Linda Cardellini Will Be Jason’s Murderous Mom in the Friday the 13th TV Show

As every slasher fan knows, the killer in Friday the 13th isn’t Jason Voorhees—that unkillable hockey-masked maniac would come later. In the 1980 original film, the camp-counselor body count is all due to his motherPamela, seeking vengeance against those she blames for her son’s drowning death. We’ve long suspected she’ll be the central figure in Peacock and A24’s prequel series Crystal Lakeand now it’s confirmed who will play her: Linda Cardellini (Dead to Me, No Good Deed, Freaks and Geeks).

This news was widely confirmed in the trades today, though reporters jeff tie said Cardellini was in talks for the role over a month ago. In Deadline‘s announcement it noted the premise of Crystal Lake is being “kept under wraps,” but that “Cardellini’s Pamela is believed to be a mother who had given up a singing career to raise a special needs child and takes a dark turn when she loses her son.”

The future of Crystal Lake was in turmoil after its original shepherd Bryan Fuller was fired last year—but the ship seemingly righted itself when Brad Caleb Kane (Black Sails, Tokyo Vicethe upcoming It: Welcome to Derry) came aboard as creator, writer, showrunner, and executive producer.

As a side note, Kane has his own background in music (he was the singing voice for Aladdin in the 1992 Disney film, among other credits), so while that “singing career” premise is only rumored, it seems like a thematic fit. Casting the versatile Cardellini, who seems more than capable of doing Betsy Palmer, the original Pamela Voorhees, proud feels like an energetic burst in the right direction for Crystal Lake.

What do you make of this casting, and does it make you even more excited to spend some time at a cursed summer camp?

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