5 Horror TV Shows That Were Based On Popular Slasher Movies

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

As die-hard horror fans are surely aware, Peacock’s “Crystal Lake” is the all-new “Friday the 13th” prequel series dedicated to shedding a new light on Pamela Voorhees (mother of the iconic hockey-masked killer Jason Voorhees) and the tragic events that would shape her into a homicidal madwoman.

While there certainly is no shortage of TV shows based on classic horror franchises — such as “The Exorcist” or “Ash vs Evil Dead”— there are only a handful of series based on popular movies that fall into the gritty slasher subgenre. Young Jason and his grieving mommy may be getting their origin story fleshed out in “Crystal Lake,” but a few other murderous maniacs from the big screen have had their own shows based on their films (in some cases, very loosely), including “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Child’s Play,” “Psycho,” and “Scream.” And yes, “Crystal Lake” isn’t the first show to come out of the “Friday the 13th” universe, either. In the late 1980s, there was a previous small-screen effort that had nothing to do with the movies at all — but more on that later. 

As horror fans head back to Crystal Lake to witness what went down eight years before the events of “Friday the 13th,” let’s take a look back at five times famous slasher franchises made the monstrous jump from the silver screen to the small screen.

Based on the “Nightmare on Elm Street” film franchise dreamt up by horror master Wes Craven in 1984, “Freddy’s Nightmares” brought Springwood’s nefarious dream demon to late-night syndication. The show premiered in October 1988 — just two months after the release of “A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master”— during a period when Freddy mania was at its peak. Freddy was everywhere, so it is no wonder the franchise took a stab at the small screen. But instead of following a continuous cast of doomed Elm Street children who had connections to the characters from the movies, “Freddy’s Nightmares” instead served as a weekly hour-long horror anthology set in Springwood, Ohio.

Robert Englund reprised his iconic role as Freddy Krueger, serving as the only actor carried over from the original films. While Freddy was the main killer in eight episodes, he primarily functioned as a sinister host a la the Crypt Keeper, providing some narration and wisecracking commentary during wraparound segments. The pilot episode directed by Tobe Hooper, however, did give fans a look at some of the events that went down before the original movie, such as Freddy’s courtroom prosecution — when he was known as the Springwood Slasher — and the mob of vigilante parents who burned him to death, thus creating the dreamstalker we know from the movies. The two-season, 44-episode show became a famous launching pad for young talent, featuring early career guest appearances from Brad Pitt, Mariska Hargitay, Kyle Chandler, Morris Chestnut, and Lori Petty.

Created by franchise mastermind Don Mancini, “Chucky” serves as a direct television continuation of the classic “Child’s Play” slasher saga. By the time the series premiered in October 2021, there were already seven movies in the franchise. “Chucky” — which picks up right after the events of 2017’s “Cult of Chucky” — introduces us to a new player: 14-year-old Jake Wheeler, played by Zackary Arthur. Things kick off when Jake buys a vintage Good Guy doll at a yard sale in Hackensack, New Jersey. The killer doll — possessed by serial killer Charles Lee Ray — embarks on a fresh murder spree while Jake and his classmates Lexy (Alyvia Alyn Lind) and Devon (Björgvin Arnarson) try to stop him. Brad Dourif returned as the iconic voice of Chucky, while other franchise regulars reprised their roles from previous film entries, like Jennifer Tilly as Tiffany, Fiona Dourif as Nica, and Alex Vincent as Andy Barclay.

“Chucky” fully embraced over 30 years of existing film canon, even bringing back characters we hadn’t seen since 2004’s “Seed of Chucky.” The show took full advantage of television’s lengthier runtime to delve into Chucky’s backstory through flashbacks that tie directly back to the 1988 original, while always staying true to the franchise’s dark humor and voodoo lore. Sadly, “Chucky” was canceled in September 2024 after a very well-reviewed three-season run, leaving fans on the edge of their seats with a massive cliffhanger. But, as Chucky once said, “You just can’t keep a Good Guy down.” Mancini teased that he is working on a new movie that will pick up where the show left off.

