Get an exclusive sneak peek at Nickelodeon’s all new ‘Are You Afraid of the Dark?’ limited series! Watch as the new Midnight Society puts it all on the line at the epically evil Carnival of Doom. Grab your campfire supplies and tune in to the three-part event premiering October 11th on Nickelodeon!
Nickelodeon's latest Are You Afraid of the Dark? clip features the members of the new Midnight Society as they experience the horrors of the Carnival of Doom.
As the clip begins, members Rachel (Tamara Smart) and Gavin (Sam Ashe Arnold) are on a boat ride when Gavin sees a gold coin at the bottom of the water while Graham (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and Louise (Lyliana Wray) are on a Ferris wheel that suddenly stops.
In true horror fashion, things begin to go wrong: Rachel and Gavin are attacked by zombies that emerge from the water, the bolts in Graham and Louise's car begin to unscrew themselves and Akiko (Miya Cech) and another girl are chased by members of the carnival.
The clip then ends with another carnival worker sneaking up behind and saying "Boo" to Akiko and the other girl as they hide in a tent.
Nickelodeon is preparing for the return of The Midnight Society with the all-new Are You Afraid of the Dark? three-part limited series event. Based on the ‘90s kids’ cult classic, and reimagined for a new generation, part one of Are You Afraid of the Dark? will debut on Friday, Oct. 11, at 7:00 p.m. (ET/PT), with parts two and three to follow Oct. 18, and Oct. 25, respectively.
Across the three hour-long episodes, Are You Afraid of the Dark? will follow members of an entirely new Midnight Society, who tell a terrifying tale of the Carnival of Doom and its evil ringmaster Mr. Tophat, only to witness the shocking story come frightfully to life. In the just-released trailer, viewers meet the new members of the Midnight Society, get a glimpse at the uncertainty that awaits and prepare for an adventure beyond their wildest nightmares.
The new members of the Midnight Society are: Rachel, played by Lyliana Wray (Top Gun: Maverick); Gavin, played by Sam Ashe Arnold (Best.Worst.Weekend.Ever.); Akiko, played by Miya Cech (Rim of the World, Always Be My Maybe); Graham, played by Jeremy Taylor (IT: Chapter Two, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween); and Louise, played by Tamara Smart (Artemis Fowl, The Worst Witch). The Carnival of Doom’s ringmaster, Mr. Tophat, is played by Rafael Casal (Blindspotting).
Are You Afraid of the Dark? is produced by ACE Entertainment (To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, The Perfect Date) with ACE founder Matt Kaplan and Spencer Berman serving as executive producers. The series is written by BenDavid Grabinski (Skiptrace, Happily) and directed by Dean Israelite (Power Rangers movie, Project Almanac), both of whom are also executive producers. Chris Foss is also an executive producer.
One of the Nickelodeon’s most iconic series from the ‘90s, the original Are You Afraid of the Dark? delivered riveting stories of horror to young audiences, all from a kid’s perspective. Are You Afraid of the Dark? is owned by DHX and was created by D.J. MacHale and Ned Kandel, who are also executive producers on the project.
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From SYFY WIRE:
NYCC 2019: THE MIDNIGHT SOCIETY OFFICIALLY REFORMS AT NICK'S ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK? PANEL
It's time to get scared again, Nineties Kids. Ahead of its limited event next weekend, Nickelodeon's Are You Afraid of the Dark? came to this year's New York Comic Con in order to tease the horror anthology's long-awaited small screen revival. A carnival-based clip from the second episode of the three-part miniseries—airing next weekend and reminiscent of "The Tale of the Silver Sight"—was screened for the audience, making every millennial there remember that the show is responsible for all of their current anxiety and trust issues.
“We’re trying to make a show for 10-year-olds who have never heard of it and people like me who grew up obsessed with it ... I sort of got away with everything I wanted to," said executive producer/writer BenDavid Grabinski, describing the original (which was revived once before) and the reboot as “high-octane horror for a child."
Grabinski and his fellow producer/writer on the project, Matt Kaplan, grew up watching the horror anthology and are both big fans of it. Kaplan went on to credit the success of Stranger Things and the IT movies as the main impetus for the network wanting to re-explore the classic property, which is—at its core—about young people squaring off against supernatural forces and threats. However, the limited series won't follow the anthology format, but follow the Midnight Society in a more traditional story as they welcome a new member into their ranks.
"I remember being a kid and watching it and you have that wish fulfillment fantasy of being invited into this secret group and as a kid, it's like, 'How much fun would that be?' I felt like that wasn't the story we haven't seen yet," added Grabinski. "I really wanted to be like, 'Who are these kids? What would that be like to be invited into a secret society?'"
Watch the exclusive clip they screened at the panel [above.]
