John Carpenter's Suburban Screams Release Date, Trailer, Director, And More Info

It's been 13 years since horror master John Carpenter has blessed the world with a new directorial project, but the icon behind movies like "Halloween," "Escape From New York," and "The Thing" is finally returning to our screens this autumn — with a documentary-like TV horror series. "John Carpenter's Suburban Screams" will feature six nerve-shredding true stories retold by those who experienced them, and will couple the testimony with dramatic (and decidedly scary-looking) visual retellings of the story. The show is also set to include archival footage and news clips.

Carpenter is only set to direct one of the six episodes of "Suburban Screams," but he's involved in the project in other ways, lending his considerable talents as a composer to its soundtrack and executive producing the Peacock project. The show sounds like it will meet at the intersection of reality and horror movie sensibilities, which could be the perfect recipe for some great scares.

Spooky season fans are rejoicing this year over the fact that the October calendar includes an auspiciously placed Friday — that is, Friday the 13th. The allegedly unlucky holiday only comes around once or twice a year (the last one was in January), so scoring one just before Halloween means an extra reason to celebrate the things that go bump in the night. One of those things will be "Suburban Screams," which premieres on the NBC Universal streamer Peacock on Friday, October 13, 2023.

Given the fact that the show's first trailer hints at plot points that sound like urban legends come to life, the superstitious date choice seems perfect. While official press materials for the show do not yet indicate a release time, Peacock shows typically drop new episodes on streaming at 2 a.m. PT (per Hidden Remote). Peacock originals typically drop all their episodes at once, so make sure to set aside time for a creepy binge-watch.

Plot details about specific episodes of "Suburban Screams" remain under wraps, but as the title itself indicates, the show is set to tackle true horror stories that take place within the confines of suburbia. "On tree-lined streets filled with children and families ... behind the doors of well-appointed homes ... in the least assuming neighborhoods, fear awaits," one press release for the show says, noting that the show will focus on true crimes that side-step "the veil of security that surrounds our own backyards."

A bit more detail can be gleaned from the first trailer, which perhaps most memorably includes one survivor saying: "In one night, police fielded 50 calls about a man in a rabbit suit with a hatchet." We don't get any context on that story, but do see the hatchet-brandishing man breaking a car window. Other quick shots reveal a boy riding a bike past a mysterious house, a body wrapped in plastic headed down a stream, what look to be several home invasion scenarios, and a little girl running through the woods.

There are also brief shots of what seem to be snippets of a supernatural story, as we see both a worried priest and kitchen chairs arranged in a way that's typically associated with poltergeist activity. That story's inclusion hints that the show might have a flexible definition of the word "true," which honestly makes it all the more exciting. Carpenter's most famous work, "Halloween," is based on an urban legend, and the bunny suit man story seems to be as well, so it'll be exciting to see if the new series looks at the grain of truth in the stories that have haunted generations of anxious suburbanites.

As previously mentioned, legendary horror filmmaker John Carpenter is set to direct one episode of the new series (although we don't know which one yet), marking his first return to directing since 2010's "The Ward." Carpenter told audiences at a convention earlier this year that while his episode of "Suburban Screams" was filmed in Prague, he actually directed it remotely from the comfort of his own home (via Creepy Catalog). This isn't the first time Carpenter has contributed to a horror anthology show; in 2005 he guest directed an episode of Mick Garris' series "Masters of Horror."

Other directors who have been announced for the project so far include Jordan Roberts ("Burn Your Maps"), Michelle Latimer ("Trickster"), and Jan Pavlacky ("Haunted"). With six episodes of the anthology due to air, there may still be more directors who have yet to be announced — or one of the above filmmakers might have contributed more than one episode.

Carpenter is on board the project as an executive producer along with Roberts, Sandy King ("In the Mouth of Madness," "They Live"), Tony DiSanto (MTV's "Scream" and "Teen Wolf"), Patrick Smith ("Beyond Noh"), and Andy Portnoy ("Wild N' Out"). The project comes via DIGA Studios and Storm King Productions, with DiSanto, Portnoy, and Smith repping the former and King on board from the latter.

King shared a bit about her impression of the series via a press release, saying, "What [victims of crimes] have lived through is true horror — worse than movies, and too often told from the perspective of the heinous murderers and stalkers." She notes that "Suburban Screams" isn't just meant to evoke fear but also sympathy for the real people involved in the stories. King last collaborated with Carpenter just last year on the music documentary "John Carpenter Live: Behind the Scenes," but the couple have been working together on a multitude of projects (including the "Asylum" comic book) since the 1990s.

The first trailer of the TV-MA-rated "Suburban Screams" dropped in tandem with the series announcement in mid-September, and it provides a great first look at how exactly this genre-blending show will work. The show's horror movie-like elements have been described by some as "reenactments," which feels a little inaccurate given that the phrase calls to mind corny '80s and '90s shows like "Unsolved Mysteries" and "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction." It's clear from the trailer that there's some real artistry involved here, not to mention decent production value. 

The 80-second sneak preview also shows the series' more reality show-like elements, including talking head interviews with the subjects of the stories themselves. Plus, it features our first look at a spooky-looking haunted house story, a bunny man killer, and more. Check the trailer out above, then mark your calendar for "John Carpenter's Suburban Screams," which is set to hit Peacock on Friday, October 13, 2023.