[Interview] ‘Hysteria!’ Creators Talk Heavy Metal, Halloween Deep Cuts, and More
It’s time to raise your horns and crank up the volume because Peacock’s new horror series Hysteria!, infused with heavy metal and set amid the late 1980s satanic panic, is now streaming on Peacock, and we recently talked to writers and executive producers Matthew Scott Kane and David A. Goodman about this awesome show, the one band that refused to be part of the killer soundtrack, the Halloween deep cuts (hello, Ben Cooper!), and more.
In speaking about the rocking soundtrack for the series, which is set in the fall of 1989, asked if there were any songs that they wanted to use but couldn’t for any reason, Kane tells HDN, “In terms of something that we weren’t able to get, there was only one. In the entire show, there’s only one song we didn’t get to use, and that was the song ‘Beth’ by KISS.
“We wanted to use it in a sweet, romantic moment between Dillon (Emjay Anthony) and Judith (Jessica Treska), but apparently the fine folks over at KISS has religious obligation to sharing that song with our show and our content. So who knew that the ‘Knights In Satan’s Service’ has such strict guidelines for who got to use their songs. But, respectfully, we accepted their decision, and had our composer create something for the moment that worked perfectly well.”
In the series, when a beloved varsity quarterback disappears during the “Satanic Panic” of the late 1980s, a struggling high school heavy metal band of outcasts realize they can capitalize on the town’s sudden interest in the occult by building a reputation as a Satanic metal band, until a bizarre series of murders, kidnappings, and reported “supernatural activity” triggers a leather-studded witch hunt that leads directly back to them.
The show stars Julie Bowen (Hubie Halloween, Totally Killer), Anna Camp (True Blood), Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead films), Emjay Anthony (Krampus), Chiara Aurelia, Kezii Curtis, Nikki Hahn, Garret Dillahunt, Nolan North, Elijah Richardson, Milly Shapiro (Hereditary), Allison Scagliotti, and Jessica Treska.
All eight episodes of Hysteria! are now streaming on Peacock, while USA Network and SYFY will simulcast the first episode tonight (October 18) at 10:31 p.m., with USA Network airing new episodes each Friday.
During our brief press junket conversation, we also of course talked about Halloween itself, what the holiday means to them, and their favorite costumes and treats, as Kane recalls how his first viewing of John Carpenter’s Halloween as a kid with his dad was a pivotal moment that “opened the floodgates” to horror that led him to become a filmmaker.
You can watch our exclusive video interview with Matthew Scott Kane and David A. Goodman, as well as the official trailer, below.
Related: [Interview] Anna Camp and Nikki Hahn Talk ‘Hysteria!’ Horror Series and Halloween
