Horror auteur Mike Flanagan built a fervent fan base through a quarter-century of delivering consistent thrills on the big screen and, in recent years, his four haunting Netflix series. But as he pivots to YA-centric Stephen King adaptation “Carrie” over at Prime Video, will the Flanagan faithful follow?
When it comes to horror adaptations, genre fans know Flanagan is their guy — he’s been behind well-reviewed King adaptations like “Doctor Sleep” and “Gerald’s Game” and has used gothic works as the jumping off point for several of his Netflix miniseries, including his “Haunting” anthology and “The Fall of the House of Usher.”
So, while he might’ve been an obvious choice to shepherd the reimagining of “Carrie,” the series leans into YA tropes like cliques and friendship woes, placing it at the core of the platform’s young adult slate. It marks a departure from his previous projects, even “The Midnight Club,” which skewed slightly younger than his other series with a largely teenage cast.
Flanagan pitched “Carrie” “as a coming-of-age series that creates entirely new entry points for a younger audience,” tackling social media bullying and mass shootings drills as a glimpse of high school in 2026. But, by creating a new entry point for younger audiences into the classic King tale via the YA genre, will there be enough horror elements to keep Flanagan fans engaged to the bloody prom climax?
The creator is stacking the odds in his favor as he embraces his signature casting, giving fans of his Netflix shows some familiar faces in “Carrie,” including Samantha Sloyan and Rahul Kohli, who have appeared in many of his adaptations and play Carrie’s mom and teacher, respectively, as well as staying true to the basic beats of King’s novel despite its modern twist.
But beyond the question of whether Flanagan’s fans will flock to “Carrie,” the series will also be a test for Prime Video as it expands its YA slate beyond steamy BookTok adaptations, seeing if there is an appetite for genre-based shows among the fan base of young women or if the interest solely remains in shows like “Off Campus” and “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” It’s a crucial question as Amazon embarks on adapting romantasy BookTok sensation “Fourth Wing,” which blends the epic-world building seen in series like “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” with the romance found in the majority of the streamer’s slate.
“No community is a monolith,” Amazon TV head Peter Friedlander told TheWrap in May. “There are many different fandoms out there — people who love steamy romance, people who love coming-of-age thrillers, people who want fantasy epics. Our slate is designed to reflect that range.”
While Megan Park’s coming-of-age series “Sterling Point” was not by any means as big of a jump as “Carrie” is from something like “Off Campus,” the show — which was not based on a book and hit some tropes without hitting the level of cheese found in other modern YA shows — proved the Prime Video audience doesn’t just want to copy-and-paste BookTok hits. In fact, the overwhelming praise for “Sterling Point” revolved around how authentic Park’s dialogue felt amongst the teenage leads, with positive word of mouth boosting the show to score a Season 2 renewal just weeks after its August debut.
“Carrie” also won’t be the first time Flanagan has strayed from his typical horror lane: his feel-good 2024 film “The Life of Chuck” won TIFF’s People’s Choice Award, though the Neon release made just $21 million in theaters.
And while “The Midnight Club” might not have stirred up enough appetite to continue with its planned future installments — Netflix canceled the show after one season back in 2022 ahead of its eventual YA push years later — the positioning for “Carrie” might be just enough for Flanagan to score the Season 2 he hopes to make.
“American Horror Story” soars
The anticipation built for “AHS” Season 13 over the two years since “Delicate” wrapped up paid off, as the crossover season premiere ranked as Ryan Murphy’s biggest streaming launch to date on Hulu and Disney+ with 4 million global viewers in four days. It helps that the new season brings back characters from throughout the show’s history in an effort to face a Satanic new enemy.
The launch became the No. 1 TV title across both Hulu and Disney+ since its Sept. 24 debut, and now ranks as the most-watched installment of “AHS,” soaring over 50% above “Delicate.”
USA vs. Mexico scores big on Telemundo
The Oct. 3 soccer matchup between the USA and Mexico scored 2.6 million viewers across Telemundo, Universo and streaming platforms, becoming Telemundo’s most-watched U.S. Men’s National Team friendly as well as the most-streamed since acquiring the Spanish-language rights for U.S. soccer in 2023.
Viewership was up 32% compared to the previous USA-Mexico game on Telemundo, which averaged 2 million viewers in 2023.
“Tamron Hall” starts strong
“Tamron Hall” scored a strong start to Season 8, with the show scoring its most-viewed premiere week among all key demos in two years. The show grew 26% in the women 18-49 demo and 35% in the women 25-54 demo, marking the largest year-over-year increases among all syndicated talk shows in those demos.
Additionally, total viewership for “Tamron Hall” rose 10% while households rose 12% compared to last year’s premiere week.
ICYMI:
- Crime drama “Unabomber” maintained its spot as Netflix’s most watched English-language movie during its second week on the streamer
- Zoe Kazan’s “East of Eden” debuted as the top English-language TV show with 6.5 million views in its first week
- “60 Minutes” rebounded its viewership as its third episode of the fall season cracked 10 million viewers thanks to an NFL lead-in
- NBC’s “Line of Fire” started strong with 8.6 million viewers
