Big news for you classic Nickelodeon fans! It’s just been announced that “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” is coming backto television for an all-new reboot of the original series.
If you’re an ’80s or early ’90s baby, chances are you grew up watching this spooky series — and had the nightmares to prove it!
The new version of “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” will be a limited series revival, which means it is only coming back for three hour-long episodes.
Tamara Smart (who memorably stars in “The Worst Witch“) is a confirmed member of the cast, along with Sam Ashe Arnold (“Best.Worst.Weekend.Ever.”), Miya Cech (“The Darkest Minds”), Jeremy Taylor (“It”), Lyliana Wray (“Strange Angel”) and Rafael Casal (“Blindspotting”).
Brandon J. Routh, an actor from “Superman Returns,” “Chuck,” and “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World,” also posted that he would be appearing on the show by posing outside of writer/executive producer BenDavid Grabinski’s office.
Here’s Routh with co-star Fiona Vroom, an actress who has appeared in the “X-Files” revival, “Bates Motel,” and “The Man In The High Castle.” This cute pic was posted onto Grabinski’s Instragram account:
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The Original Midnight Society
The original series focused on the adventures of “The Midnight Society,” a group of kids who gathered in a secret location in the woods to share scary stories with one another.
Famously, each episode would begin with the storyteller saying, “Submitted for the approval of The Midnight Society, I call this story (xxx).” The kids would then throw a handful of dust into the campfire, at which point the story would begin and viewers would be launched into the tale.
The series was known for being creepy and even spooky, but not for being outright terrifying for the youngsters who watched the show. Ghosts were popular, as well as occasional extraterrestrial visitors, but the show was absent the blood and gore of adult horror movie fare. (Relatively tame-sounding episodes included “The Tale of the Lonely Ghost,” “The Tale of the Thirteenth Floor,” and “The Tale of the Unfinished Painting.”)
Chances are that if you read your way through the “Goosebumps” series by R.L. Stine (or watched “Goosebumps” movies), you also enjoyed watching “Are You Afraid Of The Dark?” — if you had cable, that is.
The original series aired from 1990 to 1996, starting on Canadian channel YTV and then getting picked up by Nickelodeon in 1991. Later, it was rebooted on Nick as well as SNICK — the Saturday night programming block — from 1999 to 2000. (Side note: Who else misses SNICK!?).
‘Are You Afraid Of The Dark’—The Movie
Along with this television reboot helmed by Grabinski, an “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” film is also being made. The reboot will be penned by Gary Dauberman, who wrote the 2017 “It” reboot. (He’s currently working on a new “Salem’s Lot” adaptation, but as you may know, “It Chapter Two” is headed for theaters in September, as Instagram account @itmovieofficial reminds us.)
“The show is about the shared experience of telling stories — especially scary ones,” Dauberman told The Hollywood Reporter. “We’re going to celebrate that with this movie and honor the darker, scarier tone of the show, which was really groundbreaking for Nickelodeon at the time. I hope the Midnight Society approves.”
The Paramount-produced film “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” will be released in theaters on Oct. 11, 2019, just in time to get you in the Halloween spirit!
The New Midnight Society
As for the TV reboot, filming is already underway, according to Grabinski’s Instagram account.
Grabinski also posted a photo of the young cast who comprise the new Midnight Society, calling them “great kids.”
So get yourself ready with an “Are You Afraid Of The Dark?” t-shirt ($20 from TeePublic), as posted by @bloodoperainc, and set your Tivo!
Will you be watching either the “Are You Afraid Of The Dark?” TV reboot or the movie?
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