- A new Friday the 13th prequel series titled Crystal Lake, centered on Jason Voorhees’ mother Pam, is set to premiere on Peacock on October 15, 2026.
- The show will explore Pam Voorhees’ grief after her son Jason drowned in Crystal Lake, with actress Linda Cardellini starring as Pam in the series.
- Showrunner Brad Caleb Kane aims to broaden the appeal of the series beyond just fans of the franchise by adding deeper layers of character and backstory while still maintaining the gore and edge of Friday the 13th.
Jason Voorhees is headed back to TV just in time for Halloween.
The brand-new Friday the 13th prequel series, Crystal Lake, is the latest attempt to revive the slasher franchise, which already includes 11 movies, a 2009 remake, another TV series unrelated to the films, video games, and comic books.
Named after the camp where the hockey-masked maniac presumably died before turning it into his killing field, all eight 60-minute episodes of Crystal Lake drop Thursday, October 15, 2026, on Peacock.
The series, however, is more centered on Jason’s mom, Pam Voorhees—who, 46-year-old spoiler alert, was the killer in the first movie back in 1980. Jason himself didn’t pick up his machete until the second film.
“A prequel to the Friday the 13th franchise, the series follows single mother Pam Voorhees who has been unable to shake her grief after her young, sickly son Jason tragically drowned in the town lake almost a year before,” teases Peacock in the official synopsis. “When two strangers arrive at Pam’s door digging into her past, a disturbing chain of events is set into motion, leaving the townspeople of Crystal Lake wondering: just who is Pam Voorhees?”
Emmy-winner Linda Cardellini stars as Pam in the new series, which also stars William Catlett, Devin Kessler, Cameron Scoggins, Gwendolyn Sundstrom, Callum Vinson, Nick Cordileone, Joy Suprano, Danielle Kotch, and Phoenix Parnevik.
While Pam may be the star of the series, Jason will still pop up throughout—as teased in its trailer. Per showrunner Brad Caleb Kane, however, he won’t be wearing his hockey mask.
“No, not Jason in the hockey mask show, but the expectations that fans might have … they’ll see more than they think they will,” he told Polygon in September 2026. “So no hockey mask, because we don’t go up through the events of Part Three, but that doesn’t mean we don’t go into mask territory. And that doesn’t mean we don’t see Jason, and potentially very clearly. So I’ll just leave that right there.”
As for his hopes for the show, Kane said he wants the series to appeal to a wide group of people, not just fans of the series.
“As much as I grew up with these movies, my wife did not, and I want it to be something that I could watch with her,” he told the outlet. “Not necessarily take the gore or the edge or what makes it Friday the 13th off of it. Keep all that stuff, but widen the appeal to some degree by maybe adding deeper layers of character and motivation and backstory.”
He added, “You can’t be all things to all people, but hopefully I was able to integrate enough of those elements that it’ll feel satisfying as a complete piece.”
This story was originally published byMen’s Journalon Sep 14, 2026, where it first appeared in theEntertainmentsection. Add Men’s Journal as aPreferred
