Goosebumps (2023 TV series)
Goosebumps is an American supernatural horror television series developed by Rob Letterman and Nicholas Stoller for Disney+ and Hulu. It is based on the book series of the same name by R. L. Stine. The series abandons the adaptation format of the 1995 original TV series to focus on a serialized style of storytelling instead, while still featuring many of the existing Goosebumps monsters and items. In 2020, a series based on the Goosebumps books was announced to be in development by Sony Pictures alongside Original Film and Scholastic Entertainment, all of whom previously developed the films Goosebumps (2015) and Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018), that were both from Sony Pictures Animation, based on the books. Letterman, the first film's director, was hired by 2022 to write the series alongside Stoller. Letterman also directed the pilot episode. This was the first Sony Pictures Television series to be distributed by Disney since Hotel Transylvania: The Series that premiered on Disney Channel in 2017. Goosebumps was released on October 13, 2023, on Disney+ and Hulu simultaneously as a part of the "Hallowstream" and "Huluween" streaming blocks, respectively. It received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the story, visuals, cinematography, writing, acting and casting with a particular amount of praise going towards some of the monster designs and the darker, more serious tone, though there was some criticism for the pacing and some of the monster designs. Synopsis
A group of five high schoolers embark on a shadowy and twisted journey to investigate the tragic passing three decades earlier of a teen named Harold Biddle — while also unearthing dark secrets from their parents’ past. Cast

Main
 Zack Morris as Isaiah, the star quarterback of the Port Lawrence High School football team
 Isa Briones as Margot, Isaiah's neighbor and friend
 Miles McKenna as James, Isaiah's best friend who is from one of the wealthiest families in Port Lawrence
 Ana Yi Puig as Isabella, a girl ignored at school and abused by her mother who lets out her frustrations by trolling people online
 Will Price as Lucas, a teenager who likes extreme sports and has become very reckless since the passing of his father
 Rachael Harris as Nora, Lucas's mother who was involved in Harold Biddle's death
 Justin Long as Mr. Nathan Bratt, the new English teacher at Port Lawrence High School who inherits the Biddle House and becomes possessed by Harold Biddle's spirit

Recurring

 Rob Huebel as Colin, Margot's father and a guidance counselor at Port Lawrence High School
 Leonard Roberts  and William Chris Sumpter as Ben, Isaiah's father, who was involved in Harold Biddle's death. Ben Cockell as Harold Biddle, a teenager who died in a mysterious house fire in 1993, where his angered spirit haunts the town
 Rhinnan Payne as Allison, Isaiah's girlfriend who breaks up with him
 Françoise Yip and Michelle Mao as Victoria, Isabella's overly strict mother and a doctor who was involved in Harold Biddle's death
 Chris Geere as Slappy the Dummy, Harold's evil ventriloquist dummy, who belonged to his great-grandfather Ephraim and manipulated him. Guest
 Eddie Jemison as Ephraim Biddle
 Gillian Vigman as Georgia Biddle
 Laura Mennell and Samantha Blaire Cutler as Eliza, James's multi-millionaire mother, who was involved in Harold Biddle's death. Lexa Doig and Alex Felix as Sarah, Margot's estranged mother, who was involved in Harold Biddle's death. Taylar Hender as young Nora

Episodes

Production 
On April 28, 2020, it was announced that a reboot live action TV series was in the works by Scholastic Entertainment, Sony Pictures Television and Neal H. Moritz's production company Original Film who produced both the 2015 film and its sequel. In March 2021, R.L. Stine had stated that the series had found a producer and a director. On February 4, 2022, it was reported that Disney+ picked up the show, giving it a 10-episode order. Rob Letterman will return from the 2015 film (from Sony Pictures Animation) to direct the pilot, while he and Nicholas Stoller will write and executive-produce the series. In October, Justin Long, Ana Yi Puig, Miles McKenna, Will Price, Zack Morris, Isa Briones and Rachael Harris were cast to star in the series. In January 2023, Rob Huebel was added to the cast in a recurring guest star role. Principal photography began in October 2022 in Vancouver, and was expected to end in March 2023, with Stephen McNutt and Thomas Yatsko serving as cinematographers. In February 2023, filming also occurred at Whistler Olympic Park. Christopher S. Capp and Tuan Quoc Le serves as editors on the series. Release
Goosebumps debuted on Friday, October 13, 2023, on Disney+ and Hulu. Five episodes from the ten-part series debuted as part of the streamers' annual "Hallowstream" and "Huluween" celebrations. New episodes will follow every week thereafter until November 17, when the first season concludes. Additionally, the series' first two episodes aired October 13 on Freeform as part of "31 Nights of Halloween." Reception

Audience viewership 
According to the streaming aggregator JustWatch, Goosebumps was the seventh most watched television series across all platforms in the United States during the week of October 9-15, 2023, and the third during the week of October 16-22, 2023. According to the streaming aggregator Reelgood, Goosebumps was the ninth most watched program across all platforms in the United States during the week of October 12, 2023. According to Whip Media's TV Time, Goosebumps was the eighth most watched original series across all platforms in the United States during the week of October 22, 2023. Critical response 
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 77% with an average rating of 6.8/10, based on 35 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Wickedly inventive enough to give viewers the creeps if not nightmares, Goosebumps solidly transplants R.L. Stine's spooky stories into a serialized format." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 60 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". References

External links
 
 
 

2020s American horror comedy television series
2023 American television series debuts
Disney+ original programming
English-language television shows
Goosebumps
Television shows based on American novels
Television series about teenagers
Television series by Sony Pictures Television
Television series created by Nicholas Stoller
Television series set in 1993
Television series set in 2023
Television series reboots
Television shows filmed in Vancouver
Television shows set in Washington (state)