Creepshow reboot lands Adrienne Barbeau to star

The upcoming Creepshow series at Shudder is pulling influences all the way back from the original film. Adrienne Barbeau, who starred in the original 1982 film, has joined the cast of the new series. She’ll be joined by Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul) and Tobin Bell (Saw) for the series’ first episode, Gray Matter, based on a 1973 story by Stephen King. The episode will be adapted by Byron Willinger and Philip de Blasi and directed by The Walking Dead’s effects wizard Greg Nicotero.

“I was thrilled when Greg asked me to join the Creepshow world once again,” Barbeau said. “And then working with Tobin and Giancarlo, with Greg as our director, well, that was the icing on the cake — no, not that cake. Oh, you know what I mean.”

The TV series will be an anthology of original stories, each made by a different director, with the series scheduled to kickoff on Shudder in 2019. Nicotero’s KNB EFX Group will create the creature and makeup effects on the show, which will be produced by The Cartel with Monster Agency Productions, Taurus Entertainment, and Striker Entertainment.

The original 1982 Creepshow was directed by George A. Romero from a screenplay by Stephen King that paid tribute to the EC horror comics (ala “Tales From the Crypt”) of the 1950’s. The film featured stars such as Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Leslie Nielsen, Ted Danson and Ed Harris, and grossed $21 million at the box office. It was followed by a sequel in 1987, directed by the first film’s cinematographer Michael Gornick from a screenplay by Romero, once again based on short stories by King, grossing $14 million.

An in-name-only Creepshow 3 was released direct-to-video in 2006 with no participation from Romero or King, which is why the Romero-produced 1990 anthology Tales from the Darkside: The Movie is often referred to by fans as “the REAL ‘Creepshow 3,’” as it also includes a King story originally intended for Creepshow 2.