All episodes of the coming-of-age Satanic Panic thriller series Hysteria! will be available to watch on the Peacock streaming service as of Friday, October 18th – but if you would prefer to watch the show on regular television, USA Network and Syfy will be simulcasting the first episode on October 18th, with USA Network going on to air episodes each Friday. With the premiere date just a few weeks away, a trailer for Hysteria! has been released and can be seen in the embed above. A new batch of images from the show have also made their way online, and those can be found at the bottom of this article.
Written and executive produced by Matthew Scott Kane, Hysteria! will be exploring America’s dark history of mass hysteria through the shocking story of the teenage Satanic Panic. The series follows a group of 1980s high school misfits as they exploit the growing hysteria around teen occult activity. Here’s the full official synopsis: When a beloved varsity quarterback disappears during the “Satanic Panic” of the late 1980s, a struggling high school heavy metal band of outcasts realize they can capitalize on the town’s sudden interest in the occult by building a reputation as a Satanic metal band, until a bizarre series of murders, kidnappings, and reported “supernatural activity” triggers a leather-studded witch hunt that leads directly back to them.
The cast includes Julie Bowen (Modern Family), Bruce Campbell (the Evil Dead franchise), Emjay Anthony (Physical), Chiara Aurelia (Cruel Summer), Kezii Curtis (Charm City Kings), Nikki Hahn (Magnum P.I.), Anna Camp (the Pitch Perfect franchise), Garret Dillahunt (The Last House on the Left remake), Nolan North (Pretty Little Liars), Elijah Richardson (Fantasy Football), Milly Shapiro (Hereditary), Allison Scagliotti (Warehouse 13), and Jessica Treska (Alex & Me).
Bowen’s character is Linda Campbell, “the mother of a teenage outcast. Linda experiences a series of supernatural disturbances that force her to question everything she knows about her son, as well as the growing threat of Satanism in their small Midwestern town.” Camp’s character is Tracy Whitehead, “a crusading Midwestern mother who has been the laughingstock of her community for years due to her extreme religious beliefs, but after a string of occult crimes and disturbances, she becomes a dangerous and unlikely leader of her small town.” And some more character details from Deadline: “Dylan Campbell (Anthony), Jordy (Aurelia), and Spud (Curtis) are a trio of outcasts who use their town’s Satanic Panic to their advantage by rebranding their heavy metal band Dethkrunch into a Satanic metal group, only to find themselves caught in the middle of a witch hunt. Faith (Hahn) is a sheltered teenage girl whose life is forever changed by a shocking, traumatic crime.” Campbell’s Chief Dandridge is “a small-town police chief whose understanding of his community is put to the test after a disturbing series of murders, disappearances, and unexplained phenomena.”
UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, is producing Hysteria! Kane serves as executive producer with Chris Bender, Jake Weiner, and Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. That may lead you to believe that Daley and Goldstein might have directed the pilot episode, but that’s not the case. The first episode of Hysteria! was directed by Kong: Skull Island‘s Jordan Vogt-Roberts.
What did you think of the Hysteria! trailer? Will you be watching this show next month? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
