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Bullied teenagers, telekinesis and a house that shakes when its owner is pushed too far: Stephen King's 1974 novel Carrie has been reworked many times since Brian De Palma's 1976 film made it famous, though none of the follow-ups matched the original's impact. The story centres on Carrie White, a sheltered teenage girl raised by a domineering, deeply religious mother, whose repressed telekinetic powers surface after she is subjected to a humiliating act of bullying at school.

This new version is a television series for Amazon Prime, made by Mike Flanagan, a director known for horror projects such as The Haunting of Hill House and Doctor Sleep. It is the first time the story has been made as a TV show rather than a film, giving it more time to develop Carrie's home life and school experiences, with the bullying storyline reworked to reflect how social media can amplify cruelty among teenagers.

The project matters partly because of Flanagan's track record with King's work, and partly because earlier attempts to revisit Carrie on screen were generally considered disappointing. Expectations are therefore mixed, with interest centred on whether a longer, modernised format and a well-regarded creative team can do more justice to the source material than previous adaptations managed.