R.L. Stine’s iconic ’90s horror books for kids are getting a tune-up in the 10-episode Goosebumps on Disney+ and Hulu, which follows a group of five teens as they uncover maddening mysteries in their small Pacific Northwest town.
In the first hour, based in part on Stine’s 1992 novel Say Cheese and Die!, football star Isaiah (EastEnders’ Zack Morris) unearths a haunted Polaroid camera during a Halloween party, and “bad things start happening,” warns executive producer Conor Welch. “The final photo is of him hurt at the end of a game, so he spends the episode trying to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Disney/David Astorga
That’s only the scary start of a series featuring plot points from The Haunted Mask, Go Eat Worms! and The Cuckoo Clock of Doom—and an appearance by Slappy, the franchise’s fan-favorite living dummy.
At the center of all the action is a decades-old tragedy involving the death of high schooler Harold Biddle (Ben Cockell) that has ties to the teens’ parents. New teacher Mr. Bratt (Justin Long), who moves into the Biddle house, becomes possessed by Harold.
That leads to some of what EP Pavun Shetty calls the series’ “authentically funny” scenes. Adds Welch: “To watch Justin possessed by an awkward 15-year-old boy is really hysterical.” But maybe keep the lights on for this one, just in case.
Goosebumps, Series Premiere (five episodes), Friday, October 13, Disney+ and Hulu
This is an excerpt from TV Guide Magazine’s 2023 Fall Preview issue. For more first looks at fall’s new shows, pick up the issue, on newsstands now.