Filmmaker Mike Flanagan is bringing yet another Stephen King adaptation to TV screens just in time for spooky season. The eight-episode series “Carrie” isn’t the first adaptation of King’s very first novel, but it’s the first time it’s been taken beyond the couple-hour feature film format. 

Flanagan has tackled quite a few King projects, including “Doctor Sleep,” “Gerald’s Game” and “The Life of Chuck.” Let’s take a closer look at what we can expect from his latest offering. 

First up, check out the trailer:

The story

King’s debut 1974 novel tells the story of Carrie White, an awkward, naive 16-year-old girl living in Chamberlain, Maine, with her uber-religious and controlling mother. At school, she’s bullied for being different. At home, she’s bullied by her overbearing mother who has kept her in the dark about the ways of the world. 

What the others don’t know about Carrie, though, is that she has telekinetic powers even she’s unaware of. 

When the bullying goes too far—is it a spoiler at this point to bring up the bloody prom scene?—Carrie exacts her revenge in a wholly unexpected and terrifying way. 

Other adaptations

We first saw “Carrie” on the screen in Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation starring Sissy Spacek in the title role. It’s one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful horror films in history, but is definitely a product of its time. There was a sequel, “The Rage: Carrie 2” in 1999; a 2002 reboot TV film; and a 2013 film starring Chloe Grace Moretz. 

The cast

• Summer H. Howell plays Carrie White, a 16-year-old girl who has been homeschooled her entire life with little interaction with the outside world. She previously appeared in a handful of horror films, including “Curse of Chucky” and “Cult of Chucky,” and is next set to appear in “Runaway” with James Franco and Josh Duhamel. 
• Samantha Sloyan plays Carrie’s mother, Margaret White, a radically religious woman who has protected her daughter from the outside world and is reluctant to let her go out in the world. Sloyan is a frequent collaborator with Flanagan, having appeared in “The Midnight Club” and “The Life of Chuck.” She also has a role in his upcoming entry in “The Exorcist” franchise, “The Exorcist: Martyrs.”  
• Siena Agudong plays Sue Snell, a fellow student at Carrie’s high school who is torn between befriending the new girl and joining her friends in bullying her. She previously appeared in the first two “Sidelined” young adult romance adaptations and will star in the third. 

• Alison Thornton is the top mean girl at the high school, Chris Hargensen. She was previously seen in “School Spirits” and “Elle.”
• Josie Totah is fellow mean girl Tina. She previously appeared in “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and will star in a series she wrote, “Aunt Nancy.”
• Amber Midthunder plays Carrie’s gym teacher, Miss Desjardin. She tries to help the girl as she’s bullied by her peers. Midthunder starred in “Prey” from the “Predator” franchise and will next appear in the action film “Painter.”
• Matthew Lillard plays Principal Grayle, who tries to help Carrie but appears to feel like his hands are tied. Most viewers know him from the original “Scream” movie, but he’s also previously worked with Flanagan in “The Life of Chuck.” He’ll appear in the next Superman movie, “Man of Tomorrow.”
• Rahul Kohli plays another of Carrie’s teachers. Another frequenter of Flanagan’s movies, he was in “The Haunting of Bly Manor” and “Midnight Mass” and will next appear in “The Exorcist: Martyrs.”
• Other cast members include Arthur Conti, Joel Oulette, Thalia Dudek, Rowan Danielle, Michael Trucco, Heather Graham, Katee Sackhoff, Jason Tremblay, Camille Atebe, Kate Siegel and Gil Bellows. 

Behind the scenes

• Stephen King hardly needs an introduction here, but he published “Carrie” in 1974. He originally wrote it to appear in a magazine, but instead it was his first novel. It allowed him to quit his day job and become what we all know him to be now—the author of dozens of downright creepy novels and short stories that have been thrilling us and keeping us awake for decades. 

• Mike Flanagan also loves a good horror story, and he’s been creeping us out for decades, himself. We’ve mentioned a few of his projects already, but he also directed “Oculus,” “Hush,” “Ouija: Origins of Evil,” “The Haunting of Hill House” and “The Fall of the House of Usher,” an Edgar Allen Poe adaptation. He’s working on yet another King adaptation, the enormous “Dark Tower” series, though few details have emerged from that project. 

How to watch

All eight episodes of the series are set to premiere on Prime Video on Oct. 7. 

About the writer

Danielle Haynes is the co-founder and co-editor of Booked & Screened. She’s been a fan of Stephen King since she—against sound judgment—read “The Shining” at age 12. She would also happily watch Mike Flanagan adapt every single thing King has ever done.