Disney’s Goosebumps Was Canceled, But Could the Teen Horror Series Find Life After Death?
After serving as a gateway horror for teens and tweens for two seasons, Goosebumps, the contemporary adaptation of R.L. Stine’s book series, was canceled by Disney+ and Hulu. However, there may still be hope for the supernatural series.
Debuting on October 13, 2023, the first season starred Justin Long alongside Zack Morris, Isa Briones, Miles McKenna, and Ana Yi Puig. Structured as an anthology, Season 1 unraveled the mystery of teen Harold Biddle and the dark secrets hidden in the parents’ past.
Season 2, which debuted on January 10, 2025, featured David Schwimmer, Ana Ortiz, Jayden Bartels, and Sam McCarthy and centered on the disappearance of four teenagers in 1994. Both seasons ended with lingering threats, suggesting that neither story is truly over and that danger may still lie ahead for the characters.
Each season featured a main original story that then referenced storylines, items, and characters from R.L. Stine’s many books, such as his iconic mischievous ventriloquist dummy Slappy from Night of the Living Dummy, a deadly clock from The Cuckoo Clock of Doom, a creepy infestation of nightcrawlers from Go Eat Worms!, a cursed camera from Say Cheese and Die!, and many more.
Though the new series drew mixed reviews, Goosebumps was still considered a hit for Disney+. According to Variety, the two seasons pulled in 75 million hours viewed combined in the U.S., on top of 43 million hours viewed across 16 international markets.
For those fans who hoped to see more of the new iteration, all is not lost, despite the streamer’s cancellation. Variety also reports that, according to a source close to the situation, series producer Sony Pictures Television plans to shop the show to other outlets and explore different creative directions for the beloved IP.
Nicholas Stoller and Rob Letterman developed Goosebumps for TV and served as executive producers. Showrunner Hilary Winston also served as executive producer along with Neal H. Moritz and Pavun Shetty of Original Film, Scholastic Entertainment’s Iole Lucchese, Caitlin Friedman, Conor Welch, and Erin O’Malley. Sony Pictures Television Studios produced the Disney+ series.
Fans of the series and the books were heartbroken by the news and shared their sentiments and opinions on social media.
“Disney is where properties go to die,” wrote one fan on X (formerly Twitter).
One horror aficionado wrote: “They should just remake the Goosebumps animated series or simply do animated movies so it taps into young horror fans and adults alike.”
On Reddit, one poster made the following point: “Season 1: released to great fanfare, Halloween-ish time release so fun to watch around the holiday, tons of marketing. Season 2: released to a random-a** date in January, I didn’t even realize it was out until maybe April.”
As for the situation of a series dying, and then coming back from the dead, one fan wrote: “Classic Goosebumps.”
The original Goosebumps TV series ran from October 27, 1995, to November 16, 1998, airing for four seasons on Fox and adapting many of Stine’s most popular titles into individual episodes.
Goosebumps, Seasons 1 & 2, Disney+
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