San Diego Comic-Con is in full swing, and thanks to the yearly festival of magic, we now have our first look at the newJames Wanhorror series,Teacup. Based on celebrated authorRobert McCammon’s glorious 1988 tome, ‘Stinger,’ the series starsThe Handmaid’s Tale’s Yvonne Strahovski,Underworld’s Scott Speedman,Picket Fences’ Kathy Baker, and amazing character actor Boris McGiver, to name a few. The first two episodes ofTeacupwill premiere on Aug 02, 2025, onPeacock, followed bytwo episodes released weekly through Halloween.
Per the SDCC panel, we have a slew of first-look images that show what fans can expect from the new series, which promises to be a blend of not only horror, but mystery and drama as well. The images show the haunting setting ofTeacup, which takes place in rural Georgia, and followsa disparate group of people who must come together in the face of a mysterious threat in order to survive. Check them out below.
Known for his work on theSaw,Insidious, andConjuringfranchises, Wan says it was an easy choice to bring McCammon’s novel to life once he read it, saying that producer and showrunner Ian McCulloch’s vision will introduce fansto the small screen adaptationin a “fresh way.”
“After reading Robert McCammon’s bookStinger, the entire team at Atomic Monster felt a spark. The story had all the ingredients for a captivating series and Ian McCulloch had a vision to bring it to life in a fresh way that was both startling and darkly atmospheric, but filled with a rich sense of humanity — often lacking in edgy narratives. Add in our incredibly talented cast led by Yvonne Strahovski, Scott Speedman and Chaske Spencer and fans are in for a true edge-of-your-seat experience.”
How Will Teacup Differ From McCammon’s Classic Novel?
At more than 550 pages, ‘Stinger’ is a majestic, in-depth lookat racial tensions, paranoia, economic strife, and the resolve of the human spirit to overcome hardships when faced with no choice but to work together. Set over the course of one night in the town of Inferno, Texas, it’s a masterful ensemble piece that’s a blend of science fiction and horror, but with the novel being so dense, what changes needed to be made to bring Teacup to life?
For one, the series takes the setting from Texas to Georgia, and seeing how the novel was first published in the late 1980s,brings it into modern times. According to McCulloch,Teacupwill also take away some of what made ‘Stinger’ such a gigantic novel, in favor of a more trimmed down experience.“It’s the acoustic version of a Radiohead song,“he says.
“I readStingerand it stayed with me. Wouldn’t leave me alone. I just couldn’t stop thinking about its razor-sharp premise, how it unfolds over the course of a single harrowing day, and about the relatable andrealfamily McCammon puts center stage. That’s when the flash bang-light bulb idea hit…
“What if I adaptedStingerin a way that honors the bookandstays true to the kinds of stories I like to tell? Keep the conceit. Keep Stinger’s most effective elements. Take away the large ensemble. Take away the giant set pieces. Even take away the book’s crowded town setting. The adaptation would be like an acoustic guitar version of, say, a Radiohead song.”
As to why it’s calledTeacupand notStinger? “The reasons for this are too spoilery to share,” he says,“but watch the first few episodes and all will be revealed.”
Acclaimed Horror Director to Produce Sitcom About Aliens Similar to The Office
Aliens and humans will unite in the new single-camera workplace comedy that’s set at one of the most notorious installations ever known.
Oh, we’ll be watching, if for nothing more than to hope that the series is a massive hit, and will pave the way for McCammon’s legendary post-apocalyptic novel, ‘Swan Song,’ tofinally get the adaptation it so rightfully deserves.
