 12: Doom Patrol (returning series), Max

October 12: The Fall of the House of Usher (horror), Netflix

October 13: The Burial (drama), Prime Video

October 13: John Carpenter’s Suburban Screams (horror series), Peacock

October 13: Lessons in Chemistry (drama), Apple TV Plus

October 13: Shining Vale (returning series), Starz

October 15: Billy the Kid (returning series), MGM Plus 

 AMC Networks Thursday announced several show renewals, including the return of Shudder’s Creepshow and AMC Plus’ Kin, as part of its Television Critics Association Winter press tour presentation.

Shudder’s anthology horror series Creepshow will return for a fourth season, while the streaming services Slasher franchise will return with a new instalment dubbed Ripper, starring Eric McCormack.  

AMC Plus’ freshman original Irish crime drama Kin will return for a second season. The series stars Charlie Cox, Clare Dune and Aidan Gillen, said the company.

Other series slated for new seasons across AMC Networks’ portfolio of channels include Acorn TV’s Bloodlands (season two), My Life is Murder (season three) and London Kills (seasons three and four), said the network. 

This week's launch of the broadcast networks' 2021-22 TV season hasn't deterred several cable networks and streaming services from debuting their own original series.   

Also Read: Fall 2021 Premiere Dates

Netflix on Sept. 22 will premiere the fourth and final season of its dramedy series Dear White People. Justin Simien will return as showrunner and executive producer of the series along with Yvette Lee Bowser. 

Apple TV Plus on Sept. 24 will debut Foundation, based on the Isaac Asimov sci-fi novel and executive produced by David S. Goyer.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting the week of Sept. 20-26 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

Sept. 23: Code 404 (returning series) — Peacock

Sept. 23: That Girl Lay Lay (comedy) — Nickelodeon

Sept. 23: Creepshow (returning series) — Shudder

Sept. 23: Doom Control (returning series) — HBO Max

Sept. 24: Birds of Paradise (drama) — Prime Video

Sept. 24: The Startling (movie) — Netflix

Sept. 24 — Blood & Water (drama): Netflix

Sept. 24: Goliath (returning series) — Prime Video

Sept. 24: Midnight Mass (horror) — Netflix

Sept. 26: BMF (drama) — Starz

Sept. 26: Nuclear Family (documentary) — HBO

HBO Max closes out the month of March this week with its premiere of Godzilla vs Kong while TBS' debut of classic competition show Wipeout springs in April.

HBO Max's March 31 of Godzilla vs Kong continues the streaming service's premiere of marquee Warner Bros.-produced films debuting day and date with theaters. The movie is the fourth installment of the monster franchise following 2014's Godzilla, 2017's Kong: Skull Island and 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters. 

TBS on April 1 will premiere its competition series Wipeout, a reboot of the reality competition series that aired from 2008-2014 on ABC. 

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting the week of March 29 to April 4 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

March 30 -- The Last Cruise (documentary) -- HBO

March 31 -- Back (returning series) -- IFC

April 1 -- The Challenge: All Stars (reality competition) -- Paramount Plus

April 1 -- Creepshow (returning series) -- Shudder

April 1 -- Made For Love (comedy) -- HBO Max

April 1 -- The Great Pottery Throw Down (competition) -- HBO Max

April 2 -- Concrete Cowboy (drama) -- Netflix

April 2 -- Hysterical (documentary) -- FX

April 4 -- Gangs of London (returning series) -- AMC

April 4 -- Birdgirl (animation) -- Adult Swim

Streaming horror service Shudder has renewed its anthology series Creepshow for a third season and has greenlit a scripted series featuring horror stories from Black directors and screenwriters, the service announced during parent AMC Networks’ Television Critics Association Tour presentation Thursday.

The third season of Creepshow -- based on George Romero’s 1982 movie -- will launch later this year with six new episodes, said company officials. The new season will feature guest performances from actors Ethan Embry and King Bach.

The renewal comes ahead of the series’ season two debut on Shudder on April 1.  Creepshow is executive produced by showrunner Greg Nicotero. 

“Two years ago, Greg Nicotero and his team revived the beloved Creepshow franchise with a spectacular first season followed by two ambitious specials, raising the bar for what a horror anthology series can be,” Shudder general manager Greg Engler said. “We’re thrilled to bring Shudder members two more seasons this year, with new episodes that are even bigger, better, more shocking, and hilarious, and that truly live up to the show’s tag line, ‘The most fun you’ll ever have being scared.’”

