10 Mind-Blowing Facts You Never Knew About Freddy Krueger
6. He Had A (Short-Lived) TV Anthology Show
This one may come as a surprise to even the most hardened of Fred heads (not sure if this’s an official name for the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise fandom, but it certainly should be), but it’s true.
Freddy’s Nightmares aired from 1988 until 1990, beginning after the success of the first of many Twilight Zone revivals in the mid-eighties and a mere year before viewers would all come to know and love HBO’s unforgettable addition to the genre, the grisly EC comics-inspired Tales from the Crypt.
The more obvious inspiration for this anthology, which featured Freddy playing host duties and introducing standalone horror stories each week, was the previous year’s Friday the 13th the Series based on Sean S Cunningham’s highly successful competing slasher franchise—though there’s no doubt that the eloquent Freddy beat the silent Jason as a host.
Despite boasting some serious pedigree behind the camera with Poltergiest/ Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Tobe Hooper directing its pilot episode, the series was short-lived and not beloved by critics, though some segments are worth a watch for Nightmare completists if no one else—and to see an early appearance from a pre-fame Brad Pitt.