John Carpenter Returns to TV with New Supernatural Anthology Series
Lock your doors, dim the lights, and turn up the synth because John Carpenter is back. The horror maestro behind Halloween, The Thing, and They Live is returning to the small screen with John Carpenter Presents, a new supernatural anthology series from Elevation Pictures. Created and showrun by Michael Amo (The Listener, Pure) and Will Pascoe (Orphan Black, Absentia), the show promises to channel Carpenter’s distinctive style, eerie atmosphere, and pulsing sense of dread.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the first season is set deep in the wilderness of Alaska because nothing says creeping terror like being trapped in endless snow with no signal and a vague sense that something out there is watching you. The story will follow a group of characters facing a blend of supernatural and existential horror, with themes reflecting the fears and social anxieties of modern times. Basically, it is Carpenter doing what he does best, scaring us silly while reminding us that society is the real monster.
Christina Piovesan of Elevation Pictures said, “We’re thrilled to launch into the television space with the master of horror, John Carpenter. Will and Michael bring deep experience in writing and showrunning and we can’t be more excited for this creative team to bring this series to audiences.” Which is a polite way of saying, get ready, because this one could be chilling in all the right ways.
Carpenter and his long-time producing partner and wife Sandy King Carpenter are producing the series through their company, Storm King Productions. This partnership already has a strong reputation for keeping Carpenter’s creative flame burning, both through comics and various film and television projects.
If the title John Carpenter Presents sounds familiar, that is because the master has dabbled in the television anthology format before. Fans will remember his work on Masters of Horror, where he delivered two of the show’s standout episodes, “Cigarette Burns” and “Pro-Life.” Both were proof that Carpenter can still direct terror with surgical precision. More recently, he executive produced John Carpenter’s Suburban Screams in 2023, a docu-horror series blending true crime with urban legend.
Now, with John Carpenter Presents, he looks set to bring his particular brand of unease to an entirely new frontier. A Carpenter story set in Alaska feels almost poetic, a return to isolation, paranoia, and the cold bite of survival that made The Thing such a landmark of horror cinema. Expect cold breath, colder hearts, and possibly something nasty lurking beneath the ice.
The anthology format is a perfect playground for Carpenter’s sensibilities. It lets him explore different stories, tones, and terrors while still tying them together through his unmistakable fingerprints. Whether he is behind the camera, composing the score, or simply lurking in the producer’s chair with a synthesizer, his involvement all but guarantees atmosphere and tension so thick you could carve it with a hunting knife.
There is no release date yet for John Carpenter Presents, but fans are already sharpening their knives and tuning their VHS style nostalgia. With the recent surge of interest in horror anthologies and the enduring affection for Carpenter’s work, this could become essential viewing for fans of smart, unsettling horror.
And if the cold Alaskan winds are not enough to chill your spine, you can always warm up with Carpenter’s first ever musical residency in downtown Los Angeles later this month. The man who scored our nightmares is now scoring live shows, proof that some legends never fade, they just find new ways to make us scream.
So, pack your snow boots, crank up the synths, and keep an eye on the horizon. John Carpenter Presents may just be the return to form horror fans have been praying for.
