Halloween season on TV means a wave of animated specials, spooky one-offs, and returning traditions across broadcast and streaming. This guide rounds up the Halloween 2026 TV specials and streaming events we know about so far, and we will keep adding titles, dates, and where to watch as networks confirm them.
New for 2026
Coven Academy (Freeform, Disney+, and Hulu). Freeform’s new teen-witch drama premieres Thursday, October 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, with the full season streaming the next day on Disney+ and Hulu. Set in New Orleans and created by Tim Federle, it stars Tiffani Thiessen and features a guest turn from Devon Sawa. It is the marquee new title on Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween this year. See our full write-up on Coven Academy.
Vampirina: Teenage Vampire, season 2 (Disney Channel and Disney+). The live-action musical series returns Tuesday, October 6 on Disney Channel, and the full season streams the next day on Disney+. Kenzi Richardson stars as Vee, a young vampire keeping her identity secret at a human performing arts school, and this season she tries to make sense of a prophecy that says she and Elijah (Shaun Dixon) can never be together. Jodie Sweetin and Ava Jean join as recurring guest stars.
Is It Cake? Halloween, season 2 (Netflix). Mikey Day hosts again as six hyper-realistic cake artists build spooky cakes to trick celebrity judges, with a cash prize and the title of Is It Cake? Halloween Champion on the line. What’s on Netflix reports the new season premieres Friday, October 9 with three 40-minute episodes. Its guest judges include Wednesday stars Hunter Doohan, Joy Sunday, and Isaac Ordonez, plus Bianca Belair, Blippi, Lil Rel Howery, Cedric Yarbrough, Kristen Schaal, and Paul Scheer.
Evil Dead Burn TV premiere (HBO and HBO Max). HBO gives Evil Dead Burn its TV premiere on Saturday, October 3 at 8 p.m. ET, after special showings of Evil Dead (2013) at 4:45 p.m. ET and Evil Dead Rise at 6:20 p.m. ET. The film streams exclusively on HBO Max starting Friday, October 2. See my Halloween streaming guide for the rest of the season’s new horror.
Family Guy: Happy Hell-o-ween (Hulu). Family Guy’s 2026 Halloween special sends Brian and Stewie to Hell, where they answer for 24 seasons of bad behavior and, after annoying the Devil himself, end up running the place. Succession star Kieran Culkin guest stars as Satan. Revealed at San Diego Comic-Con, it streams on Hulu this fall, with an exact date still to come. See our full write-up on Family Guy’s Happy Hell-o-ween.
Spidey and the Avengers: Halloween Team-Up! (Disney Jr. and Disney+). This Marvel preschool crossover teams up the casts of Spidey and His Amazing Friends and Iron Man and His Awesome Friends. It premieres Thursday, September 24 on Disney Jr. and Disney Jr. on Demand, then streams on Disney+ starting Friday, September 25. The special features Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy as the villain Jack O’Lantern and Este Haim of HAIM as Hallows Eve, with new songs written by Stump, and it sets up the Avengers: Mightiest Friends series coming in 2027.
The Terrors of Jordan Mendoza (Adult Swim and HBO Max). Adult Swim’s new live-action horror-comedy premieres Sunday, September 13 at midnight ET/PT. Created by and starring comedian Jordan Mendoza, the quarter-hour series follows a very scared man through a barrage of absurd, terrifying dreamscapes, with guest turns from Steve Buscemi, Haley Joel Osment, Wanda Sykes, and more. See our full write-up on The Terrors of Jordan Mendoza.
A Very Haunted Renovation (HGTV and HBO Max). HGTV’s new competition series drops six designers into Bihl Manor, a mansion in Fremont, Ohio billed as one of America’s most haunted homes, to renovate it over 31 days for a $50,000 prize. The horror-heavy judging panel includes Elvira (Cassandra Peterson), Eli Roth, and Jack Osbourne. It premieres Tuesday, September 15 at 8|7c, streaming the next day on HBO Max. See our full write-up on A Very Haunted Renovation.
Returning Halloween Traditions
The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror XXXVII (Fox). The Simpsons’ Halloween episode airs Sunday, October 25 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox and opens with a stop-motion Nightmare Before Christmas sequence, with Bart as Jack Skellington and Marge as Sally. In the three stories, Marge’s shed keeps giving her new husbands, Bart and Santa’s Little Helper switch bodies, and Homer is in scary driver’s ed movies. See my full write-up on Treehouse of Horror 2026.
Beyond the new specials, a handful of annual favorites typically return each October. Watch network and streaming listings for staples like the Peanuts classic It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and perennial Halloween movie marathons. We will add confirmed 2026 airdates here as they are announced.
Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween. Freeform’s monthlong movie marathon returns for 2026 with a full month of Halloween films, family favorites, and franchise nights, including a Tim Burton night on October 16. See the complete 31 Nights of Halloween schedule for the nightly lineup.
AMC FearFest (AMC and AMC+). AMC’s annual horror marathon turns 30 this year, and the Crypt Keeper from Tales From the Crypt is hosting, voiced again by John Kassir. The Walking Dead director Greg Nicotero re-created the puppet at his KNB EFX studio and directed the new Crypt Keeper segments, which AMC calls the first new Crypt Keeper content in 30 years. FearFest starts Thursday, October 1 with a Halloween kickoff marathon and runs more than 650 hours of horror films, series, and specials through October, including the Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and Final Destination franchises, a Stephen King lineup, and Tales From the Crypt marathons. See the full AMC FearFest 2026 schedule, day by day.
How to Watch
The 2026 specials are spread across streaming services. Is It Cake? Halloween streams on Netflix. Family Guy’s Happy Hell-o-ween is a Hulu exclusive, while Spidey and the Avengers: Halloween Team-Up! airs first on Disney Jr. before moving to Disney+. AMC’s FearFest airs on AMC, and many of its movies also stream on AMC.com with a cable login or on AMC+. Broadcast staples generally air on their home networks in the weeks leading up to Halloween.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Family Guy 2026 Halloween special? Happy Hell-o-ween, a Hulu special sending Brian and Stewie to Hell with Kieran Culkin voicing Satan. It streams this fall.
When is the Spidey and the Avengers Halloween special? Spidey and the Avengers: Halloween Team-Up! premieres September 24 on Disney Jr. and September 25 on Disney+.
When does AMC FearFest 2026 start? Thursday, October 1, on AMC and AMC+. The Crypt Keeper hosts this year for FearFest’s 30th anniversary. Every marathon is in the full FearFest schedule.
When does Vampirina: Teenage Vampire season 2 come out? October 6 on Disney Channel, with the full season on Disney+ on October 7.
When does Is It Cake? Halloween season 2 come out? Friday, October 9 on Netflix, according to What’s on Netflix, with three 40-minute episodes.
Will more specials be added? Yes. This is a living guide, updated as networks and streamers confirm their Halloween 2026 lineups.
Last updated: September 28, 2026. This guide is updated as more Halloween 2026 TV specials are announced.
