The true crime podcast boom gets a bloody, meta-horror spin in Hell Motel, a new anthology series checking into Shudder and AMC+ with a two-episode premiere on Tuesday, June 17. Headlined by Eric McCormack, the eight-part limited series looks to be a knowing riff on the very audience that consumes stories of real-life tragedy for entertainment.
The setup is a classic horror trope with a modern twist. A group of ten true crime obsessives wins an invitation to the grand reopening of the Cold River Motel, the infamous site of a 30-year-old unsolved Satanic Mass Murder. They’ve come to immerse themselves in the dark history, but when they become stranded, the motel’s past begins to repeat itself. One by one, the guests are picked off in a gruesome murder spree, forcing the survivors to become the detectives they’ve always fancied themselves to be.
Created by Aaron Martin and Ian Carpenter, the minds behind the Slasher series, Hell Motel is clearly aimed at horror fans who appreciate a self-aware narrative. McCormack leads a cast that includes Atticus Mitchell, Brynn Godenir, and Michelle Nolden. The premiere will drop both episodes to kick things off, with subsequent installments released weekly on Tuesdays.
