Trailer For New “Goosebumps” TV Show Drops!

High school can be horrifying, as the teaser for the new Goosebumps series shows.

I admit: I’m what I call ‘fan adjacent’ to the Goosebumps books, written by R.L. Stine. The original 62 books (not including the various spin-offs) were written between 1992 and 1997, and were geared towards the pre-teen and young teen audience. Focusing on supernatural, paranormal, and/or occult plots, Stine has often been compared as a Stephen King for younger audiences.

They came out when I was in college, and so while I never got into them, as a reader I loved seeing the popularity help grow a love of reading for younger kids. Published by Scholastic, the books have sold over 400 million copies, becoming the second best-selling book series in history, according to Wikipedia.

The books have spawned a TV series in the 90s, a video game series, comic series, and even a series of feature films (with Jack Black as Stine).

And now Disney+ is updating the IP for today’s generation and has released a trailer!

https://youtu.be/sIiUwbBxZo8

Starring Justin Long and Rachael Harris, the upcoming Goosebumps series will follow a group of high schoolers as they investigate the death of a teen who passed away over 30 years ago. There are supernatural forces afoot as the team discovers secrets from their parents.

Developed by Nicholas Stoller and Rob Letterman, the series will draw on elements from five of the most popular books in the series: Say Cheese and Die!, The Haunted Mask, The Cuckoo Clock of Doom, Go Eat Worms!, and Night of the Living Dummy.

The trailer hooked me like a hitchhiker with only one hand. While I’m a fan of horror, I’m less one of gore and violence. While aimed at the Goosebumps fans, the new live-action series feels like it’s right up my alley. It looks to be just scary enough without going over the top, and – as with the books – laced with a touch of humor. It also looks like it’s keeping the adults in mind and making sure it’s not too ‘children’s television’.

I’ve always enjoyed horror comedy, and Justin Long seems a great choice. I hope they manage to get Stine himself in for a cameo (after all, he gives himself the R.L. Stine Creative Writing Award regularly, and played himself in the original television series).

The new Goosebumps series will premiere on both Disney+ and Hulu on Friday, October 13, 2023.

The ten-part series will have half the episodes drop on the 13th as part of Disney’s “Hallowstream” and Hulu’s “Huluween” event with the new episodes streaming weekly afterwards.

Author: Angie Fiedler Sutton

Angie Fiedler Sutton is a writer, podcaster, and all-round fangirl geek. She has been published in Den of Geek, Stage Directions, LA Weekly, The Mary Sue, and others.

She also produces her own podcast, Contents May Vary, where she interviews geeky people about geeky things. You can see all her work (and social media channels) at angiefsutton.com.

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