Crystal Lake

Crystal Lake is a 2026 American horror television series created by Brad Caleb Kane and produced by A24 for Peacock. A prequel to Friday the 13th (1980), the eight-part series explores the history of Pamela Voorhees, played by Linda Cardellini, and her son Jason (Callum Vinson), whose disappearance during a summer at Camp Crystal Lake sets the events of the franchise in motion. Following Jason’s presumed drowning in 1971, Pamela struggles to accept his death while increasingly disturbing events unfold in the surrounding New Jersey community. William Catlett stars as local police chief Levon Brooks, alongside Devin Kessler as his journalist sister Briana, Cameron Scoggins as Officer Dorf and Gwendolyn Sundstrom as Grace, a young girl who was Jason’s closest friend. All eight episodes of the first season were released on 15 October 2026.

Crystal Lake (2026) was filmed in New Jersey, primarily around West Milford, Blairstown, Boonton, Newark and other communities in the northern part of the state. Principal photography took place between June and October 2025, with filming spread across seven New Jersey counties. The production returned to Blairstown, where several scenes from the original Friday the 13th had been filmed, but used Camp Ocawasin in West Milford rather than the original Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco in Hardwick Township. Other important locations included Camp Winnebago in Rockaway Township, Skyline Lakes Clubhouse in Ringwood, Rutt’s Hut in Clifton, an Elks Lodge in Boonton, Keansburg Amusement Park and several buildings in Newark and Wayne. Interior filming was also carried out at Cinelease Studios Caven Point in Jersey City.

The central filming location is Camp Ocawasin at 625 Macopin Road in West Milford, a historic summer camp and event property situated beside Hird Lake. The lake, surrounded by wooded hills and several camp buildings, represents the fictional Crystal Lake, where Jason Voorhees disappears beneath the water. These surroundings provide the setting for the series’ opening episode, “Camp Crystal”, which depicts the events leading to Jason’s disappearance. Jason attends the summer camp while his mother works in the kitchen, but is bullied by other children and struggles to fit in. When the young boy disappears into Hird Lake, Pamela begins a desperate search that continues long after the other residents have accepted that he is dead. The lakeshore and surrounding woodland remain important throughout the season, particularly as Pamela repeatedly returns to the water and the camp prepares to reopen.

The location differs from the camp used in the original Friday the 13th (1980). That film was shot at Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco, an established Scout camp in Hardwick Township, approximately fourteen miles from Blairstown. The original cabins, waterfront and boathouse have become familiar landmarks to horror fans, with limited guided tours occasionally organised at the property. Showrunner Brad Caleb Kane and his crew visited Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco while scouting for the television series but were unable to obtain permission to film there. They subsequently chose Camp Ocawasin, whose larger lake offered a more expansive body of water for the story. Kane particularly wanted the lake to suggest that Jason’s body might have been carried into deeper water, explaining why the search failed to recover him.

One of the most recognisable structures from the original film was recreated for the series. Production designer Lester Cohen built a reproduction of the boathouse associated with the murders of camp counsellors Barry and Claudette in Friday the 13th. The original wooden structure still stands at Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco, allowing the designers to study its proportions and appearance before reproducing it for the new production. The recreation maintains the visual connection between the television series and the 1980 film without requiring access to the original building. The camp setting returns in later episodes, particularly “A New Beginning” and “The New Blood”, when workers and new counsellors arrive to prepare for the camp’s reopening despite the unexplained deaths occurring around Crystal Lake.

Additional woodland and summer-camp scenes were filmed at Camp Winnebago, a Scout camp at 102 Timberbrook Road in Rockaway Township. The property contains extensive wooded grounds, cabins, trails and outdoor recreational facilities. The former Camp Tamarack, located within the Ramapo Valley County Reservation in Oakland, provided further forest and camp surroundings. Both properties helped extend the fictional Camp Crystal Lake beyond the waterfront and buildings photographed at Camp Ocawasin. Lewis Morris Park near Morristown was also used for outdoor filming, contributing to the wooded areas where police officers and residents search for evidence connected with the unexplained deaths.

