Meet Carrie and her mom in Mike Flanagan’s Amazon drama

Amazon is breathing new life into Stephen King’s troubled high school teen Carrie White and her religiously zealous mother.

After Mike Flanagan’s TV series adaptation of the King horror classic got the official green light at Prime Video, the drama found its Margaret White by way of Samantha Sloyan.

Sloyan has worked consistently with Flanagan since the home-invader horror film Hush. She delivered standout performances in Netflix series Midnight Mass (the often self-righteous nun Bev Keane) and The Fall of the House of Usher (one of the doomed Usher heirs, Tamerlane). She most recently worked with Flanagan on this year’s King adaptation of The Life of Chuck.

Now, she’ll step into the role made famous by Piper Laurie in 1976’s Carrie movie, which starred Sissy Spacek as the titular telekinetic. After Laurie, Patricia Clarkson played Margaret White in the Carrie TV film version, which starred Angela Bettis as Carietta “Carrie” White and premiered on NBC in 2002. The most recent Hollywood incarnation of King’s story was the 2013 movie, which featured Chloë Grace Moretz as Carrie and Julianne Moore as Mrs. White.

Amazon’s Carrie will begin filming an eight-episode first season this summer in Vancouver. Summer H. Howell, the 20-year-old who got her start in 2013’s Curse of Chucky, followed by 2017’s Cult of Chucky, will star as Carrie, a misfit teen who spent her life in seclusion with her abusive and domineering mother.

After the sudden death of her father, Carrie is forced to enter public high school. She endures a bullying scandal that shatters the community (even non-King readers can probably guess what it is), while also grappling with the unexplainable emergence of telekinetic powers.

Siena Agudong, who appeared on Netflix’s Resident Evil and No Good Nick series, will play Sue Snell, the classmate who actually feels remorse for her part in bullying Carrie. Amy Irving played Sue in the original movie version and the 1999 sequel The Rage: Carrie 2, while Kandyse McClure and Gabriella Wilde played her in the TV film and Moretz-led remake, respectively.

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Other key roles announced include Alison Thornton (Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce) as Chris Hargensen, Carrie’s chief bully; Joel Oulette (Sullivan’s Crossing) as Tommy, Sue’s boyfriend whom she asks to escort Carrie to the prom to make amends; Arthur Conti (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) as Billy, Chris’ boyfriend whom she convinces to pull off an evil prank on Carrie at the prom; and Amber Midthunder (Prey) as Miss Desjardin, the gym teacher who takes pity on Carrie after the bullying incident.

Thalia Dudek (The Running Man) will also play Emaline, Josie Totah (AppleTV+’s The Buccaneers) will play Tina, and horror alum Matthew Lillard (Five Nights at Freddy’s) will play Principle Grayle.

Flanagan will showrun, write, and executive produce the series, while directing select episodes. Trevor Macy, his longtime collaborator from Intrepid Pictures, is also executive producing. The duo previously had a deal with Netflix, which began after the debut of their overnight sensation The Haunting of Hill House and led to other horror series The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, and The Fall of the House of Usher.

Carrie now marks Flanagan and Macy’s first project under a new deal for Amazon MGM Studios, with hopefully more to come. Flanagan’s other current King-related project, the Life of Chuck film, will premiere in the U.S. this June. The filmmaker is also developing the new Exorcist for the big screen, writing a Clayface movie for DC Studios, and maintaining long-term plans to adapt King’s The Dark Tower for the small screen.