Friday the 13th: Bryan Fuller Confirms A24 Going “A Different Way” With Crystal Lake TV Series

Fans of the Friday the 13th franchise just got a little more clarity about why the Crystal Lake prequel TV series is facing some delays in development. There was some drama surrounding the A24 and Peacock project earlier this week, as some reports suggested that the plug was being pulled on the series, while others claimed it was simply undergoing some changes behind the scenes. It’s the latter that turned out to be true.

Hannibal‘s Bryan Fuller was set to serve as the showrunner, writer, and executive producer of Crystal Lake, but it seems he will no longer be involved with the series moving forward. On Wednesday, Fuller took to social media to say that A24 was going in a different direction with the material.

“Adapting classic horror is something I have some experience with. These shows requre a vision that elevates and transforms, as well as delivers what audiences have come to expect, which is an ambitious and risky endeavor. It requires people to take the leap with me,” Fuller wrote.

“When it works, as with Hannibal, the results can be powerful for the storytellers and the audience. I couldn’t be more proud of the work my co-showrunner Jim Danger Gray and I were able to accomplish with our brilliant writing staff despite the challenges we faced,” Fuller added. “For reasons beyond our control, A24 has elected to go a different way with the material. We hope the final product will be something Friday the 13th fans all over the world will enjoy.”

This entire thread seems to indicate that Peacock and A24 are still working to bring Crystal Lake to life, they’ll just be doing it with someone else at the helm. 

Peacock won a competitive bidding war for Crystal Lake and, according to Fuller, signed up for a substantial commitment out of the gate.

“One of the things that is super exciting and one of the many reasons that we went with Peacock is that they blew every other competitor out of the water,” Fuller told Fangoria when Crystal Lake was first announced. “There was a bidding war on this, and they came in strong and gave us a full-season commitment with a huge penalty if we don’t do a second season. So it’s kind of a two-season commitment, but really just the first-season commitment. We’re going to have roughly five times the per-episode budget that we had on Hannibal.”

“It will absolutely be recognizable for the hardcore Friday the 13th fans, but will also have an appeal to people who are simply interested in top-shelf TV storytelling,” he added.