Goosebumps (2023 TV series)

Goosebumps is an American supernatural horror television series developed by Rob Letterman and Nicholas Stoller for Disney+ and Hulu. It is based on the book series by R. L. Stine. The series abandons the episodic anthology format of the 1995 original TV series to focus on a serialized-anthology style of storytelling instead, changing storylines from season to season instead of episode to episode while still featuring some of the existing Goosebumps monsters and items episodically.

In 2020, a series based on the Goosebumps books was announced to be out development by Sony Pictures Television alongside Original Film and Scholastic Corporation, all of whom previously developed the films Goosebumps (2015) and Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018), that were both from Sony Pictures Animation, based on the books. Letterman, the first film's director, was hired by 2022 to write and produce the series alongside Stoller. Letterman also directed the pilot episode.

Goosebumps was released on October 13, 2023, on Disney+ and Hulu simultaneously as a part of the "Hallowstream" and "Huluween" streaming blocks, respectively. It received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the story, visuals, cinematography, writing, acting and casting with a particular amount of praise going towards some of the monster designs and the darker, more serious tone, though there was some criticism for the pacing and the remaining monster designs. In February 2024, the series was renewed for a second season with a different cast and storyline.

Synopsis
A group of five high schoolers embark on a shadowy and twisted journey to investigate the tragic passing three decades earlier of a teen named Harold Biddle — while also unearthing dark secrets from their parents' past.

Main

 * Zack Morris as Isaiah, the star quarterback of the Port Lawrence High School football team
 * Isa Briones as Margot, Isaiah's neighbor and friend
 * Miles McKenna as James, Isaiah's best friend who is from one of the wealthiest families in Port Lawrence
 * Ana Yi Puig as Isabella, a girl ignored at school and neglected by her mother who lets out her frustrations by trolling people online
 * Will Price as Lucas, a teenager who likes extreme sports and has become very reckless since the passing of his father
 * Rachael Harris as Nora, Lucas's mother who was involved in Harold Biddle's death
 * Justin Long as Mr. Nathan Bratt, the new English teacher at Port Lawrence High School who inherits the Biddle House and becomes possessed by Harold Biddle's spirit

Recurring

 * Rob Huebel as Colin, Margot's father and a guidance counsellor at Port Lawrence High School
 * Leonard Roberts as Ben, Isaiah's father, who was involved in Harold Biddle's death
 * Ben Cockell as Harold Biddle, a teenager who died in a mysterious house fire in 1993, where his angered spirit haunts the town
 * Rhinnan Payne as Allison, Isaiah's girlfriend who breaks up with him
 * Françoise Yip as Victoria, Isabella's overly strict mother and a doctor who was involved in Harold Biddle's death
 * Laura Mennell as Eliza, James's multi-millionaire mother, who was involved in Harold Biddle's death
 * Lexa Doig as Sarah, Margot's estranged mother, who was involved in Harold Biddle's death
 * Chris Geere as Kanduu / Slappy the Dummy, Harold's evil ventriloquist dummy, who belonged to his great-grandfather Ephraim and manipulated him. Geere also portrays Kanduu, an evil sorcerer whose spirit was trapped inside Slappy's body.

Guest

 * Eddie Jemison as Ephraim Bratt, Harold's great-grandfather, who was given Slappy in 1925
 * Jonathan Silverman and Gillian Vigman as Perry and Georgia Biddle, Harold's parents, who along with their son, they move into the house in 1993

Main

 * David Schwimmer as Anthony
 * Ana Ortiz as Jen
 * Sam McCarthy as Devin
 * Jayden Bartels as Cece
 * Elijah M. Cooper as CJ
 * Galilea La Salvia as Frankie
 * Francesca Noel as Alex

Recurring

 * Arjun Athalye as Sameer
 * Eloise Payet as Hannah
 * Christopher Paul Richards as Matty
 * Kyra Tantao as Nicole
 * Stony Blyden as Trey
 * Sakina Jaffrey as Ramona

Development
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Goosebumps (2015) producer approached director Rob Letterman with the idea of making a TV series based on the Goosebumps book series. Excited at the idea of working on a television show, Letterman accepted and approached longtime collaborator Nicholas Stoller to develop the series with him, which he ultimately agreed due to both his relationship with Letterman and an interest in developing horror-oriented material.

