Hell Motel Anthology Series Announced by Shudder
Shudder has announced Hell Motel, an all-new horror anthology series from Slasher series creators Aaron Martin and Ian Carpenter. The official trailer and key art for the series were also revealed.
The eight-episode limited series starring Emmy Award-winner Eric McCormack debuts with a two-episode premiere on Tuesday, June 17, on Shudder and AMC+, with new episodes releasing weekly on Tuesdays.
Hell Motel sees a group of 10 true crime obsessives invited to the opening weekend of the newly renovated Cold River Motel, the site of a 30-year-old unsolved Satanic Mass Murder. History repeats itself when the guests get stranded and start getting knocked off one by one during a murder spree that grows exponentially more gruesome than the original with each kill.
“When Aaron Martin and Ian Carpenter reached out to tell me they had crafted another irredeemable a-hole for me, my response was, ‘where do I sign?'” said Eric McCormack, who delivered a memorable performance in Slasher: Ripper. “If you loved hating Basil Garvey, prepare to feel an instant disdain for Hemmingway.”
“With Hell Motel, we take a good look in the mirror as both horror fans and horror creators, delving into the allure of a genre of storytelling as old as drama itself. But as any horror fan who’s ever uttered ‘Bloody Mary’ three times into a mirror knows, you’ve got to be careful what you wish for…,” added creators Martin and Carpenter.
McCormack (Will & Grace, Departure) takes on the role of Hemmingway, a chef with a wickedly sinister flair, and is joined by fellow motel’s guests Paige (Paula Brancati), a former scream queen actress looking to revive a career that has seemingly left her behind; Crow (Shaun Benson), a new-age medium with an apparent connection to the massacre’s victims; and Blake (Atticus Mitchell), a true crime writer and himself a survivor of a mass killing.
There’s also Kawayan (Emmanuel Kabongo), a talented artist with a dark focus on murder; Andy (Jim Watson), a bookish academic at the forefront of contemporary true crime studies; and Adriana (Genevieve DeGraves), a hybristophilic flight attendant with several notorious serial killer notches on her bedpost.
Canadian drag queen Icesis Couture (Canada’s Drag Race) also makes a guest appearance as Magenta, a stylish real estate agent who sells the Coldwater Motel to its new owners, Ruby (Brynn Godenir) and Portia (Michelle Nolden).
Hell Motel is a Shudder Original Series, developed and produced by Shaftesbury, in association with Hollywood Suite and with the financial participation of the Bell Fund. AMC Networks holds distribution rights.
The series is created and executive-produced by Martin and showrunner Carpenter. The additional executive producers include Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie, Thomas P. Vitale and director Adam MacDonald.
Hell Motel debuts during a milestone year for Shudder, as the streamer celebrates its 10-year anniversary of the best in horror. A year-long event, Shudder 10 will feature the service’s most terrifyingly ambitious slate to date, along with special fan events, a nationwide screening series, customed merchandise, and more.
The milestone follows a successful 2024 for Shudder as the streamer claimed six of the year’s top 10 titles on Rotten Tomatoes‘ 2024 Horror list, with Late Night with the Devil landing in the #1 spot.
