There's a new Goosebumps TV series over on Disney+ and Hulu, but it's not quite like the one longtime fans grew up with. There's a freshly spooky edge to this series, and while the blueprint of R.L. Stine's classic anthology is interwoven throughout, this is an entirely original story. It may lead to wondering how much Stine himself contributed to the show and his thoughts on it, and CinemaBlend received a definitive answer about that from the showrunners Conor Welch and Pavun Shetty.
Those tuning in to see the perfectly cast Justin Long and familiar storylines on Goosebumps needn't worry about this new series operating without the teen horror mastermind's involvement. Welch and Shetty were highly complimentary about R.L. Stine during an interview with CinemaBlend, as the latter discussed his involvement in the show:
Yeah, I mean, listen, he's the master, and he's beloved, and we wouldn't have done this without his blessing. Our company did the movies, and so he was involved in those, and he gave us his blessing to do the TV shows. He's involved. He reads the scripts, he looks at cuts, and he has opinions on things. We wouldn't really be doing this if he wasn't a part of it because he's really the master and the reason we're doing the show in the first place.
The Goosebumps series is undoubtedly different than the books and TV/movie adaptations of the past, but it's all been crafted with R.L. Stine looking along and guiding every step of the way. This isn't too surprising, despite the more mature direction, as the author has always been supportive and happy about the various adaptations of his work. (And to be sure, this isnt anywhere near as extreme as the Fear Street film trilogy, being a Disney+ show.) It kind of makes me wish we would've gotten that Tim Burton-produced Goosebumps movie, but apparently, we can't have all the nice things all the time.
But this latest iteration is a treasure indeed, and both showrunners were pleased as blood-red punch to get to work with such a literary icon. Conor Welch talked about growing up with R.L. Stine's works, and how wild it is to have circled back around to that love as a full-time professional capacity years later.
It was so thrilling to have him be involved. As someone who grew up reading and loving the books, to meet him in general? Unbelievable. But then to have him, you know, creatively blessing the process and then to learn that he loved what we all came up with together is just really, really fulfilling and satisfying.
The new Goosebumps series, the first chunk of episodes of which are available now with a Disney+ subscription, follows a group of teens who inexplicably start experiencing bizarre events. As they work to figure out how to stop the weirdness, they uncover a deeper mystery that reveals their parents may know more about the wild happenings than they're letting on.
While it's an original story, the Goosebumps series incorporates some of the most iconic parts of R.L. Stine's books in the adventure. The Cuckoo Clock of Doom, the Haunted Mask, and apparently, even Slappy the Dummy will factor into the adventure at some point. Pavun Shetty talked about what an honor it was to incorporate those into the show and to be a part of an R.L. Stine work:
Conor and I have done a bunch of TV shows and movies, but, you know, growing up in these books and looking at those covers which are just so, like, ingrained and burned into our memory and seeing his name on all the titles and then now actually working with him is, is super cool. It's a real highlight of my career.
It's good to hear they had such a positive experience working with R.L. Stine, and hopefully, that continues to show in the series as more episodes come out. I'm definitely impressed with what I've seen so far and commend the show for edging up the series in a way that appeals to the millennials that were reading the books when they were children.
Goosebumps is available to stream on Disney+ and with a Hulu subscription, with new episodes popping up every week on Fridays. Catch up on the series right now, and tune in before the final episode hits on November 17th.
