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Hysteria! Creators on Parallels Between 1980s and Today: "Facts Are Notoriously Being Warped"
All eight episodes of Hysteria! are now streaming exclusively on Peacock.
Peacock's new Satanic Panic series, Hysteria! (all eight episodes are now streaming), takes place in the late 1980s, but the show is very much a commentary on the sad state of affairs plaguing our modern society.
Speaking with USA Insider over Zoom, co-creator, showrunner, and executive producer Matthew Scott Kane reveals he was inspired to write the project back in 2019 when terms like "fake news" were becoming more prevalent. In that moment, he said he realized it wasn't too dissimilar from people in the '80s jumping to wild conclusions regarding Satanic cults, ritual sacrifice, and Dungeons & Dragons.
The Real World Origins of Peacock's Satanic Panic Series Hysteria
"I saw really clear connective tissue between where we are right now as a culture and where we were then as a culture," explains Kane, who cut his television teeth as a production assistant and coordinator on American Horror Story and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. "I felt like there was a period we were going through where both facts and our own sense of reality were becoming very warped. Everything started to feel more subjective than it probably should [have]. I thought that was a really interesting entry point to a show about the Satanic Panic, where facts are notoriously being warped and realities are being shifted. "
At the same time, he wanted to capture "all the stuff that has been brushed into the corner that other ‘80s nostalgia trips haven’t been so kind to" — citing John Hughes, video nasties, and hair metal as his biggest creative touch points. "From all of that, this big, epic, horror/crime/comedy/thriller emerged," he adds.
Co-creator and executive producer David A. Goodman (a veteran TV producer of shows like Family Guy and Futurama) says he boarded the project once the first teleplay was already written and describes it as "one of the best pilot scripts I’d ever read." In particular, he gravitated toward the story of a teenage heavy metal band royally screwing up by trying to turn their town's sudden fear of the occult into a musical opportunity.
"In it, were a lot of people making bad decisions and I think that made this project as big and epic as it is," he continues. "At the core of it, are teenagers and their parents making bad decisions. That impossibility of communication and that fear [of], ‘What is my teenager out doing?’ The fear is justified because that teenager is screwing up and making bad decisions. That was probably what I hooked into the most with Matt’s script and I think that through-line for this series really makes it universal."
Why are the '80s so hot right now?
Stranger Things. Red Oaks. IT and IT Chapter Two. Summer of 84. Pose. Joker. The Goldbergs. Snowfall. Love Lies Bleeding. GLOW. Physical. Paper Girls. Wonder Woman 1984. MaXXXine. Lisa Frankenstein. Totally Killer...
The list goes on and on, but why is Hollywood so obsessed with the Reagan years at this current moment in time?
"I think the nostalgia [taps into] the pre-internet age where everybody had a common connection," theorizes Goodman. "Everyone had common touchpoints of music and television and movies. And now, in the age of the internet and streaming, everyone’s in their own little niches. There’s a way in which connecting to that time where we all had the same reference points is very attractive."
"There weren't [cell] phones or social media," echoes Emjay Anthony, who plays the role of social teenage outcast and heavy metal rocker, Dylan Campbell. "People were living in the moment a lot more."
"There’s a little bit of that je ne sais quoi that’s missing with everybody looking down at their phones and the modern trends," adds fellow cast member Chiara Aurelia (Dylan's best friend and bandmate, Jordy). "I think people are getting sick of it, so it’s sometimes nice to loop back a little bit to the classics. It was a lovely period of time with the styles and the trends. I think it’s a lot of fun to play with."
Pitch Perfect alum Anna Camp, who tackles the role of religious zealot Tracy Whitehead, chimes in as well: "People were taking risks with fashion and music in a way that was really far out there and committed. I think it was a really rebellious time. I think that every generation wants to rebel against the previous generation and the ‘80s really captured that magic and spirit of teenage angst in an incredible way. I feel like it resonates with people today because everybody still wants to rebel against the previous generation. We’re still doing that and will continue to do it forever and always."
How to watch Hysteria!
All eight episodes of Hysteria! are now streaming exclusively on Peacock. Episodes also air weekly, every Thursday night at 10:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.
Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings of Summer, Kong: Skull Island) directed Episodes 1 and 8. He also serves as an executive producer alongside Matthew Scott Kane and David A. Goodman; Chris Bender (The Last Voyage of The Demeter); Jake Weiner (Mulan); and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves co-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein.
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