Like a lot of other millennials, I grew up watching horror shows aimed at kids like Are You Afraid of the Dark? and loved all the cheesy jump scares (and bad fashion choices).
But there was one perfect show that featured episodes about haunted cameras and terrible masks, and now there’s a teaser for the second season of the Hulu/Disney+ reboot of this popular ’90s series. Of course, I’m talking about Goosebumps. Season 2, which is subtitled The Vanishing, will come out Jan. 10th, 2025.
The creepy trailer suggests creatures/villains that “seem to join with a host”… and also stars David Schwimmer. He’s moved on from dorky Ross Gellar and is now in his dad era. According to Bloody Disgusting, Schwimmer plays Anthony, who is now a single parent to twins, Cece and Devin. The twins discover that four high schoolers disappeared back in 1994 and try to find out the truth. I’m totally in!
What’s even better than watching a beloved Friends actor star in season 2 of the Goosebumps reboot? Learning that the whole season will drop at the same time. All you need is popcorn and you can enjoy a scary binge-watching session. January can be such a dull, dreary month, and this is just the news I need to look forward to the first month of the new year.
Fans posted their reactions on X and are excited to come back to this scary small town.
Season 1 of the Goosebumps reboot premiered on Oct. 13th, 2023 and followed Mr. Nathan Bratt (Justin Long), who moved into a haunted house. While the episodes told a brand new story, they did include familiar and nostalgic elements, from Slappy the Dummy to the iconic haunted mask and the evil Kanduu. I’m a sucker for a horror story in a small town, from the down-on-its-luck Millwood in the Pretty Little Liars reboot to the Woodsboro-set Scream franchise, and I’ll be checking out season 2 as soon as it’s streaming.
While the first season ended mysteriously and that would have made for a compelling constitution of this new Goosebumps story, Variety reported in February 2024 that the second season would start from scratch, officially making this an anthology series. However, when season 1 concluded, even the cast members weren’t sure that season 2 would tell a new creepy tale. Will Price, who portrayed Lucas Parker, told Us Weekly, “We have a very dark, gloomy and dreary first season” and he wanted “to switch that up and do a slasher.” Maybe Schwimmer as a twin dad is the next best thing!
With a 74% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and some, let’s face it, bad reviews, some weren’t on board with Goosebumps season 1. Sure, it wasn’t perfect by any means, but if reboots are vehicles of nostalgia, it delivered more than enough of R.L. Stine’s world. Some fans wish that each episode was a more faithful adaptation of Stine’s enduring and legendary horror books. But since that’s what the original series, which aired from 1995 to 1998, accomplished, I’m not sure that’s the right approach. Goosebumps season 1 embraced the cheesy enjoyment of the OG, and it looks like season 2 will do the same. I don’t want it to be January just yet because we still need to celebrate Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, but at least we know something fun and scary is on the horizon to get rid of any post-holiday blues.