Peacock’s Hysteria! is taking Us back to the Satanic Panic — just in time for spooky season.
The streamer released the official trailer on Thursday, September 26, which introduces a small town seemingly tormented by an unseen force.
“For tonight’s top story we go to Happy Hollow where police are searching for clues as to the whereabouts of high school student Ryan Hudson,” a news anchor says in the clip. “The cryptic message left behind has people asking, ‘Do you believe in the devil?’”
After a high school student goes missing, Dylan (Emjay Anthony) attempts to capitalize off the situation.
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“Him being missing for one day has gotten more attention than me being present my entire life,” Dylan notes. “It is rock tradition. The devil has always had the best tunes. We are a heavy metal band. Let’s be Satanists!”
Set in the 1980s, Hysteria! revolves around the Satanic Panic of the era as a 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. The plan doesn’t go as expected when a bizarre series of murders, kidnappings and reported supernatural activity triggers a witch hunt that leads directly back to them.
Dylan’s mother, Linda (Julie Bowen), starts to question whether her son is involved in something sinister. (Horror icon Bruce Campbell also makes an appearance as Chief Dandridge, who tries to get to the bottom of the situation.)
“What if Dylan fell into something and we just didn’t notice?” Linda asks in the trailer. “I think there is something evil here.”
The sneak peek hints that Linda becomes the victim of the unseen force. She ends up being dragged up the stairs — despite there not being anyone holding her. There is also Anna Camp‘s character Tracy to look forward to as she stirs up trouble.
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“Evil has taken over this town,” Tracy says in the clip. “Just because you can’t see something, doesn’t mean it isn’t there.”
At the end of the trailer, Dylan wonders whether his band summoned something with their music, asking, “Is there any chance that some of the phrases we were using were authentic Satanic verses?”
His friend Jordy (Chiara Aurelia) replies: “We got them from the public library — not a book bound in human flesh.”
Executive producers Matthew Scott Kane and David A. Goodman previously teased what fans can expect from the show.
“Hysteria! is about both sides of that generational fear. It’s about the thrills of being young, rebellious in spirit and aspirational at heart — and the horrors of growing up and realizing that the world you thought you knew has shifted beneath your feet,” they said in an August statement. “That fear haunts every generation.”
The duo explained why Hysteria! was perfect for parents and children.
“Children of the Atomic Age went on to terrifying their families by turning on, tuning in and dropping out in the ’60s. Those same ‘free spirits’ went on to vote for [President Ronald] Reagan and called for censorship of the ‘obscene’ and ‘satanic’ heavy metal bands their own kids worshiped,” the statement continued. “Now, those kids are adults who rail against pronouns, TikTok and a movie about Barbie. The cycle doesn’t end. And it’s hard to escape the feeling that someone, or something, is sitting by watching it all, and laughing.”
Kane and Goodman concluded: “Our hope is that parents and children (of the appropriate age, of course) can enjoy the chills, the laughs, the music, and the heart of Hysteria! together. Growing up is scary. So is parenting.”
Hysteria! premieres Friday, October 18, on Peacock, and the pilot will simulcast on USA Network and Syfy. New episodes will continue to air on USA Friday nights.