Inspired by Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven’s hit “Scream” film franchise, MTV’s “Scream: The TV Series” translated the meta-slasher formula into a serialized teen drama, but those expecting to find Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), and Dewey Riley (David Arquette) unraveling yet another Ghostface murder-mystery in Woodsboro were left sorely disappointed. The first two seasons of “Scream” — which debuted on MTV on June 30, 2015 — followed teenager Emma Duval (Willa Fitzgerald) in the fictional town of Lakewood, Louisiana, where a cyberbullying incident leads to a killing spree connected to the town’s dark history.

Supported by cast members Bex Taylor-Klaus, John Karna, Carlson Young, and Amadeus Serafini, the MTV run famously abandoned the iconic Ghostface mask and voice for a custom, pale-white surgical mask tied to local legend Brandon James. The show was later rebooted for a third and final season, titled “Scream: Resurrection,” which aired as a three-night event on VH1 in 2019. This reboot relocated the story to Atlanta, featured a fresh cast including RJ Cyler, Keke Palmer, Giorgia Whigham, C.J. Wallace, and Tyga, and finally brought back the classic Fun World Ghostface mask with original voice actor Roger L. Jackson.

Serving as a contemporary prequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic 1960 psychological slasher “Psycho,” A&E’s “Bates Motel” followed 17-year-old Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) and his intensely codependent mother, Norma Louise Bates (Vera Farmiga), as they move to the fictional coastal town of White Pine Bay, Oregon, to purchase a rundown motel following the sudden death of Norman’s father. The series — which ran for five acclaimed seasons — expanded heavily on Norman’s tragic unraveling into a murderer and gave physical life to Norma long before she became a corpse in an attic.

The main cast was rounded out by Max Thieriot as Norman’s half-brother Dylan Massett, Olivia Cooke as his friend Emma Decody, and Nestor Carbonell as Sheriff Alex Romero. Although based on a mid-century classic, the show updated its setting to a modern-day 21st-century backdrop complete with smartphones and high school culture, making “Bates Motel” more of a parallel-universe reimagining than a direct prequel leading into the 1960 classic. But plenty of homages and artistic nods to the original are visually present, complete with an exact replica of the Victorian-style Bates mansion that has maintained a retro 1950s aesthetic throughout the household. They even recreated the adjacent Bates Motel from scratch, which made it look and feel like true brethren to the “Psycho” movies.

Don’t let the title fool you: “Friday the 13th: The Series” has absolutely no story connection to Camp Crystal Lake or Jason Voorhees. While there is connective tissue behind the scenes — such as the involvement of Frank Mancuso Jr., who produced some of the best 1980s-era “Friday the 13th” movies— the creators felt it was time to retire the hockey mask and lean into something new. The plot of the “Friday the 13th”-by-name-only series follows Micki Foster (Louise Robey) and her cousin by marriage, Ryan Dallion (John D. LeMay), who inherit an antique shop from their uncle, only to discover he sold his soul to the Devil to trade in cursed antiques. Joined by occult expert Jack Marshak (Chris Wiggins), the duo travels around recovering deadly items — like a murderous camera or a fatal compact mirror—to lock them safely in their store’s vault.

With a show that centers on a shop of cursed antiques, you’d think there’d at least be some sort of Easter egg or nod to the movies — perhaps a cursed hockey mask makes its way into the shop? But Mancuso opted to steer clear of Jason entirely. However, the title did have some brand recognition. “I felt that it would’ve been a lot easier to sell a ‘Friday the 13th’ show than something called ‘The 13th Hour’,” Mancuso said in “Making Friday the 13th.” While he revealed that “people would cringe” when he told them he was working on a “Friday the 13th” series specifically, the familiar title was a “no-brainer” in getting the show made.