Matthew Scott Kane and David A. Goodman take audiences back to The Satanic Panic for a hilarious and twisty ride with Hysteria!. The TV show serves as Kane’s biggest project to date as a writer, having primarily worked as a production assistant on everything from American Horror Story to It’s always sunny in PhiladelphiaWhile he also wrote one episode of the ABC Family sci-fi crime drama Stitchers. Goodman, on the other hand, has six Emmy nominations under his belt for his work on Futurama And Family guyWhile also working on Seth MacFarlane The Orville.
Created by Kane and directed by him and Goodman, Hysteria! is set in a fictional small town in Michigan in the 80s that is rocked by the disappearance of a local varsity quarterback, which seemingly points to a potential satanic cult in the area. As the investigation continues, a trio of teenage outcasts rebrand their heavy metal band into a satanic metal band to capitalize. But when one of their parents is apparently exposed to real evil, the city begins to wonder who may have unleashed the evil on them, and whether they can trust their neighbors.
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Emjay Anthony, Chiara Aurelia and Kezii Curtis lead the ensemble Hysteria! Throw along Evil Dead Veterinarian Bruce Campbell, Modern familys Julie Bowen, Nikki Hahn, Pitch perfects Anna Camp, iconic voice actor Nolan North and Garret Dillahunt. In addition to Kane and Goodman, the show is executive produced by Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Duo Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, as well as Kong: Skull IslandJordan Vogt-Roberts, who directed the pilot and finale.
Before the premiere of the show, Screen Rant Interviewed Matthew Scott Kane and David A. Goodman to discuss Hysteria!How the former’s pilot script drew the latter to be the co-showrunner, how the duo was balancing the various tones of its story, and the thrill of getting to work with Goldstein, Daly and Vogt-Roberts to really shape the tone of the show and pacing.
Hysteria! was rooted in a very modern theme for Kane
“…it would be a lot of fun to take it back to the last time I felt something like this happening…”
Screen Rant: It’s great to chat with you both for Hysteria!I watched the first six episodes, and I’m hooked. It’s a great mix of horror comedy and teen drama. Matthew, I’ll start with you, since you’re kind of the mind behind the base story, how did you come up with the concept for the show?
Matthew Scott Kane: Yeah, so when I first started writing this, it was back in 2019, and much like it is today, I felt anxiety about the idea that these days, the facts and objective reality were starting to get muzier and more Malleable, and a reality is no longer an over-the-board reality, you know, everybody’s got their own version of the truth right now.
So I wanted to explore this concept, but rather than keep it in today’s world, I thought it would be a lot of fun to take it back to the last time that I felt something like this was happening, which was the Satanic Panic in the 1980s. It’s a lot more fun for me to create a show about heavy metal and horror films and John Hughes and all that kind of stuff. It’s set in small town Michigan, I grew up in small town Michigan, it’s just really my way of making sense of all this stuff.
The show has “One of the best pilot scripts“Goodman has always read
“… It was a very exciting project for me to be involved in.”
David, I will turn to you next. Coming to the show, what was it about Matthew’s original vision that really drew you to want to help co-showrunner for it?
David A. Goodman: Yes, it was very exciting. I read Matt’s pilot script, and it was one of the best pilot scripts I’ve ever read, the show was there in the script. But, I think probably the thing that hooked me the most, I had just done a high school movie, Honor Society, which Matt had read, and that was actually one of the reasons he wanted to meet me. I think one of the things that got me hooked on his script was this high school kid making some bad decisions. You’re watching Dylan make one bad decision after the next, and yet for the most relatable of reasons. And then you also see his parents, and the other adults in this town, also make some really bad decisions for the most relatable reasons.
That ends the grounded nature of the show was about the fear of being a parent, the fear of being a child, and that weird communication that breaks down when your child becomes a teenager. It’s definitely something that I’ve experienced both ends and that most parents have, and most people have in some form. And I just found that really compelling, along with everything else that Matt put into the script, the horror, the comedy and his view of the world. So it was a very exciting project for me to be involved in.
The show’s tonal mix required input from “A village of people”
“… There is as much in the writing as there is in the regime, as there is in the editing.”
Since you mentioned the grounded nature of it, I love how the show mixes a very grounded feel with an absurdist sense of humor and horror. What was it like finding that balance for both of you in the writing process during the show?
Matthew Scott Kane: You know, it’s as much in the writing as it is in the direction, as it is in the editing. Something might feel perfect on a page, and then you see how it looks on screen in the edit bay, and you say, “Well, we have to rule this way, way in.” There are so many moments that took so many iterations, but since it’s a season 1 show, since it’s all of us, it’s not just David and I making the decisions.
It is a caste and crew, it is a village of people. We’re all still figuring it out together, and we’re all still trying to get there together. So, it’s really a process of, every step of the way, doing your best to land what’s in your head, and if that’s not working, then find a way to turn it into something that will
David A. Goodman: I would just agree with everything Matt said. It’s a process, and at some point, you just have to stop working on it and add it to the world. But you always work on it. You always do your best to make sure you hit the nail on the head, that you get the laugh you want, but that they undermine the fear.
And that you make sure that your characters feel real, and that the audience will relate to them. It’s a continuous process. It is very exciting now to see what the world thinks about the work we have done.
Goldstein, Daly and Vogt-Roberts were fantastic collaborators for the duo
The DND Duo was even meant to host the show at one point
I wanted to ask, I also saw that Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daly and Jordan Vogt-Roberts are all involved as executive producers. I would like to hear from you both what their involvement was in the show, did they give notes on scripts, were they on set just to have fun?
Matthew Scott Kane: I can speak to Goldstein and Daley, they were actually originally attached to direct this a long time ago, when we first took on the script. Unfortunately, due to scheduling, they weren’t able to, which is how we ended up with Jordan, and we’re very grateful to have landed with Jordan. Goldstein and Daly remained a presence throughout, they would give us their comments.
But also, they had a lot of faith in David and I to make the show that we wanted to make. It was only if they were very concerned with something we were doing that they would ever actually run the notes through us. And for Jordan, essentially, Jordan was the director of the pilot and the finale. So, Jordan did a lot of heavy lifting in episode 1 to help us build the world, to help the world feel lived in.
And to that note you were just talking about a moment ago, he really helped us find the show there. He helped us find the materials and the tones and everything that we needed to make it click for the next seven episodes. So, he was very vital, along with some help from Goldstein and Daly, also in terms of getting it up and running.
David A. Goodman: When you work with Goldstein and Dolly, you understand the threading of the needle of the comedy and the drama and the horror, and their input all the way. And they developed the project with Matt before it was sold, and once it was sold, having the two involved is always helpful. And then, again, Jordan is a force of nature, and brought so many ideas to the pilot and then to the finale. He pushed things right to the edge, and it made for two great episodes.
About Hysteria!
When a beloved varsity quarterback disappears during the “Satanic Panic” of the late 1980s, a struggling high school heavy metal band from Outkas realizes they can capitalize on the town’s sudden interest in the occult by building a reputation as a Satanic metal band. , until a strange series of murders, kidnappings and reported “supernatural activity” triggers a leather-studded witch hunt that leads directly back to them.
Stay tuned for our others Hysteria! Interview with:
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Bruce Campbell
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Emjay Anthony, Chiara Aurelia & Kezii Curtis
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Anna Camp & Nikki Hahn
Source: Screen Rant Plus