The fictional town of Crystal Lake was recreated partly in Blairstown, a historic community in Warren County that also appeared in the original film. Its Main Street retains a collection of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century commercial buildings, making it suitable for the series’ early 1970s setting. The production returned in August 2025, temporarily replacing modern signs, introducing period vehicles and dressing shopfronts to match the fictional town. One of the most elaborate sequences appears in the fourth episode, “A New Beginning”, when Willow (Oona Roche) arrives in town, deliberately recreating Annie Phillips’ (Robbi Morgan) journey from Friday the 13th (1980) almost shot for shot. Willow crosses Main Street Bridge over Blair Creek, where the original bridge parapet and former Frank’s Delicatessen have been recreated, before walking downhill along Blair Place. She then passes beneath the distinctive stone arches of The Old Mill at 12 Main Street, emerging through the second opening and apparently heading across the road. In the following shot, she is walking downhill along Old Academy Drive, just as Annie did in the original film. Both streets lead towards Main Street, creating the same curious geographical inconsistency as the 1980 sequence, in which the character effectively approaches the same road twice from different directions. Much of the surrounding architecture remains remarkably similar more than four decades later, although the bridge and several neighbouring buildings have changed considerably. The filmmakers combined the surviving locations with recreated historical details, preserving the familiar appearance of Annie’s original journey while incorporating parts of present-day Blairstown into the background.

A building at 26 Main Street in Blairstown, formerly occupied by the Blairstown Museum, was used for the exterior of Hartung’s Diner. The property was previously seen in Friday the 13th (1980) as Hartung’s general store, where the young camp counsellor Annie visits while attempting to find her way to Camp Crystal Lake. In the new series, the filmmakers recreated the appearance of the earlier location, using the surviving Main Street buildings to reproduce familiar views of the fictional town. The café’s interior was constructed inside a vacant commercial property in Boonton, allowing the exterior in Blairstown and the interior filmed elsewhere to represent the same establishment. The diner provides a meeting place for Crystal Lake residents as rumours about the killings spread through the community.

The production did not use the famous Blairstown Diner on Route 94 for all of these restaurant scenes. Although that establishment appeared in the original 1980 film and remains a popular destination for fans, the new series uses the former museum building for Hartung’s exterior and a separate Boonton property for its interior. This distinction is important because several businesses in Blairstown have historical associations with Friday the 13th, but they were not necessarily used for the same purposes in the television production.

The town’s Founder’s Day celebration, featured in the first episode, was filmed at Skyline Lakes Clubhouse at 103 Skyline Lakes Drive in Ringwood. The lakeside property provides the setting for the community gathering to which Chief Levon Brooks invites Pamela. The event includes families and local residents enjoying the festivities, but the sight of children swimming reminds Pamela of Jason’s disappearance and makes her unable to participate comfortably. The clubhouse, open grounds and adjoining waterfront became part of the fictional town’s public celebration. The sequence was photographed at this separate location rather than in Blairstown, although both appear to belong to the same small community in the finished series.

Crystal Lake’s police station was filmed in a vacant former commercial building on Hawthorne Avenue, near its intersection with Warburton Avenue, in Hawthorne. The property had previously been occupied by a flooring business before the production converted it into the headquarters of the fictional local police department. The building appears throughout the season as Chief Brooks and Officer Dorf investigate the suspicious deaths, including the discovery of human remains in the surrounding woods. Its offices and connecting rooms become increasingly important as the officers begin questioning the people involved. The production filmed inside the real building as well as around its exterior, adapting the former retail space to resemble a small-town police station. Location manager Dena Ghieth explained that the crew searched extensively for a suitable property because the layout of the building was particularly important to a major scene.

Another identifiable location is a former commercial property at 425 Rockaway Valley Road in Boonton Township, which became Gus’s Pump & Pup, the town’s roadside filling station. The building was dressed with signs and period details to represent a local service station in the early 1970s. Its forecourt and roadside position provide a setting for scenes involving residents and passing motorists, adding another part of the fictional town beyond the central streets of Blairstown. The existing structure and adjoining road are visible in the series, making it one of the more easily identifiable minor filming locations.

The second episode, “Part II”, features a bowling date between Pamela and Levon as the police chief encourages her to begin rebuilding her life. The exterior of Crystal Lanes was filmed at the Elks Lodge at 125 Cornelia Street in Boonton. The building, associated with the local Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, was adapted to represent the bowling alley and adjoining bar. The location supplies the surroundings for the pair’s evening together, contrasting with Pamela’s repeated visits to the camp and her isolation at home. The Boonton property was one of several local buildings used to create the fictional town, despite being situated a considerable distance from Blairstown.

