Season 1 – Crystal Lake

Play trailer

2:25

Oct 2026

Horror

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

75%

Tomatometer

55 Reviews

84%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

After a seemingly fatal accident at summer camp claims young Jason Voorhees' life, his mother, Pamela, is left grief-stricken. As the town moves on, Pam clings to the hope that her son, whose body was never recovered, may still be alive. The town's chief of police, Levon Brooks, offers comfort and friendship and the two soon grow fond of each other, but Pam's intentions come into question as other dead bodies begin to turn up in the quiet town of Crystal Lake. Levon asks his sister, Briana, a journalist, to dig into these unusual deaths using her resources. What begins as a modest pursuit grows into something far beyond anyone's reckoning. Meanwhile, Pam's dark past comes back to haunt her, forcing her to fight for her very survival and eventually setting off a chain of events that slowly transforms her into the rampaging killer we know from "Friday the 13th."

Critics Consensus

Linda Cardellini plays the perfect mom who can do no wrong in this slasher prequel that lives up to the best and worst of its franchise's ilk, but since mother knows best, Crystal Lake is a campy, gory, good time.

Read Critics Reviews

Benjamin Lee

Guardian

19 hrs ago

2/5

Horror stans might appreciate the fan service (and the staggeringly nasty gore) but for anyone else, the overcomplicated and underpowered Crystal Lake just doesn’t warrant the stay.

Go to Full Review

Jared Richards

The Age (Australia)

1 day ago

3/5

...Crystal Lake fills a gap that only superfans really care about. But being an inessential prequel doesn’t really matter if the miniseries captures what made Friday the 13th a hit.

Go to Full Review

Brian Tallerico

RogerEbert.com

1 day ago

It’s hard to say whether the tumultuous production is to blame, but something went very wrong as seemingly talented people made Peacock’s 'Crystal Lake,' a disastrous reboot in almost every way.

Go to Full Review

Sarah Novack

Tell-Tale TV

13 hrs ago

3.5/5

Peacock’s Crystal Lake offers a thrilling backstory for one of horror’s most iconic franchises, Friday the 13th, but it has both strengths and weaknesses.

Go to Full Review

Joel Keller

Decider

14 hrs ago

Crystal Lake goes beyond the usual horror tropes to give Pam and Jason Voorhees a nuanced, layered backstory, which is highlighted by Cardellini’s very watchable performance.

Go to Full Review

Alberto Carlos

Espinof

17 hrs ago

3.5/5

In short, I think 'Crystal Lake' is a powerful prequel that will generate discussion. For better or for worse, but it will. [Full review in Spanish]

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Tony L

@RT20471521 49 min ago

Its a great series and return to the franchise overall but the jason backstory was a little bit too much

Henrik K

@RT93422829 49 min ago

I’m dissapointed. If you watching this without knowing anything about the franchises backstory, its actually very god, but if you are fan of friday 13th , you will be very dissapointed and very confused. The only thing about the serie, that is true to the original franchise, is the the name of the lake. Very good actors, especially William Catlett. The production is also great, but rewriting the story this much ruins the serie.

Matthew L

@Mattog1 1 hr ago

Amazing show. Love Friday the 13th. Haters gonna hate.

Dora K

@RT31422342 1 hr ago

Love it finally jason content

Aaron N

@NorthwestAaron 3 hrs ago

I don’t know where all this hate is coming from. I started watching this without knowing anything about the franchises backstory. I watched Friday the 13th as a kid and all I remember is a kid that drowns and comes back to kill people. This feels like a modern Alfred Hitchcock. It’s way more interesting then just non stop revenge kills. I’m a fan of slow burn so I’m enjoying this more than your typical slasher movie.

ray M

@RT86405043 4 hrs ago

I waited so long for this show to be released just to be incredibly disappointed. This show completely rewrote certain parts of the franchise and threw away incredibly important pieces to the FT13 series. The first episode is good but during the second episode it drags and continues to drag for the whole season. They ruined Pamela’s character by making us feel sorry for her, which makes the character incredibly less scary. They also ruin jasons character with the poorly written back story they tried giving him. I often forgot I was watching a Friday the 13th installment, because the plot was being driven in 20 different ways and useless side stories. I always liked the idea of having a prequel to see Pamela do more killing but atleast stick to the oldschool slasher horror instead of making it a drama series. What a disgrace to the franchise.

Read all reviews

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Brad Kane

Creator

Linda Cardellini

Pamela Voorhees

William Catlett

Levon

Gwendolyn Sundstrom

Grace

Cameron Scoggins

Dorf

Devin Kessler

Briana Brooks

Episode 1

Aired Oct 15, 2026

Camp Crystal

Camp Crystal Lake's idyllic summer is cut short by Jason's death; as the town moves on, Pam continues looking for him; Levon invites her to Founder's Day, but it only triggers Pam's pain; as she runs from her present, Pam is soon met with her past.

Details

Episode 2

Aired Oct 15, 2026

Part 2

While on a date with Levon, Pam bumps into Rita and is invited to a weekend seminar with a self-help guru; Grace goes to a high school party only to be sent away by Claudette; something sinister takes revenge for Grace.

Details

Episode 3

Aired Oct 15, 2026

Part III

The townspeople go bear hunting against Levon's orders; Pam and Levon bond over the loss of their loved ones; Pam visits Grace at her apartment and suspects she is being abused, leading to a confrontation with her mother, Valerie.

Details

Episode 4

Aired Oct 15, 2026

A New Beginning

Pam visits Levon in the middle of the night; Willow arrives in town searching for her friends but soon fears she's being followed; Pam asks for her job back at the camp where a new group of counselors now work; Briana's research takes an unexpected turn.

Details

Episode 5

Aired Oct 15, 2026

The New Blood

Camp Crystal Lake reopens for the summer despite the mounting death toll; tensions rise as Levon and Dorf clash over the murder suspects; Pam, worried she is losing Grace to the new staff, discovers troubling news that changes everything.

Details

Episode 6

Aired Oct 15, 2026

Kill Them, Mommy

Pam thinks Jason is alive; the counselors mourn Willow, but their ceremony soon takes a dark turn when an uninvited guest arrives; Briana receives a mysterious envelope just as the state police step in and take over the case at Crystal Lake.

Details

Episode 7

Aired Oct 15, 2026

Friday…

A young Pam gives birth to Jason after a complicated pregnancy; Elias climbs the corporate ladder as Jason grows into a young boy; during his 4th birthday party, Jason shows alarming symptoms that lead Pam to question her life.

Details

Episode 8

Aired Oct 15, 2026

The Final Chapter

Elias arrives in Crystal Lake determined to find Pam and Jason; Levon faces Elias in a tense exchange in an effort to protect Pam; Pam's world unravels as her past finally catches up to her.

Details

Crystal Lake: Season 1 Trailer

2:25

Now Playing

Crystal Lake: Season 1 Teaser

0:30

Now Playing

Crystal Lake: Season 1 Episode 1 Sneak Peek - Pamela Voorhees Hears Jason’s Cries for Help

2:40

Now Playing

View more videos

View more photos

Creator: Brad Kane
Executive Producer: Brad Kane, Victor Miller, Marc Toberoff, Robert M. Barsamian, Robert P. Barsamian, Stuart Manashil, Michael Lennox, Tyson Bidner
Network: Peacock
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date: Oct 15, 2026

Let's keep in touch!

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Let's keep in touch!

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Season 1 – Crystal Lake

What to Know

Critics Reviews

Audience Reviews

My Rating

Cast & Crew

Episodes

Videos

Crystal Lake — Season 1

Photos

Crystal Lake — Season 1

Season Info