Read Also: Horror Streamer Shudder Turns Five

Shudder also announced the greenlighting of an untitled scripted series showcasing stories of Black Horror from Black directors and screenwriters set to debut later this year. The anthology series will feature new work from both established and emerging talents, expanding on a legacy of Black genre filmmaking. Shudder explored the genre during its 2019 documentary Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror.

“When we saw the first cut of our Horror Noire documentary, we realized there was a huge, untapped reservoir of great Black horror stories that needed to be told, and an extremely talented group of writers and directors ready to tell them,” Engler said. “While the documentary was a look back at the history of Black horror, this anthology is a showcase for the future and will introduce audiences to fantastic new stories and characters.”

The year 2020 has been, by every indication imaginable, a nightmare. We’ve been hunkering down at home, waiting out the coronavirus, economy freefalling and anxiety skyrocketing as we dream of a return to the normal, perhaps even humdrum, lives we knew before.

Television has emerged as a key escape mechanism. And what sort of entertainment are we seeking out? For many, it’s more horror.

Stephen King, our own prince of darkness, is behind many series on air or in development. Epix, for one, is betting big on Chapelwaite, a drama targeted for a fall premiere that represents the first series from the network’s Epix Productions. Set in the 1850s, Chapelwaite follows a sea captain, played by Adrien Brody, and his children getting on after the death of the captain’s wife at sea. It is based on the King short story Jerusalem’s Lot.

“Genre fare has broad appeal, and while it might sometimes be too realistic and scary for some, it can also just as often offer an escapist catharsis for others,” Epix president Michael Wright said. “I’m pretty confident Chapelwaite sits on the latter end of that spectrum.”

Wright has worked on Stephen King adaptations before, including Salem’s Lot and Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King, both of which aired on TNT. He said King’s novels have always worked great on television. “Stephen King is literally one of our generation’s greatest storytellers,” Wright said. “His books are so wonderfully rooted in great characters and great storytelling.”

‘Stand’ Tall

Stephen King is all over television these days. There is The Outsider, starring Jason Bateman as a suburban father who may or may not have committed a murder, on HBO. There is Castle Rock, which has a second season in the works on Hulu. CBS All Access is developing The Stand, about society following the accidental release of a virus that kills much of the world’s population. Mr. Mercedes, about a retired detective (Brendan Gleeson) hung up on an unsolved mass murder case, has three seasons in the can on AT&T Audience Network.

Also in the works is The Institute, produced by Spyglass Media Group, which has David E. Kelley lined up to write and executive produce and Jack Bender to direct and exec produce.

Last week, AMC announced it will air season one of Creepshow, a series on streaming platform Shudder that is based on the 1982 Creepshow movie King wrote. King is not a producer on the series.

In the recent past was the James Franco limited series 11/22/63 on Hulu, about a time traveler trying to stop the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and Under the Dome, about a Maine town suddenly cut off from the world when a giant dome drops over it, which went for three seasons on CBS and Amazon.

Going further back, CBS did a Salem’s Lot series in 1979; ABC had It in 1990 and a miniseries version of The Stand in 1994; and USA Network aired The Dead Zone starting in 2002. A&E premiered Bag of Bones in 2011.

King’s novels have led to dozens of films too, including 1980’s The Shining, 1983’s The Dead Zone, 1990’s Misery, 1995’s Dolores Claiborne, 2017’s It and 2019’s Pet Sematary.

King yarns will likely remain in demand long after coronavirus dissipates. “People like stories that have uncertainty and there’s certainly a lot of uncertainty and unpredictability in the story we’re living in,” said Neal Baer, who was showrunner and executive producer on Under the Dome.

Well-Loved IP

King’s next book, If It Bleeds, comes out April 28, published by Scribner. It is a collection of novellas, including Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, The Life of Chuck, Rat and the title story.

In our peak TV world, Stephen King is a bankable trove of intellectual property, network executives and producers agree. Veteran producer David Friendly, currently working on USA Network drama Queen of the South, noted King’s “preposterously good” batting average in terms of his novels making a mark on popular culture. “When you spend the amount you have to spend [to produce a series], you try to mitigate risk,” he said. “There are enormous financial risks and Stephen King is a very good bet — and one of the few safe bets.”

