Are You Afraid of the Dark?

For other uses, see Are You Afraid of the Dark? (disambiguation).
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Genre
Created by
Starring(See list of cast)
Theme music composer
Ending theme"Welcome to the Carnival" by Lilou Bouhier (2019)
Country of origin
  • Canada
  • United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons10
No. of episodes104 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time
  • 22–25 minutes (1992–2000)
  • 44–45 minutes (2019–22)
Production companies
Original release
Network
ReleaseAugust 15, 1992 (1992-08-15) –
February 3, 1996 (1996-02-03)
ReleaseFebruary 6, 1999 (1999-02-06) –
June 11, 2000 (2000-06-11)
ReleaseOctober 11, 2019 (2019-10-11) –
August 13, 2022 (2022-08-13)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Are You Afraid of the Dark? is a children's horror anthology television series created by D. J. MacHale and Ned Kandel. The original series aired on Nickelodeon from August 15, 1992 to February 3, 1996; the pilot episode aired respectively on YTV and Nickelodeon in October 31, 1990 on Nickelodeon and October 25, 1991 on YTV. It led to two revival series, with the first airing from February 6, 1999 to June 11, 2000, and the second airing from October 11, 2019 to August 13, 2022.

The original series was created by D. J. MacHale and Ned Kandel, and was picked up by Nickelodeon in 1991.[3] MacHale, Kandel, and Nickelodeon teamed up with the Canadian company CINAR, and as a part of the deal the show was filmed primarily in Montreal, Quebec,[4] with some additional filming taking place in Richmond, British Columbia. The production teams were respectively represented by the ACTRA and SCTVQ (Syndicat des techniciens du cinéma et de la vidéo du Québec) labour unions.[b] It premiered with the episode "The Tale of the Twisted Claw" as a pilot on the Canadian television network YTV on October 31, 1990.[citation needed] The pilot aired on Nickelodeon as a Halloween special on October 25, 1991. The series premiered the following year on Nickelodeon's SNICK on August 15, 1992, and on Family Channel on September 2, 1992.[6] The series moved from Family Channel to YTV on September 6, 1993.[7] The original series ended on February 3, 1996.

The first revival series, with new directors, writers, and a cast, was produced by Nickelodeon from 1999 to 2000 and also aired on the SNICK block. The only member from the original lineup to return for the first and second seasons of the revival was Tucker (Daniel DeSanto), although Gary (Ross Hull) returned for the concluding show, which notably broke from the show's established format by blurring the line between story and "reality".[citation needed]

On November 13, 2017, it was announced that Paramount Players would make a live-action feature film adaptation. However, the film was later removed from Paramount's schedule. On February 14, 2019, it was announced that the series would be revived again for a limited series,[8] which premiered on October 11, 2019.[9] On February 19, 2020, this revival was renewed for a second season,[10] titled Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Curse of the Shadows, which premiered on February 12, 2021, featuring a different cast.[11][12] In March 2022, the revival was renewed for a third and final season, which premiered on July 30, 2022.

On March 28, 2024, the revival series was removed from Paramount+ as part of a "strategic decision to focus on content with mass global appeal".[13]

  1. ^ "Are You Afraid of the Dark?". Metacritic. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  2. ^ "Are You Afraid of the Dark? Reboot to Premiere at Beyond Fest". BroadwayWorld TV. October 1, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  3. ^ Klickstein, Mathew (2012-04-02). "13 Things About Are You Afraid of the Dark?". Vulture. Retrieved 2022-03-08.
  4. ^ "After 25 years, an oral history of 'Are You Afraid of the Dark?'". The Globe and Mail. 29 October 2015.
  5. ^ "AQTIS and Its History". AQTIS. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  6. ^ "The Prince George Citizen". pgnewspapers.pgpl.ca. 2 September 1992. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  7. ^ "The Prince George Citizen TV Times". pgnewspapers.pgpl.ca. 11 September 1993. p. 7. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Second Revival was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Video: Nickelodeon Reveals Premiere Date and Trailer for Return of "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"". The Futon Critic. September 13, 2019.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Revival-S2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "'Are You Afraid of the Dark?' Gets Season 2 Trailer & Premiere Date on Nickelodeon". Deadline Hollywood. January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference S2-casting was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Removed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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