Mike Flanagan is now two-thirds of the way on the three-season arc he had envisioned for Carrie. Prime Video has renewed Flanagan’s adaptation of Stephen King‘s horror classic for a second season. The pickup comes two weeks after Carrie‘s eight-episode first season was released on Oct. 7 to strong reviews and extends the perfect streak for every Prime Video YA series that has premiered in the past six months getting renewed, including Elle, Off Campus, Every Year After and Sterling Point.
Since its debut, Carrie, starring Summer H. Howell, has topped Prime Video’s weekly global TV series rankings, hitting number 1 in over 105 countries worldwide, though the streamer does not release viewership figures.
On Luminate, which tracks U.S. streaming numbers, Carrie debuted with 653K views for the week of Oct. 2-8 with only two days of release in the qualifying window. That was higher than the other recently renewed YA series but lower than the two-day opening of Prime Video’s older-skewing action comedy Ride Or Die (927K views), which was canceled last month. For its first full week, Carrie scored 3.6M U.S. views, also above the rest of Prime Video’s YA pack but behind Ride Or Die (3.85M).
The renewal is good news for Carrie fans as Season 1 diverged from the ending of King’s book to leave things off on a cliffhanger.
“Carrie is connecting with both longtime Stephen King fans and a new generation altogether — including young adults and international audiences, with particular strength among female viewers,” said Peter Friedlander, Head of Global Television, Amazon MGM Studios. “It speaks to the enduring power of this story and signals that Mike Flanagan’s reimagining of the iconic IP has real breadth. We’re excited by where he and Stephen plan to take the story.”
Executive produced by Flanagan and King, Carrie is the second Prime Video series based on MGM/UA IP to launch after Amazon MGM Studios had made exploiting the venerable studio’s library a priority following the 2022 acquisition. Both Carrie and the Legally Blonde prequel Elle have been renewed.
The first season of Carrie follows misfit high-schooler Carrie White (Howell) who has spent her life hidden away inside the walls of her home with her fiercely protective mother, Margaret (Samantha Sloyan). After her father’s sudden, untimely death thrusts her into the unforgiving ecosystem of public high school, Carrie is forced to navigate a viral bullying scandal that tears through her community, the relentless pressure and casual cruelty of the social-media age, and the awakening of mysterious telekinetic powers that rise alongside her adolescence.
At the end of the finale, Carrie does not die from stabbing like she does in the book; instead, she finds herself in the passenger seat of her friend Emaline’s (Thalia Dudek) car leaving town — destination unknown.
“For 50 years, audiences have known and gravitated to Carrie White’s story. From the beginning, we imagined a story that goes far beyond the prom, and I’m incredibly grateful for Stephen’s trust and support in exploring what comes next,” Flanagan said.
The renewal announcement teases new revelations coming to light, major character arcs and shocking twists next season.
“I can’t wait for audiences to get to see what’s down the road for Carrie White,” King said. “Mike Flanagan and I are excited about what comes next. It’s bound to be thrilling.”
Howell is set to return for Season 2, likely along with Dudek. Other cast members who may stay on are Siena Agudong, Josie Totah and recurring player Kate Siegel, whose characters Sue Snell, Tina Blake and Adelaide, respectively, survived the prom night massacre. Season 1’s main cast also included Alison Thornton as Chris Hargensen, Joel Oulette as Tommy Ross, Arthur Conti as Billy, Amber Midthunder as Miss Desjardin, Matthew Lillard as Principal Grayle.
Flanagan is writer, executive producer and showrunner of Carrie and directed four episodes in Season 1, including the premiere and the finale, with King also executive producing. The series is an Amazon MGM Studios production.