The Stephen King Thriller Adaptation Everyone’s Been Waiting For Officially Arrives in 1 Month

Almost every year from 2018 to 2023, a new Mike Flanagan thriller was released on Netflix, resulting in five of the most moving spooky stories I’ve ever seen. Besides his catalog of tales about teenagers facing early death, old houses filled with ghosts, an island with a strange priest, and a corrupt, wealthy family, Flanagan has made some memorable Stephen King adaptations. These include the sweet yet devastating 2024 film The Life of Chuck and Doctor Sleep, the 2019 sequel to The Shining. But I think his greatest King adaptation is coming out soon.

Many of us know this story very well, and it might just be King’s most famous. It was the author’s first published novel, and when it hit shelves in 1974, it was clear that he was a major talent. The 1976 film adaptation directed by Brian De Palma and starring Sissy Spacek is about a teenager with telekinetic powers who is bullied and doesn’t fit in at home or at school. Yes, I’m talking about Carrie. In less than one month, the Prime Video TV adaptation will premiere, and there are many reasons why it’s highly anticipated.

Mike Flanagan’s ‘Carrie’ TV Series Is Almost Here

Mike Flanagan’s TV adaptation of Carrie will be released on Prime Video on Oct. 7, 2026. The full trailer for Carrie came out this week. The trailer starts on a melancholy yet hopeful note with Carrie starting high school — her first traditional school experience after being homeschooled. In some ways, Carrie feels like a bigger story than The Haunting of Hill House and other Flanagan thrillers. Flanagan has made one big change to the classic tale: each episode will feature a different character with powers. I wrote about why that change is so exciting and am looking forward to seeing what it looks like.

However, based on the full trailer, I think the story feels small in some ways, as it keeps a narrow focus on Carrie. At its heart, Carrie is about what it’s like to be an unusual person who others poke fun at and don’t understand. As she makes new social connections, she says she has dreamed about having friends, which speaks to the innocence of being young and wanting to be loved by your peers. Even if you remove the supernatural part of the story, anyone who has changed schools or had trouble fitting in will likely look forward to seeing Carrie’s emotional experience.

Flanagan has also put a contemporary spin on the infamous period scene. While Carrie still gets humiliated in the school bathroom, her classmates film it and share the video on social media, proving that bullying today is perhaps even more brutal than the bullying shown in the 1976 film. Or perhaps it’s just brutal in a more intense way. (That iconic scene is still harrowing.) No one can escape their tormentors, as even going home and getting away from the school environment doesn’t help when their peers are posting harsh comments on their social media feed. There is also tension between Carrie, her classmates, and her high school principal, played by Matthew Lillard.

While King’s most beloved novels have been turned into great movies, including The Shining and Pet Sematary, I think that Carrie lends itself well to the long-form storytelling format of TV. The original movie may be beloved, but more attention could be paid to the character’s interior world, especially as she navigates the vulnerable and sometimes terrible time period known as adolescence.

Rather than following a weekly release schedule, all eight episodes of Carrie will be released on Prime Video on Wed. Oct. 7, 2026. I’m going to make sure I have no plans that evening, so I can dive into this new take on the iconic character.