When so many shows are clamoring for viewers’ attention, it sure helps to have Stephen King’s name stamped on a project. “In the 500-show universe, a name like Stephen King always carries weight and always carries value,” Old Dominion University assistant professor of communications Myles McNutt said.

That King is still living and writing makes the author that much more desirable to producers. King has 5.8 million followers on Twitter. He’s active on the platform, tweeting on March 8: “No, coronavirus is NOT like THE STAND. It’s not anywhere near as serious. It’s eminently survivable. Keep calm and take all reasonable precautions.”

When King talks up a TV show on the platform, it drives viewership. “King is very prolific, and still active,” McNutt added.

First-Class Characters

Producers also note that King, known for his horror novels, is a very diverse author whose work goes well beyond horror. Hit 1986 film Stand By Me was based on the King short story The Body and has no real horror in it, minus a few pesky leeches. The 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption, based on a King novella, is a taut emotional drama much more than it’s a horror flick.

Producers are drawn to King’s singular characters as much as any boogeyman the author dreams up. “Stephen King creates indelible characters — both Everyman characters and others who are wholly idiosyncratic,” said Bridget Carpenter, who was showrunner/executive producer on 11/22/63. “And, of course, terrifying villains and atmospheres! He is also a master of story — his plots move swiftly and unfold inexorably; they sweep you along. This is wonderful for TV.”

Neal Baer got a good look at King’s storytelling skills when he worked on Under the Dome. “His books are so visual,” he said. “He has all the things you look for when you’re developing a TV series or a movie.”

Popular books can be great TV fodder, bringing in pre-existing fan bases. But King has few, if any, rivals among authors in Hollywood. Harlan Coben has a deal with Netflix to develop 14 existing and future projects, including new drama The Stranger. Agatha Christie, who died in 1976, has her name on Agatha Christie’s The Pale Horse, which premiered on Amazon March 13. James Patterson had two seasons of Instinct and three of Zoo on CBS.

‘Dark Tower’ Goes Dark

Not every Stephen King novel TV tries to adapt turns into a hit series. The Mist, about a small town infected by a curious mist, lasted for just one season in 2017 on Spike. Joyland, about a college kid who spends a summer working at an amusement park and who confronts the legacy of a dreadful murder, was in development at Freeform in 2018 but did not make it to pilot.

The Dark Tower, an eight-book series about a gunslinger doing his thing in a magical American West, was a high-profile fail on Amazon. Executive producer Glen Mazzara shared on Twitter that his cast and crew “took big risks” on The Dark Tower, and “delivered big time” on a compelling adaptation. “We worked hard to honor this amazing story and bring it to life,” he added.

The future of Mr. Mercedes is uncertain. Audience Network is transitioning to a preview network for HBO Max. Mr. Mercedes may continue on the streaming network, which debuts in May. Audience Network did not comment.

An Author and a Gentleman

Producers who have spent time with King describe him as a stand-up guy who is deeply invested in his TV adaptations. On Under the Dome, King read and weighed in on all of the scripts. He would not pay a visit to the set in Los Angeles, but took on most everything else he was asked to. “You can’t ask for a better collaborator,” Baer said. “I’d love to work with Stephen King again.”

King declined requests to be interviewed for this story, saying through a representative that he was too busy working on his next book.

Having worked with King on a couple projects prior to Chapelwaite, Wright knows how to get the most out of the partnership. “If you’re smart, you run as much of it by him as you can,” he said.

Carpenter would love to work with King again, saying how much fun it would be to bring 1980 pyrokinesis novel Firestarter to series.

Great Expectations

While coronavirus can seem like something King might have dreamed up for a novel, producers stress a key difference between a King project and COVID-19. Frightful as they are, King’s novels offer a resolution at the end. With corona, the resolution has not yet been revealed. “There’s an attraction we have to well told, thrilling stories, stories that have an explanation,” Baer said. “Human nature likes scary things, but where there’s a resolution — you kind of know things are going to be OK.”

Epix president Wright said the coronavirus crisis is having “a profound impact” on our entertainment choices. “It’s difficult to say how these current events will impact viewer preferences,” he said. “But interestingly, our post-apocalyptic series, War of the Worlds, which is running right now, is our second highest-rated series to date, and actually growing week over week.”

Wright hopes he has another hit on his hands when Chapelwaite gets to air. He likens King to a modern era Charles Dickens, able to create “relatable and recognizable” characters.

