Crystal Lake series as back as Jason Voorhees at the beginning of a Friday The 13th sequel

Summer may be on its last legs, but Camp Crystal Lake is just starting to dust off its cabin doors and clean the blood from its picnic tables. Crystal Lake, the previously-slashed Friday The 13th prequel from A24, may be as immortal as the franchise’s central villain. According to Deadline, the series has reportedly found a new showrunner and is back on track after its previous helmer, Bryan Fuller, was booted in May.

The new showrunner is Brad Caleb Kane, who has writing and production credits on Fringe, Black Sails, Tokyo Vice, and more. It’s a canny choice—he’s also billed as executive producer and co-showrunner for Welcome To Derry, HBO’s upcoming It prequel series. Kane has clearly found his niche.

He’s also quite funny. “From the moment I watched Jason Voorhees squeeze a guy’s eyeball out of its socket (in glorious 3D!) at the tender age of 8 years old, I knew my creative path was someday destined to converge with The Man Behind The Mask,” Kane said in a statement. “Nothing defined my childhood more than growing up in the golden age of the slasher flick, and nothing’s defined the genre more than Friday The 13th. I couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to contribute a chapter to this iconic franchise, particularly with such fearless partners as Peacock and A24.”

Specific plot details aren’t available yet, but they’re pretty easy to surmise based on the fact that the show was initially billed as an “expanded prequel” to the 12-part horror franchise. At the very least, it probably won’t send any prospective camp counselors racing to secure their spots in the lifeguard chair. 

Original showrunner Bryan Fuller (Hannibal) was severed from the project last year, shortly after he was accused of sexual harassment by Queer For Fear creator Sam Wineman in 2023. “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,” Fuller wrote on Instagram at the time. But it sounds like it wasn’t just Fuller who was dragging A24’s initial stab at the series to the bottom of the lake. A lengthy report from TheWrap in June detailed issues with ballooning budgets, massive breakdowns in communication, and consistent disagreements between writers and executives. It’s unclear exactly what dealt the final blow the first time around, but one “source close to A24” did tell the publication that “we believe in the show” and “we’re going to make it.” Whether that quote was a real tease, or just came from someone with a healthy understanding of Jason Voorhees’ inability to stay dead, is anyone’s guess.