Peacock Cancels Satanic Panic Series 'Hysteria!' After One Season

There were two great horror series that debuted on Peacock last October, and despite one of them getting rave reviews from fans and critics, they’ve both been canceled. Teacup made its debut on Oct. 10 and was given the ax last month, and now Hysteria!, the Satanic Panic series starring Bruce Campbell, has also been put to rest after one season. The show holds a 91% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, with its audience score sitting slightly lower at 87%.

Variety reports that Hysteria! has now been canceled at Peacock, and will not get a second season. No official reason has been given for the cancellation, but one can assume it was due to low viewership. Peacock doesn’t release its viewing numbers like Netflix does, but seeing as how Hysteria! never made it into the Nielsen Top 10 streaming charts over the course of its eight-episode run, it’s pretty obvious as to why Peacock wasn’t willing to spend the money for a second outing.

Max Von Sydow arrives at the house in The Exorcist

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Created by Matthew Scott Kane, Hysteria! also starred Julie Bowen, Anna Camp, and Emjay Anthony, to name a few, and was set in 1989 during the height of the Satanic Panic. It explores a high school rock band’s decision to brand itself as worshipers of Lucifer to attract attention, only to find themselves the target of the town’s witch hunt after a series of bizarre murders and supernatural happenings. In his review, MovieWeb’s own Greg Archer called it “trippy and consistently entertaining, but grounded by great characters.”

‘Hysteria!’ Reunited Two Horror Legends

In addition to its main cast, Hysteria! also featured the reunion of two horror legends by way of Barbara Crampton and Jeffrey Combs. The pair have starred together in a number of cult favorites over the years, including Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986), and Castle Freak (1995), and made an appearance in the show’s fifth episode, “Mother,” as the parents of Anna Camp’s character, Tracy Whitehead.

Taking to social media after news of Hysteria’s cancelation, Crampton thanked everyone on X, and had nothing but good things to say about her time on the series. “Was lucky to be in one episode on this killer show playing Anna Camp’s mother in a flashback with Jeff Combs,” she said. “Met so many amazing people and made some new friends! It was a great experience! Congrats to all involved and onward.” Never one to mince words or for lengthy sentiments, Campbell also shared the news of Hysteria’s demise, but didn’t have as much to say as Crampton. Instead, he simply wrote, “Gone, but hopefully not forgotten,” on X, with his fans lamenting the show’s cancelation in the replies.

Despite not returning for a second season, Hysteria! is still worth a watch on Peacock, as the first season does a pretty good job of wrapping things up. Sure, there are a few plot points that could have been explored in Season 2, but for the most part, those open-ended questions we’re left with can be seen as an ambiguous ending that’s left to interpretation. If you’re in the mood for some good old ’80s nostalgia, you’ll definitely find plenty of it here.