Crystal Lake: Kane on Having OG Friday the 13th Composer Score Theme

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Posted in: Movies, Peacock, TV | Tagged: crystal lake, Friday the 13th

Crystal Lake: Kane on Having OG "Friday the 13th" Composer Score Theme

Crystal Lake showrunner Brad Caleb Kane on wanting to bring back original Friday the 13th composer Harry Manfredini to help score the theme.

Published Wed, 16 Sep 2026 08:37:10 -0500
by Tom Chang
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Article Summary

  • Crystal Lake showrunner Brad Caleb Kane brought back original Friday the 13th composer Harry Manfredini for the theme.
  • Kane says Crystal Lake’s title sequence honors Friday the 13th with shattered-glass visuals and the classic font.
  • Empire reveals Kane drew inspiration from Kolchak: The Night Stalker to give Crystal Lake a grainy 1970s vibe.
  • Crystal Lake expands Pamela Voorhees’ story in a prequel set 10 years before the original Friday the 13th film.

With the Friday the 13th prequel series Crystal Lake set to premiere next month, showrunner Brad Caleb Kane is pulling out all the stops to bring authenticity worthy of the franchise by building up the original 1980 film villain, Pamela Voorhees, with Linda Cardellini taking over for the late Betsy Palmer, who made the role so infamous, to properly give that origin story of the franchise villain, her son, the future hockey-mask-wearing Jason (Callum Vinson). The story, set 10 years before the Sean S. Cunningham film, focuses on Pamela, who's raising her son, but finds him missing from Camp Crystal Lake, slowly descending into a homicidal rage in her search. Kane spoke to Empire about some details of the new Peacock series, including bringing back the original composer of the Friday the 13th franchise, Harry Manfredini.

Pictured: Linda Cardellini as Pam Voorhees — (Photo by: Matt Infante/PEACOCK)

Crystal Lake Showrunner on Bringing Back Friday the 13th Composer Harry Manfredini

"The credit sequence can really help set the right atmosphere and vibe from the start. I remember watching a show that was the precursor to 'The X-Files,' 'Kolchak: The Night Stalker,' and it had this really grainy, nerve-jangling vibe to it that's just steeped in that 1970s time and place," Kane said of his influences. "But I also wanted to give a nod to the original 'Friday the 13th' movie; the words 'Crystal Lake' pop out of the screen, shatter the glass, and the credits use the same font as the movie," which is why he brought Manfredini to create new original music for the title sequence.

Pictured: Linda Cardellini as Pam Voorhees — (Photo by: Peacock)

Manfredini scored the first 10 films of the Friday the 13th franchise from the 1980 original, 1981's Part 2, 1982's Part III, 1984's The Final Chapter, 1985's A New Beginning, 1986's Part VI: Jason Lives, 1988's Part VII: The New Blood, 1989's Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, 1993's Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, and 2002's Jason X. He wasn't involved in the 2003 crossover Freddy vs Jason, which was done by Graeme Revell and the 2009 Friday the 13th reboot, composed by Steve Jablonsky. While Manfredini is primarily known for his film work, which also includes the sci-fi horror films DeepStar Six (1989) and House (1985), and the action sci-fi thriller The Omega Code (1999), he composed work for TV shows CBS Summer Playhouse in 1989 and the 2015 thriller series Work Related. His only series-dedicated work was the Paramount TV adaptation of War of the Worlds, where he composed 10 of 44 episodes. For more, you can check out the entire interview. Crystal Lake, which also stars William Catlett, Devin Kessler, Cameron Scoggins, and Gwendolyn Sundstrom, premieres on October 15th on Peacock.

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