“It felt like we were too young to be watching it, but I think that was the point ... Our scary tolerance is a lot higher now," added cast member Rafael Casal, who plays the main villain, an evil ringmaster known as Mr. Tophat. "Our biggest fear was we didn’t want to neuter the show. We wanted to push the limits of what we could do … We’re trying to make the show as scary as it was to us when [we were kids].”
Casal, who also watched the show as a youngster back in the day, based his performance of Mr. Tophat on Willy Wonka and Jack Skellington. Starting as a a nightmare figure in the mind of Midnight Society member, Rachel Carpenter (Lyliana Wray), Tophat "slowly starts to make his way out of them into the real world," which kind of puts Are You Afraid...? revival in line with the recent Goosebumps and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark movies. However, Grabinski doesn't see it that way and actually took a moment to refute the comparison ("I'd like to clarify, it is not like a 'stories-come-alive' show") and promised that all will be explained in Episode 3.
The brand-new Midnight Society is comprised of: Wray (Rachel's surname is is obviously a nod to famed horror director, John Carpenter), Sam Ashe Arnold (Gavin Coscarelli), Miya Cech, Tamara Smart, and Jeremy Ray Taylor. To help the young cast get into character, Grabinski suggested that they watch 1987's Monster Squad.
The limited series event begins on Nickelodeon next Friday, Oct. 11 at 7pm EST. Some familiar faces and references from the original show (and its first reboot) do appear in the tri-parter, but don't expect to see Ryan Gosling (who starred in the 1995 episode "The Tale of Station 109.1") because they couldn't lock him down for a Dominic Toretto-esque cameo a la Tokyo Drift.
Parts II and III are slated to air on Oct. 18 and Oct. 25 respectively. All three episodes will tie into an upcoming feature-length film from director D.J. Caruso.
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From TV Guide:
The Are You Afraid of the Dark? Creator Knew Better Than to Totally Change the OG Intro
The cast and creative folks behind Nickelodeon's Are You Afraid of the Dark reboot are ready to submit some new stories for the approval of the Midnight Society. The reboot's stars, Lyliana Wray, Sam Ashe Arnold, Miya Cech, Jeremy Ray Taylor, and Rafael Casal, plus writer-executive producer BenDavid Grabinski and executive producer Matt Kaplan assembled at New York Comic Con on Friday to talk about what fans can expect from the updated take on the beloved kid-centered thriller.
The group first presented a clip from the forthcoming miniseries, which featured the newly-minted Midnight Society members being tormented at the "Carnival of Doom" — a fictional creation of one character's nightmares come to life — as the minions of Mr. Tophat come out to taunt each of them. For Wray and Arnold's Rachel and Gavin, it's a pair of water monsters who interrupt their already creepy carnival ride; for Taylor's Graham, it's a ferris wheel coming apart while he's at the tippy top; and for Cech's Keiko, it's a gaggle of probable killer clowns of all stripes hot on her trail. The kicker comes when Keiko thinks she's found a tent of respite ... until a camouflaged contortionist pops out to scare her, too.
The New Are You Afraid of the Dark? Will Give You Just as Many Nightmares as the Original
The "Carnival of Doom" concept will be central to the entire miniseries, but there will still be some major influences drawn from the original Are You Afraid of the Dark show — especially when it comes to the opening credits. Grabinski promised they are "a loving homage to the original ones." Among the elements that will make it into the new version? The creaking swing set, the murky boat, the door with the peephole, and the hands. "Everyone's favorite memories are of the credits, so we tried not to screw that up," he said.
Honoring the original while giving it a modern bent is a "tricky balance," Grabinski admitted. "We're trying to make a show for 10 year olds who've never heard of [the original] and people like me who are super obsessed with it, which is a lot of fun. The thing I loved about it as a kid is someone was making high-octane horror for children, and there's not a lot of that right now."
Fans of the '90s Nick series will have a lot of fun hunting for Easter eggs in the new take too. "The whole show is filled with stuff from the original show that if you're an obsessive fan like me, it has a 'Where's Waldo' element," Grabinski said. "It's definitely designed for the super nerd, but also if you don't know anything, you won't miss a thing." One familiar face to be on the lookout for is Zeebo the Clown.
But the ringmaster of terror in the new series is Casal's Mr. Tophat, who is supposed to be an "evil Willy Wonka," per Grabinski, and has a bit of a Jack Skellington vibe for Casal.
"I'm not in the clip but they all work for me," Casal said, implying that when it comes to the scares of this new series, we haven't see anything yet.
Are You Afraid of the Dark is a limited, three-episode series that premieres on Nickelodeon on Friday, Oct. 11 at 7/6c. Parts two and three follow on Friday, Oct. 18 and Friday, Oct. 25 at 7/6c.
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Visit the Carnival of Doom in Fortnite!
More Nick: Nickelodeon Hosts 'SpongeBob SquarePants' and 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' Panels at New York Comic Con 2019!
Originally published: Friday, October 4, 2019 at 20:03 BST.
Additional source: CBR.com.
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