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Crystal LakePeacock · 2026
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Friday the 13th · since 1980

Crystal Lake and Friday the 13th: the legend

How Peacock's series connects to the 1980 film — and the films to watch next.

Before Jason, there was Pamela

The woman behind the first film

In Friday the 13th (1980), written by Victor Miller and directed by Sean S. Cunningham, the killer stalking the counselors of Camp Crystal Lake turns out not to be Jason but his mother, Pamela Voorhees, played by Betsy Palmer. Her son had drowned in the lake in 1957 while the counselors weren't watching, and she never forgave them.

Jason only became the franchise's killer in the sequels. Crystal Lake goes back to the beginning: a grieving single mother a year after the drowning, and a town that starts to wonder about her. The series moves her story from the late 1950s to the 1970s.

Nods to the original

  1. 1

    Victor Miller, who wrote the 1980 film, is an executive producer, and the series is based on his characters.

  2. 2

    Harry Manfredini, composer of the original films, is credited for the theme music.

  3. 3

    Officer Dorf and Ralph share their names with characters from the 1980 film: the motorcycle cop and “Crazy Ralph”, the local who warned that the camp was doomed.

  4. 4

    Barry and Claudette are the names of the two counselors killed in the 1980 film's opening scene.

  5. 5

    Three episode titles in the listings echo sequel titles: Part III, A New Beginning and The Final Chapter.

  6. 6

    Part of the series was filmed at Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco in New Jersey, the scout camp that played Camp Crystal Lake in 1980.

Ki ki ki, ma ma ma

The franchise's famous whisper was made by composer Harry Manfredini from the line “Kill her, mommy!” that Mrs. Voorhees repeats at the end of the first film: “ki” from kill, “ma” from mommy, spoken harshly into a microphone and run through an echo machine.

Friday the 13th: all the films in order

Crystal Lake is set before the first film. The 1987–1990 TV show Friday the 13th: The Series isn't connected to the films.

1970s

Crystal Lake · Peacock · 2026

  1. 01Friday the 13thPamela Voorhees1980
  2. 02Friday the 13th Part 21981
  3. 03Friday the 13th Part III1982
  4. 04Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter1984
  5. 05Friday the 13th: A New Beginning1985
  6. 06Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives1986
  7. 07Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood1988
  8. 08Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan1989
  9. 09Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday1993
  10. 10Jason X2002
  11. 11Freddy vs. Jason2003
  12. 12Friday the 13th2009

How the series was made

  1. October 2022

    A24 announces a prequel series, ordered by Peacock, with Bryan Fuller as showrunner.

  2. May 2023

    Work stops during the Writers Guild of America strike.

  3. 2024

    Fuller leaves the project; in August Brad Caleb Kane takes over as showrunner.

  4. March 2025

    Linda Cardellini is cast as Pamela Voorhees.

  5. June–October 2025

    Filming in New Jersey under the working title Mama's Boy.

  6. 15 October 2026

    All eight episodes premiere on Peacock.

Questions & answers

Is Crystal Lake a prequel to Friday the 13th?

Yes. It tells the story of Pamela Voorhees — Jason's mother and the killer of the original 1980 film — before that film, and moves it to the 1970s. Victor Miller, who wrote the 1980 film, is an executive producer.

Where was Crystal Lake filmed?

In New Jersey, from June to October 2025, under the working title Mama's Boy — including Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco, the scout camp where the 1980 Friday the 13th was shot.