Summary
R.L. Stine gave his blessing and helped develop the new Goosebumps reboot. The horror comedy series, which was developed by Rob Letterman and Nicholas Stoller, is based on Stine’s book series of the same name. It follows a group of five high schoolers who accidentally release supernatural forces upon their town and soon discover that their parents harbor similar secrets. The show comes after several other Goosebumps adaptations and stars Zack Morris, Isa Briones, Miles McKenna, Ana Yi Puig, Will Price, Rachael Harris and Justin Long.
Following the recent release of the first five episodes of Goosebumps on Hulu and Disney+, producers Conor Welch and Pavun Shetty speak to Forbes about Stine’s involvement with the series. Welch explains that the most exciting process of making the series was Stine’s congratulatory email, while Shetty states they wouldn’t have carried on if the author did not give his blessing. Read their full comments below:
Welch: He watched the cuts and read some of the scripts, And really, the most exciting part of the whole process, for me, was after he saw the rough cut of the pilot, and wrote a very congratulatory email sort of saying that he was thrilled with the direction that we took it.
Shetty: We wouldn’t have done the show had R.L. Stine not given us his blessing because that’s the most important thing. He created one of the most popular book series of all time. And this IP, is just beloved. And so there’s a lot of people who read the books growing up. And it really holds a special place with them, including Conor and I, [who] grew up reading the books too.
Welch: He was always sort of the North Star and was nice enough to kind of meet with us at the beginning of the process. And sort of his [opinion was] that it should always feel a little bit scarier and a little bit funnier than the reader or the audience expects and that it never talked down to its readers.
How R.L. Stine Influenced The New Goosebumps Show
Stine’s Goosebumps series began back in 1992 with the release of the first book, titled Welcome to Dead House. Between 1992 and 1997, he went on to release 62 other books, which were all published under the Goosebumps umbrella. The 80-year-old also wrote several spinoff series that further expanded the horror universe, such as Tales to Give You Goosebumps.
While the new Goosebumps show has an original overarching story of its own, the initial five episodes all draw from some of Stine’s classic tales, including Say Cheese and Die! and The Cuckoo Clock of Doom. Promotional materials for the show have also confirmed iconic character Slappy the Dummy will appear at some point in season 1. By tying its plot and characters into several of Stine’s books, the new Goosebumps has found a way to keep the author’s influence alive and well. His trademark mix of humor and horror is present in the show, and that seems to have come through thanks to his own involvement.
According to the producers, Stine’s Goosebumps books really tapped into the emotional stories of their pivotal characters, and that helped properly introduce the five main high schoolers on the show as well. With five episodes already released, the early reactions to the updated Goosebumps have been largely positive, and it’s not difficult to see how much Stine’s involvement and influence has greatly helped the show.
Goosebumps releases new episodes Fridays on Disney+ and Hulu.
Source: Forbes