One of the season’s most violent locations is the Bronco Beef Pit, a fictional roadside restaurant filmed at Rutt’s Hut, 417 River Road in Clifton. The real establishment opened in 1928 and became particularly well known for its deep-fried hot dogs, locally called rippers. Its older roadside architecture and long-established dining areas made it suitable for the series’ period setting. The restaurant appears prominently in the third episode, “Part III”, when Pamela visits Valerie Snell, Grace’s mother, at her workplace. Concerned about the way Valerie treats her daughter, Pamela attempts to persuade her to show more compassion. Their confrontation becomes violent when Valerie insults Jason and questions Pamela’s abilities as a mother.

The confrontation at the Bronco Beef Pit ends with Pamela killing Valerie using equipment in the restaurant’s kitchen before setting the building on fire. In the following episode, “A New Beginning”, Levon informs Pamela that the restaurant has burned down and that Valerie’s body was found inside. The scenes were filmed using Rutt’s Hut as the real restaurant location, with its dining areas and exterior adapted to the fictional business. Production crews worked in and around the Clifton establishment during August 2025, filming both interior and exterior material. The location is especially distinctive because Rutt’s Hut remains an operating restaurant, unlike several of the vacant buildings temporarily converted for the series.

Newark provided a separate urban setting through the storyline involving Briana Brooks, Levon’s sister, who works as a journalist for The Star-Ledger. The newspaper offices were recreated inside the National Newark Building at 744 Broad Street, a thirty-five-storey Art Deco skyscraper completed in 1931. The building now houses Newark Film Studios and provided extensive interior space for the newsroom, where Briana investigates a chemical company and the circumstances surrounding the deaths in Crystal Lake. The production used the real building to create a working 1970s newspaper office, complete with desks, typewriters, documents and other period furnishings. Views from its windows also incorporate neighbouring Downtown Newark buildings, including the Academy Building on Academy Street.

Other Newark locations appear as Briana’s investigation moves beyond the newspaper offices. The Essex County Historic Courthouse at 470 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard was used for a telephone scene in the sixth episode, “Kill Them, Mommy”. Opened in 1907, the Beaux-Arts building contains elaborate marble interiors, a grand central staircase and ceremonial spaces. The series incorporates the actual interior architecture rather than a reconstructed courthouse set. Additional filming took place at Branch Brook Park, the Robert Treat Hotel, Grace Church and other properties around Newark, although not every scene from these locations has been individually identified.

The investigation into the chemical company also uses several locations in Wayne. The former Toys “R” Us headquarters at One Geoffrey Way, now known as the Dobco building, provided one of the company’s corporate exteriors, including the approach to a large formal gathering. The building’s modern office architecture was incorporated into the fictional organisation, while a separate property at 1600 Valley Road, associated with William Paterson University, supplied additional exterior views. The university’s Christos M. Cotsakos College of Business was used for scenes inside the conference venue. These separate buildings were combined to create a single corporate environment connected with the investigation into Pamela and Jason’s past. Additional office photography was undertaken at 100 Philips Parkway in Montvale.

The series also features a school building at 55 South Avenue in Atlantic Highlands, used for scenes involving the younger characters. The property was adapted for the period setting, with its institutional exterior and surrounding grounds incorporated into the story. Filming also took place at St Agnes Roman Catholic Church elsewhere in Atlantic Highlands. These Monmouth County locations extend the fictional community beyond the camp and the town centre, particularly during the episodes involving Jason’s former friend Grace and the local teenagers.

Keansburg Amusement Park at 239 Beachway Avenue in Keansburg provided another recognisable location. The waterfront amusement park, established in 1904, overlooks Raritan Bay and contains traditional rides, games and fairground structures. The production used the actual park for scenes involving a visit to the fair, with its amusement rides, decorated attractions and adjoining waterfront visible in the series. The location contributes a different part of the characters’ everyday surroundings from the isolated wooded camp. The nearby Keansburg Fishing Pier was also among the locations used during production.

The first season’s filming was supported by Cinelease Studios Caven Point at 21 Caven Point Avenue in Jersey City. The studio complex provided sound stages and production facilities for controlled interior work, supplementing the many real buildings used around New Jersey. The production spent 82 filming days in the state between June and October 2025, with location photography extending across Passaic, Warren, Morris, Essex, Bergen, Hudson and Monmouth counties. Its combination of Blairstown’s original Friday the 13th streets, the new lakeside camp in West Milford and the separate urban and institutional locations around Newark allowed the fictional town of Crystal Lake to expand far beyond the places seen in the 1980 film.

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