Eli Roth’s ‘Hostel’ Horror Series with Paul Giamatti Coming to Peacock

The “Hostel” horror franchise is making its way to TV, and Peacock is the new home for the series. Variety reports that the show is currently in development at NBCUniversal’s streaming platform. Although the series was first announced earlier this year, the streaming service wasn’t confirmed until now.

Paul Giamatti is set to star in the show, while Eli Roth, who created the original movies, will write, direct, and executive produce the series.

Chris Briggs and Mike Fleiss, who produced all the previous “Hostel” films, will also serve as executive producers. The studio behind the project is Fifth Season. Plot details are still under wraps.

The “Hostel” movies focus on a terrifying group called the Elite Hunting Club. This secret organization, based in Eastern Europe, kidnaps tourists and sells them to wealthy clients who pay to torture and kill them.

The first film hit theaters in 2006, with Roth heavily involved as writer, director, and producer. Roth also worked on the 2007 sequel, but he wasn’t involved in the third movie, which was released straight to video in 2011.

Despite mixed reviews from critics, the first two “Hostel” films were big hits at the box office. They made nearly $120 million worldwide, even though they had relatively small budgets of under $11 million each.

Paul Giamatti is widely recognized as one of the best actors of his generation. He’s been nominated for two Oscars, for “Cinderella Man” and “The Holdovers.” He’s also received six Golden Globe nominations and won for his roles in the HBO series “John Adams,” and the films “Barney’s Version” and “The Holdovers.” Giamatti recently said he’s interested in doing more horror roles, sharing that “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is his favorite horror movie.

The “Hostel” series tells the story of a Slovakian criminal group that tricks innocent travelers into their hostels, where rich sadists bid on them to torture and kill. Throughout the films, it becomes clear that this dark cult operates on an international level.

The first “Hostel” movie starred Jay Hernandez and, while critics were mixed, audiences made it a box office success. The second film received even more divided reviews but still turned a profit. The third movie, released straight to home video, was better received by critics but doesn’t have clear sales numbers available.

Variety is the source for the information on the new “Hostel” TV series.

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