Review

Carrie is an eight episode television series developed by Mike Flanagan, and produced by Amazon MGM Studios for Amazon Prime Video which premiered on 7 October 2026. The series is loosely based on Stephen King’s debut novel which told the story of a bullied teenage girl with telekinetic powers who gets her revenge on her tormentors on prom night. The new television series stars Summer H. Howell as Carrie White and Samantha Sloyan as her mother, Margaret.

The story has been expanded to suit the series format and given a fresh new look for modern audiences, incorporating the use of social media and the increase in school violence, which are both topical debates. Carrie’s backstory is changed significantly in that she is now the daughter of parents who never registered her birth and she has remained inside the family home her entire life. When Ralph White dies in an accident, the authorities are astonished when they discover he had a family that no one knew about and Margaret is ordered to send Carrie to school in order to retain custody. Having been home schooled, Carrie is eager for new experiences but the reality is far from what she envisioned when she is targeted by Chris Hargensen (Alison Thornton) and her friends.

Things get worse when Carrie starts her period for the first time and is highly distressed as her mother has not told her about it. Find ing the situation funny, Chris throw tampons at Carrie while recording her as she sobs in the shower. However, the incident awakens Carrie’s psychic powers, causing lightbulbs and pipes to explode, which is felt by sensitives in a cult who are now aware of her presence. Chris later creates a social media account that she uses to continue to humiliate Carrie and cause havoc at the school. A jaded Carrie is befriended by Emaline (Thalia Dudek) who encourages her to use her telekinetic powers to her advantage.

The episodes are all intermingled with stories of women who have all discovered they have telekinetic powers at moments of extreme distress which shows Carrie is not alone and part of a wider mythology. Each of these stories is narrated by a mysterious woman who is later revealed as the cult leader, Adelaide (Kate Siegel). As well as these stories, the episodes build up the tension by featuring scenes of events that have yet to happen where we see large parts of the town have burned down. The survivors are also questioned in interviews about Carrie, giving differing accounts of her personality and the events of that night.

The acting is wonderful on this show, particularly from Summer H. Howell and Samantha Sloyan, who have great chemistry as mother and daughter. Howell plays Carrie with such pure-heartedness and a genuine belief in the goodness of people despite her upbringing so it is heartbreaking to watch her withdraw from people. The series also gives new depth to the character of Margaret who embodies the same religious aspects as her book counterpart but Sloyan makes her more human and there are hints that she had the same powers as Carrie. Margaret genuinely loves her daughter and is not afraid to battle the school authorities on her behalf or fight against the intrusiveness of social media.

The supporting characters are also taken from the book, however many of them have been given new backgrounds to fit into the series. Chris Hargensen is portrayed as a troubled girl who cannot accepting that her parents have divorced and her father is on the verge of losing all his money. As she watches her life disintegrate, Chris responds by victimising Carrie. While it doesn’t exactly engender sympathy for her, at least the viewer has a better understanding of why she behaves the way she does. The character, Emaline West, who befriends Carrie in the series, does not exist in the book but has been added to connect Carrie to a larger universe of people with paranormal gifts that is likely to expand as the seasons progress.

There have been a few fans of the book who have expressed their disappointment that the series is so different but I believe the changes have enriched the novel and open it to more story-telling. There are a lot Easter eggs sprinkled throughout the series that will appeal to fans of Stephen King’s works which also hint that the show runners may plan to drop elements from the other books into this series. Some may argue that the story is not as chilling as its movie counterpart but I can’t say that I found the book or the movie all that scary anyway. The chilling parts of this series stem from how social media is violating everyone’s privacy and how those who misuse it have no remorse.