Crystal Lake: A24's Friday the 13th Prequel With Linda Cardellini Sets Release Dates

Crystal Lake, a long-gestating prequel to the Friday the 13th horror franchise, is set to premiere this month. The series stars Emmy winner Linda Cardellini as Pamela Voorhees, the character revealed as the killer in the original 1980 film, and builds its story around the year leading up to that reveal.

When and where it premieres

According to Peacock-focused reporting from Dread Central and iHorror, all eight episodes of Crystal Lake are released at once on Peacock in the United States on October 15, 2026. Sky Group's own announcement confirms a separate premiere for the United Kingdom and Ireland, where the full series lands on Sky and NOW on October 19, 2026.

Cast and characters

Cardellini leads the cast as Pam Voorhees. Sky's announcement and reporting from iHorror and Yahoo Entertainment list the rest of the principal cast, including Callum Vinson as young Jason Voorhees, William Catlett as Officer Levon Brooks, and Devin Kessler, Cameron Scoggins and Gwendolyn Sundstrom in other roles.

Plot and setting

Per Sky's synopsis and reporting from iHorror and Yahoo Entertainment, the series is set in the 1970s and opens with the drowning of young Jason, a bullied boy described as having hydrocephalus. Almost a year later, two strangers arrive in the town of Crystal Lake and start asking questions about Pam's past, setting off a chain of events that leads the townspeople to question who she really is.

Cardellini described the show, in comments reported by Dread Central, as an origin story for the character rather than a conventional slasher outing.

Yahoo Entertainment's reporting on young actor Callum Vinson adds that Jason does not wear the franchise's signature hockey mask on screen in this first season, though showrunner Brad Caleb Kane said the series will eventually reveal how the mask originated and how it connects to the character.

Creative team and background

Brad Caleb Kane created Crystal Lake and serves as showrunner and executive producer, according to Sky's announcement and iHorror's reporting. Victor Miller, who wrote the original 1980 Friday the 13th screenplay, is credited as an executive producer. Sky's announcement states that A24 produces the series together with Miller and Horror, Inc. iHorror reports that directing duties are split between Michael Lennox, Celine Held and Logan George, and Quyen Tran across the eight episodes.

Dread Central's reporting describes Crystal Lake as the franchise's first new screen entry in more than 17 years, following a period in which earlier attempts at a Friday the 13th television prequel did not move forward.