Peacock Cancels Satanic Panic Series ‘Hysteria!’ After One Season

by

Two highly acclaimed horror series premiered on Peacock in October, but unfortunately, both have been canceled despite receiving positive feedback from viewers and critics. One of the series, named Teacup, started airing on October 10th, and it was recently axed. The other series, titled Hysteria!, which features Bruce Campbell in a lead role during the Satanic Panic period, has also been terminated after completing its first season. Despite having a 91% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, its audience score is slightly lower at 87%.

According to Variety, it appears that the comedy series “Hysteria!” has been terminated on Peacock and will not proceed with a second season. No specific reason for the cancelation has been disclosed, but considering that “Hysteria!” never appeared in the Nielsen Top 10 streaming charts during its eight-episode run and Peacock doesn’t typically share its viewer statistics like Netflix does, it is likely that poor viewership was the cause for not investing in a second season.

Written by Matthew Scott Kane, the film “Hysteria!” featured Julie Bowen, Anna Camp, Emjay Anthony, among others, and was set in 1989 during the peak of Satanic Panic. The story revolves around a high school rock band that strategically portrays themselves as followers of Lucifer to gain popularity, but soon become the town’s suspects after a string of mysterious deaths and strange occurrences. In his review, Greg Archer from MovieWeb praised it as “psychedelic and consistently engaging, with well-developed characters providing a strong foundation.

‘Hysteria!’ Reunited Two Horror Legends

Apart from its captivating lead actors, the thrilling series Hysteria! also marked the long-awaited reunion of two horror icons – none other than Barbara Crampton and Jeffrey Combs. Over the years, these talented actors have graced our screens in numerous cult classics such as Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986), and Castle Freak (1995). In the fifth episode, “Mother,” they reprised their roles as Tracy Whitehead’s parents, Anna Camp’s character.

After hearing about the cancellation of Hysteria, Crampton expressed her gratitude to everyone associated with the show and had only positive things to say about her time there. She stated, “I was fortunate enough to be a part of one episode on this fantastic series, playing Anna Camp’s mother in a flashback scene with Jeff Combs. I met so many incredible people and made new friends! It was an enjoyable experience! Congratulations to everyone involved; here’s to the future!” In contrast, Campbell, known for his succinctness, also announced the show’s cancellation but didn’t elaborate much. Instead, he simply wrote, “‘Gone, but hopefully not forgotten,’” on social media, with fans expressing their disappointment about the show’s end in the comments.

Although Hysteria! didn’t continue for a second season, it’s still an engaging watch on Peacock due to its well-rounded first season conclusion. While some storylines could have been expanded in subsequent seasons, the unresolved elements serve as an intriguing, open-ended finale that encourages interpretation. If you’re yearning for a taste of the ’80s era, this show is brimming with nostalgia.

Read More

2025-02-05 20:01