Jordan Peele Is Reviving the Classic Horror Prank Show Scare Tactics

Jordan Peele is bringing back the classic hidden camera prank show Scare Tactics. The creator of The Twilight Zone reboot is set to bring new scares and laughs to television. According to Variety, Peele and his Monkeypaw Productions will produce a new iteration of Scare Tactics for the USA Network. Like the original series, which ran from 2003 to 2013, the updated version will use hidden cameras to catch the reactions of unsuspecting victims who are put into terrifying, movie-inspired pranks. The results, of course, are hilarious for audiences and the friends and families who helped set up the participants.

According to the show’s official description, the upcoming Scare Tactics will “turn unsuspecting individuals into the main characters of their very own horror movies. This heart-pounding show offers a cinematic approach to the hidden camera concept. Set up by their friends and family, these unwitting participants are put in hilariously twisted scenarios with fully immersive stories that blur the lines of reality, horror and comedy. As they navigate one unreal decision after another, audiences will laugh, jump and be left breathless for more.”

While Peele’s involvement is undoubtedly thrilling, the addition of Elan Gale to the project should add to the excitement. Gale, whose credits include producing and writing for reality shows like The Bachelor, FBoy Island, and The Bachelorette, was also a writer and producer for Netflix’s critically lauded horror outings Midnight Mass and The Midnight Club. Gale will serve as executive producer and showrunner for Scare Tactics.

“We’re so grateful at Monkeypaw to help reimagine one of our all-time favorite hidden-camera shows,” Monkeypaw Productions president Win Rosenfeld said in a statement. “Working with showrunner Elan Gale, one of the most creative and mischievous minds in unscripted television, and Scott Hallock, the brilliant creator of the original ‘Scare Tactics,’ has been an absolute blast. It’s cathartic and hilarious to watch people get a little scared, and the scenarios we cooked up for this season are really wild. We can’t wait to share a little light-hearted schadenfreude with audiences soon.”

How Jordan Peele Could Further Elevate Scare Tactics

USA Network

Scare Tactics premiered on the Syfy (known as Sci-Fi Channel at the time) in 2003, with the late Shannen Doherty serving as host. Stephen Baldwin later took over hosting responsibilities during its sophomore season. The second season concluded in late 2004 and the series didn’t return for its third season until 2008, with Tracy Morgan as its host. The original series ended in 2013 with its fifth season.

In 2019, Peele lent his distinctive voice to the Twilight Zone reboot, a project he co-developed with Simon Kinberg and Marco Ramirez. While there’s no official host announced for the new Scare Tactics, we’d love to see Peele take on the role. Before becoming a horror luminary with films like Get Out, Us, and Nope, Peele was a comedic force on the sketch series Key & Peele. Given his comedic genius and horror mastery, he’d be the perfect fit to blend fear and laughs. However, we do know that Peele is busy working on his fourth directorial effort, collaborating with Hideo Kojima on the mysterious video game OD, and producing a reboot of Wes Craven’s The People Under the Stairs under his Monkeypaw banner.

Teasing the upcoming series, Corie Henson, EVP, Unscripted Content, NBCUniversal Entertainment, shared:

“As one of the most visionary creators of the day, there is nothing Jordan Peele can’t do. We’re honored to be making our first unscripted series together. This brilliant reimagining of the classic ‘
Scare Tactics’
has it all – laughs, jump scares and outrageous moments. In the hands of Jordan and Monkeypaw, you never know what’s coming next.”

The new
Scare Tactics
will premiere on the USA Network in Fall 2024.

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