On April 28, 2020, it was announced that a live action reboot TV series of the Goosebumps franchise was in the works by Scholastic Entertainment, Sony Pictures Television and Neal H. Moritz's production company Original Film, which produced both the 2015 film and its sequel. In March 2021, R.L. Stine stated that the series had found a producer and a director. On February 4, 2022, it was reported that Disney+ had picked up the show, giving it a 10-episode order. Rob Letterman returned from the 2015 film (from Sony Pictures Animation) to direct the pilot, as well as write and executive produce the series with Nicholas Stoller. The series was partially produced via Zoom calls due to the industry-wide lockdown during the pandemic.

In October 2023, producers Conor Welch and Pavun Shetty expressed interest in developing additional seasons that adapted additional Goosebumps books, with Shetty in particular expressing interest in exploring elements from the Night of the Living Dummy books in season 2. On February 10, 2024, the series was renewed for an eight-episode second season and is set to focus on a different cast and storyline.

Casting
In October 2022, Justin Long, Ana Yi Puig, Miles McKenna, Will Price, Zack Morris, Isa Briones and Rachael Harris were cast to star in the series. In January 2023, Rob Huebel was added to the cast in a recurring guest star role.

Goosebumps author R. L. Stine makes a voice cameo in "Night of the Living Dummy Part 2" as the host of the podcast Let the Write One In. Stoller and Letterman originally planned for Stine to have a physical cameo, but plans were discarded due to Stine's unavailability, after which showrunner Hilary Winston and co-executive producer James Egan pitched the idea of Stine voicing a podcast host instead. In March 2024, David Schwimmer, Ana Ortiz, Sam McCarthy, Jayden Bartels, Elijah Cooper, Galilea La Salvia, and Francesca Noel were cast as series regulars for the second season. In May 2024, Arjun Athalye, Eloise Payet, Christopher Paul Richards, Kyra Tantao, Stony Blyden, and Sakina Jaffrey joined the cast in recurring roles.

Filming
Principal photography began in October 2022 in Vancouver and was expected to end in March 2023, with Stephen McNutt and Thomas Yatsko serving as cinematographers. In February 2023, filming also occurred at Whistler Olympic Park. At the behest of Letterman, the series made strong use of practical effects, which he felt allowed the seires' scarier elements to "feel grounded" and "real". The production team focused on making sure the effects looked realistic, as they wanted audiences to feel as invested as the characters were with the series' events.

Post-production
Christopher S. Capp and Tuan Quoc Le serve as editors on the series.

Release
Goosebumps debuted on Friday, October 13, 2023, on Disney+ and Hulu. Five episodes from the ten-part series debuted as part of the streamers' annual "Hallowstream" and "Huluween" celebrations. New episodes followed every week thereafter until November 17, when the first season concluded. Additionally, the series' first two episodes aired October 13 on Freeform as part of "31 Nights of Halloween."

Audience viewership
According to the streaming aggregator JustWatch, Goosebumps was the seventh most watched television series across all platforms in the United States during the week of October 9–15, 2023, and the third during the week of October 16–22, 2023. According to the streaming aggregator Reelgood, Goosebumps was the ninth most watched program across all platforms in the United States during the week of October 12, 2023. According to Whip Media's TV Time, Goosebumps was the eighth most watched original series across all platforms in the United States during the week of October 22, 2023, and the seventh during the week of October 29, 2023.

Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 76% with an average rating of 6.8/10, based on 37 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads "Wickedly inventive enough to give viewers the creeps if not nightmares, Goosebumps solidly transplants R.L. Stine's spooky stories into a serialized format." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 60 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".