It's Official, Mike Flanagan’s Upcoming Stephen King Series Brings Back His Best Netflix Trend

Published Jun 14, 2026, 5:16 PM EDT

Although the Gothic horror The Haunting of Bly Manor was the weakest of these titles, that 2020 release remained a strong horror story, and its relatively muted reception just goes to show how incredibly acclaimed the rest of Flanagan’s output of the era was. The Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, and The Fall of the House of Usher were all huge hits upon arrival, and that wasn’t all that the shows had in common.

During his tenure with Netflix, Flanagan reliably released his shows around Halloween, right when viewers were primed for a spooky small-screen delight. The long-awaited arrival of 2026’s upcoming Prime Video miniseries Carrie marks Flanagan’s first return to the small screen in three years, and the news that the series will arrive in October 2026 means that the writer/director will be keeping this tradition alive despite switching streaming services.

Carrie’s October Release Date Keeps Mike Flanagan’s Best Netflix Tradition Alive

During a panel at Fan Expo Vancouver, Longmire star Katee Sackhoff confirmed that Carrie would arrive in October 2026, in keeping with Flanagan’s five earlier horror streaming shows. While the writer/director did time his shows perfectly for Halloween viewing, it is worth noting that Midnight Mass was marginally earlier, with a release date of September 24, 2021.

However, The Haunting of Hill House was released on October 12, 2018, The Haunting of Bly Manor arrived a little under two years later on October 9, 2020, The Midnight Club was released on October 7, 2022, and The Fall of the House of Usher completed Flanagan’s Netflix run on October 13, 2023. What made this run all the more astounding is the fact that Flanagan’s dark The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep was released in the middle of this era, arriving in October 2019 and ensuring the director had an October release date even in the only year he had no new show out.

Flanagan’s Carrie Release Date Fixes A 50-Year-Old Mistake

Bizarrely, Carrie’s 2026 release won’t just be a fun return to tradition for Flanagan, but also a chance to redeem a surprising release date mistake from earlier in the franchise. Flanagan is far from the first filmmaker to bring Stephen King’s bestselling debut novel from 1974 to life onscreen, and Blow Out director Brian De Palma’s original Carrie made over $33 million on a budget of under $2 million back in 1976.

However, the original movie might have fared even better if it hadn’t missed out on Halloween by arriving in cinemas on November 3, 1976. Carrie’s 2002’s TV movie remake of the same name suffered a similar fate, airing on NBC on November 4 instead of earlier in the Halloween season. Despite boasting future Hannibal showrunner Bryan Fuller as its screenwriter, this remake was critically lambasted.

Carrie’s most recent reboot was, understandably, released in early October, arriving on October 18, 2013. Sadly, director Kimberly Peirce’s re-imagining was a critical flop, although the remake fared fine at the box office, earning $84 million on a budget of $30 million. This might not be an entirely bad thing, however, as it means the bar isn’t too high for Mike Flanagan’s first Prime Video show, Carrie, save for the standard of success set by his own earlier hits like The Haunting of Hill House.