Julie Bowen is returning to TV in Peacock’s “Hysteria!” and things are getting spooky, that is, if they’re even real.
In the teaser for “Hysteria!,” released Monday, the “Modern Family” star goes about her day cooking and cleaning as a 1980s housewife until a strange interruption causes the lights to flicker and her house to shake.
By the time the event stops, Bowen thinks she’s in the clear — until she spots the face of a demon in her microwave, which proceeds to splatter into red globs.
The new series, which also stars Anna Camp (“Pitch Perfect”) and Bruce Campbell (“The Evil Dead,” “Army of Darkness”), will debut on Friday, Oct. 18, on Peacock, USA Network and Syfy. All episodes will be available on Peacock, while USA Network and Syfy will simulcast the premiere episode on Oct. 18 with USA Network airing new episodes each Friday.
The official logline for the series is as follows: “When a beloved varsity quarterback disappears during the ‘Satanic Panic’ of the late 1980s, a struggling high school heavy metal band of outcasts realizes they can capitalize on the town’s sudden interest in the occult by building a reputation as a Satanic metal band, until a bizarre series of murders, kidnappings and reported “supernatural activity” triggers a leather-studded witch hunt that leads directly back to them.”
Emjay Anthony, Chiara Aurelia, Kezii Curtis and Nikki Hahn also star in “Hysteria!” with Garret Dillahunt, Nolan North, Elijah Richardson, Milly Shapiro, Allison Scagliotti and Jessica Treska appearing as recurring guest stars.
Hailing from UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, “Hysteria!” is written and executive produced by Matthew Scott Kane (“Stitchers”) and David A. Goodman (“The Orville”). Additional EPs include John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (“Dungeons & Dragons,” “Game Night”), as well as Chris Bender and Jake Weiner for Good Fear Content (“My Spy,” “Mulan,” “Under the Silver Lake”).
Kane and Goodman also shared a note about the series:
“What are those kids up to? Whatever it is, it can’t be good.”
That fear haunts every generation. Children of the Atomic Age went on to terrifying their families by turning on, tuning in and dropping out in the ’60s. Those same “free spirits” went on to vote for Reagan and called for censorship of the “obscene” and “satanic” heavy metal bands their own kids worshiped. Now, those kids are adults who rail against pronouns, TikTok and a movie about Barbie. The cycle doesn’t end. And it’s hard to escape the feeling that someone, or something, is sitting by watching it all and laughing.
“Hysteria!” is about both sides of that generational fear. It’s about the thrills of being young, rebellious in spirit and aspirational at heart — and the horrors of growing up and realizing that the world you thought you knew has shifted beneath your feet. Our hope is that parents and children (of the appropriate age, of course) can enjoy the chills, the laughs, the music and the heart of Hysteria! together. Growing up is scary. So is parenting.
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