Crystal Lake creator breaks down Linda…
Linda Cardellini was “Crystal Lake” creator Brad Caleb Kane’s only selection to play Pamela Voorhees – the mom of iconic horror villain Jason Voorhees.
“It wasn’t challenging to find the right Pamela. I knew from the beginning that the only person that I wanted was Linda Cardellini,” Kane completely told The Post.
He added, “I was very fortunate that she said yes. I didn’t know what I would do if she hadn’t!”
Linda Cardellini (pictured in “Crystal Lake”) was showrunner Brad Caleb Kane’s only selection to play Pam Voorhees. Peacock
Cardellini (pictured with Kane at the “Crystal Lake” premiere on September 16, 2026) has an “innate likability,” he said. Stacey Newman/Shutterstock
Premiering Oct. 15 on Peacock, “Crystal Lake” is a prequel to the “Friday the 13th” franchise.
In the twelve slasher flicks launched from 1980 to 2009, the villain Jason Voorhees supposedly drowned at Camp Crystal Lake as a little one. He returned for bloody revenge as an grownup, donning a hockey masks and wielding a machete.
In the first film, his mother Pam Voorhees (performed by Betsy Palmer) was the unique killer.
“Crystal Lake” follows Pam in the ‘70s, shortly after Jason’s (Callum Vinson) drowning. She’s satisfied that her son is still alive since a physique was never discovered.
The “Friday the 13th” franchise has spanned 12 motion pictures from 1980 to 2009, following villain Jason Voorhees (pictured). ©New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection
“Crystal Lake” (pictured with Cardellini) is a prequel set in the ’70s, about Pam before the occasions of “Friday the 13th.” Matt Infante/Peacock
Kane said he wished the “Freaks and Geeks” actress for the position because “she has this effortless likability.”
He famous, “It makes her somebody that – despite all of these terrible things that Pam has to do to survive – you want to take that journey with her.”
Similar to the flicks, “Crystal Lake” is brimming with blood and guts.
Betsy Palmer (pictured) performed Pam onscreen in 1980. ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
“Crystal Lake” (pictured with Cardellini) has loads of blood and guts. Peacock
“It was like a gallon of blood per kill,” Kane recalled.
The showrunner famous, “We do spend a lot of time on character, on nuance, on an emotional journey. But when we’ve the kills, I wished them to be actually visceral and gory.
“I wanted the audience to go, ‘Oh, there’s my ‘Friday the 13th!’ For that, you needed gallons and gallons of blood.”
The show (pictured with Cardellini) used “gallons” of blood, said Kane. Peacock
“Crystal Lake” (pictured with Cardellini) is gory to seize the spirit of the flicks, said Kane. Matt Infante/PEACOCK
The onscreen murders aren’t for the faint of coronary heart. Characters get butchered in kitchens, bogs, and even during intercourse.
“You have to go to extremes, because these do come from hack and slash movies,” Kane explained.
He added, “You want the audience to be thrilled, the same way that they are in the theater…You want them to marvel at the creative ways that the killer kills.”
Kane (pictured with Cardellini during New York Comic Con 2026) said he wished the kills to be “visceral.” Getty Images for ReedPop
The “Friday the 13th” franchise (pictured) is “hack and slash,” said Kane. ©New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection
The show centered on coming up with “fresh new ways to dispatch with bodies,” but also aimed to “focus on what gives you the most emotional bang for your buck. [The kills] shouldn’t just be random,” he said.
Across the twelve “Friday the 13th” motion pictures, Jason’s mythos is inconsistent.
“I know the Jason lore very well,” Kane said. “I’ve collected all the information, put it in the pot, and just sort of made the story I wanted to make.”
Kane said he didn’t need the kills in “Crystal Lake” (pictured with Cardellini and Gwendolyn Sundstrom) to be “random.” Matt Infante/PEACOCK
Kane (pictured with “Crystal Lake” forged Sunstroke, Cameron Scoggins, Cardellini, William Catlett, Devin Kessler, and Callum Vinson) said he is aware of the Jason lore properly. Lev Radin/Shutterstock
Kane is also an govt producer on HBO’s hit horror sequence, “It: Welcome to Derry,” based on the Stephen King novel “It.”
“We’re actively writing [Season 2] right now. We’re starting to shoot in the summer of next year,” he told The Post.
The producer explained that “Welcome to Derry” Season 2 is set twenty-seven years before the occasions of Season 1.
“Crystal Lake” (pictured) creator Kane also produces “It: Welcome to Derry.” Matt Infante/Peacock
Kane (pictured on September 16, 2026) said Season 2 of “It: Welcome to Derry” will likely be “more terrifying.” Stacey Newman/Shutterstock
“We’re in Depression-era America. It’s a very different set of circumstances. New kids, new characters, maybe some old characters, and the same old Pennywise.”
He teased that Season 2 will likely be, “as terrifying,” as the first season, “if not more.”
“Crystal Lake” premieres Oct. 15 on Peacock.
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