Stephen King called it brilliant. The Tomatometer sits at 85%. Mike Flanagan has spent premiere week sharing the raves on Instagram. Having started the series myself, I understand the excitement.
What strikes you first is how much bigger this feels than the story you think you know. Flanagan doesn’t just retell King’s novel, he opens it up. Carrie connects with other young women who share her abilities, the world extends past Chamberlain, Maine, and suddenly this isn’t just one girl’s tragedy, it’s something much larger. The episode titles tell you the scope he’s going for: they’re all class periods, from “First Period” through “AP Physics.”
Then there’s Summer H. Howell. She beat out more than a thousand actors for this role, and you see why within minutes. Her Carrie is eager and open and curious about the world, a well of positivity that the world keeps testing. She’s magnetic in a way that makes the character entirely her own, which is no small thing when Sissy Spacek and Chloe Grace Moretz got there first. Joe Hill said the trailer alone had him fighting back tears, and watching her, you understand why.
Samantha Sloyan is just as remarkable as Margaret. This isn’t the monster of the 1976 film. She’s still terrifying, but she comes from a more loving place, and that somehow makes her crueler. There’s real love between mother and daughter here, which makes everything that follows hurt more. It’s the kind of performance that reminds you why Flanagan keeps casting her.
The social media update is the masterstroke. King built his novel out of found documents, clippings and testimonies assembled after the fact. Flanagan translates that into a gossip account called Carrie Red that turns Carrie’s humiliation into a viral spectacle. It never feels gimmicky. It’s the most natural extension of King’s original idea, and King said what the show has to say about social media rang true for him.
What I love most is that nothing here is simple. The bullies aren’t cartoons. Margaret isn’t pure evil. Even Chris Hargensen gets moments that show you how she got this way. The horror isn’t about jump scares, it’s about what it means to be a teenage girl right now, in a world of metal detectors and viral cruelty. Flanagan trusts you to sit with that discomfort, and the show is better for it.
Flanagan has floated the idea of this running three seasons, and after what I’ve seen so far, I hope he gets the chance. Carrie is streaming now on Prime Video in more than 240 countries. This one deserves your time.