“The real genius of Stephen King is his characters,” Wright said. “That’s the necessary ingredient of every great series or film ever made. That’s why adaptations of King are so effective — they’re unforgettable characters that you care about.”

KING’S BOUNTY
A look at some of Stephen King’s works that have been adapted to TV

The Dead Zone

Network: USA Network
Years: 2002-2007
Review: “Turns out to be an engaging new hour, boasting crisp writing, near-cinematic production values and an almost failsafe plot.” — Chicago Tribune

Bag of Bones

Network: A&E
Year: 2011
Review: “Handsomely shot and deliberately paced, it has a superficially cinematic quality, but it doesn’t have the storytelling juice to keep you engaged in Mr. King’s convoluted multi-ghost story.” — The New York Times

Creepshow

Network: Shudder
Year: 2019
Review: “Casual horror fans may not really get the appeal of Creepshow, but it’s not made for them anyway. Horror aficionados, on the other hand, will find a lot to like.” — TV Guide

Castle Rock

Network: Hulu
Years: 2018-2019
Review: “In every respect it’s the equal of, and largely superior to, any of the actual King adaptations that have come to television lately.” — Los Angeles Times

AMC will air the first season of sister streaming service Shudder’s original series Creepshow beginning May 4, the network said Tuesday.

AMC will air two episodes of the horror anthology series, based on the 1982 Stephen King movie of the same name, every Monday night beginning May 4 and running through May 18, the network said. The series is executive produced by Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead).

“Creepshow was a phenomenal success in its first season on Shudder. As we continue to experiment with show sharing across our portfolio of defining brands at AMC Networks, it felt like a no brainer to give fans of Greg Nicotero’s masterful zombie work on The Walking DeadUniverse a chance to see this, his passion project,” said Sarah Barnett, president of AMC Networks’ Entertainment Group and AMC Studios in a statement. “Greg’s Creepshow is a brilliant homage to the original classic horror film and we couldn’t happier to air it on AMC, or more grateful to our colleagues at Shudder.”

The 2019-20 Fall TV season officially kicks off this week with several cable and streaming services debuting shows as the broadcast networks launch their new and returning series.

Epix’s drama series Godfather of Harlem debuts Sept. 29, and stars Forest Whitaker as notorious gangster Bumpy Johnson, who looks to take back the Harlem underworld in the late 1960s after a long jail stint.

Streaming service Shudder on Sept. 26 will launch a reboot of the classic horror anthology series Creepshow, while Amazon Prime Video on Sept. 27 debuts a special musical finale for its Emmy-winning series Transparent.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting this week on cable networks and streaming services:

Sept. 23 -- Team Kaylie (comedy) -- Netflix

Sept. 25 -- Buzz (documentary) -- HBO

Sept. 25 -- Cake (animation) -- FXX

Sept. 25 -- Crank Yankers (returning series) -- Comedy Central

Sept. 25 -- It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (returning series) -- FXX

Sept. 25 -- Liza on Demand (returning series) -- YouTube

Sept. 26 -- Untold Stories of Hip Hop (music series) -- WEtv

Sept. 27 -- In the Shadow of the Moon (movie) -- Netflix

Sept. 27 -- The Politician (drama) -- Netflix

Sept, 27 -- Van Helsing (returning series) -- Syfy

AMC Networks will bring its Shudder and Sundance Now digital streaming series A Discovery Of Witches to television with the horror show’s April 7 premiere on BBC America and AMC, the network said Saturday.

A Season of Witches will run over eight weeks on both cable networks beginning April 7, the network announced during the Television Critics Association winter press tour presentation.

The series, set in a world where witches, vampires and demons secretly live and work alongside humans, has set Sundance Now records for total video plays, and in its first week on the site accounted for more than half of all streaming activity on the platform, according to the service.

“Thanks to the critical acclaim and overwhelmingly positive audience response to A Discovery of Witches, the series has found a new legion of fans. We are thrilled to bring it to a wider audience and pair it with Killing Eve on both AMC and BBC America,” said Sarah Barnett, President of AMC Entertainment Networks in a statement. “This is a great example of our cross-network strategy; to expose our series to new audiences across our ecosystem of networks and streaming services.”

In other streaming news, Shudder announced it has begun production on its first long-form series, Creepshow, based on the iconic 1982 anthology film written by Stephen King and directed by George A. Romero.

The six-episode season will be executive produced by Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead), according to the streaming service.