A Nightmare on Elm Street star Robert Englund will host a new spooky TV series for the Travel Channel. Travel Channel is no stranger to eerie and scary TV shows. They’ve been home to titles like Ghost Adventures, Most Haunted, and The Dead Files, all of which have supernatural elements and settings.
Englund began acting in 1974 with the film Buster and Billie, but his career has only grown from there. The actor continued his trade for the better part of a decade, and then received newfound fame when he appeared in the V TV-miniseries as Willie in 1983. The following year, Englund not only appeared in V, but he also got the most iconic role in his career; Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street. A Nightmare on Elm Street quickly became a popular horror flick, which launched a franchise for Englund as the Springwood Slasher. Freddy got a total of seven sequels and an anthology TV show, but now Englund himself will be hosting a creepy TV show of his own.
According to THR, Englund will be the host of a new TV series on Travel Channel calls Shadows of History. The show will start with six episodes, where Englund will investigate “frightening, odd and creepy” American newspaper stories. In each episode, Englund will attempt to discover the truth behind the stories with the help of historians and scholars. When announcing the program, Travel Channel GM Jane Latman commented, “How can you make fascinating and petrifying stories even more scary? Add the genius of Robert Englund. As if tales of flying monsters, zombie cannibals and ghost ships were not enough, we are cranking up the volume for maximum impact. And our fans are going to go nuts for this legendary actor”.
For years, fans have been wanting to see more of Freddy Krueger and tales from Elm Street. In 2010, Jackie Earle Haley starred in a remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, but the film received mostly negative reviews from fans and critics. Englund will be 72 this year, and the actor himself has even admitted that he’s too old to play Krueger again. That being said, Englund did briefly appear in the Halloween episode of The Goldbergs as Freddy Krueger, which was the first time he had played the character since Freddy vs. Jason in 2003. Englund has teased that he might have it in him to play Freddy for one last movie, but for now fans will have to settle for Shadows of History.
Despite the quality and accuracy of some of their shows, Travel Channel has no doubt seen success with their programs that deal with haunted locations and scary settings. Even when it’s not Halloween time, the shows mentioned above have done well for the channel, but Shadows of History has the potential to be one of their most successful shows in the horror genre. Anybody who’s seen Englund at a convention or in an interview knows that he’s charismatic and has a knack for storytelling, especially when it comes to history and cinema. Combine that with the fact that Englund is a well-known horror icon thanks to A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Travel Channel has the potential for another successful show.
More: The Origin & Real Meaning Of Freddy Krueger’s Song In A Nightmare On Elm Street
Source: THR
