It’s on Shudder: The Wholesome Reason Everyone Loves the #1 Horror Streaming Service
This year, horror streaming service Shudder celebrates a decade of bringing genre fans films/TV worth screaming about. In the last ten years, the streamer has grown from a small niche service to a widely popular brand with a dedicated base of subscribers that continues to break viewership records. Why, just last year, Shudder exclusive, Oddity, placed as Dread’s best horror film of 2024. That’s quite the achievement.
So, how has Shudder managed to retain such a loyal fanbase while growing to new heights? As Variety reports today, it has everything to do with a team made up of horror fans themselves, one that prioritizes creative talent over algorithm-based content.
Said Shudder senior VP of programming and acquisitions, Samuel Zimmerman, “When Shudder first started, I was given a lot of support. ‘You’re the curator of this, because Shudder is meant to feel hand-picked, programmed for people who love the genre.’ As we’ve grown, sticking to that ambition has been really important, because it shines a light on who we are as a team.”
One could argue Shudder has succeeded in that endeavor and then some. These days, the service is home to a host of exclusive genre films with a wide range of variety, movies that are unique and that swing for the fences. There’s Issa Lopez’s tragic horror fantasy, Tigers Are Not Afraid, Robert Morgan’s breathtaking Stopmotion, Sébastien Vanicek’s Infested…the list goes on and on.
As Emily Gotto, Shudder’s senior VP of acquisitions and productions, puts it, “If you’re going to have a platform that specializes and celebrates the world of horror, you need to be able to represent the length and breadth of what that genre encapsulates…We really want people to come to the service and find something for them.”
A large part of delivering the breadth of what the genre has to offer comes by Shudder allowing creative talent to do what they do best…create.
Greg Nicotero, developer of Shudder’s “Creepshow” series and the services upcoming reality competition show (a first for the streamer), told Variety on the making of “Creepshow“, “They gave me the freedom to explore and let me shift the tone.”
That kind of freedom is important. The fans can always sense when a creative has been allowed to deliver their vision or been beaten to death by studio notes. Shudder’s success points to a streamer who understands that well.
These last ten years have been a wild ride for Shudder. Where they’ll be in another decade, no one can say for sure, but one thing we can all bet on is that they will continue to provide all sorts of exciting new horror made by fans for fans.
Categorized: News
