Lade Omotade is a News and Features Author at Collider, covering everything from casting announcements and streaming trends to behind-the-scenes stories and the cultural impact of today's biggest film and TV franchises. Since joining the team in 2024, she has written more than 1,000 news stories, with her work also cited by outlets like AOL and IMDb.
Mike Flanagan's Carrie, which premiered today, is the current talk of every horror chat forum. Like its predecessors, this supernatural series is based on Stephen King's 1974 novel, but it also makes some changes while keeping its main appeal. Starring Summer H. Howell as the title character, with Samantha Sloyan as her mom, Prime Video's Carrie is a modern retelling of the classic story of misfit high schooler Carrie White and the events leading up to the emergence of mysterious telekinetic powers.
Featuring 8 episodes, the series, as expected, includes familiar faces from Flanagan's past work, but the horror maestro also makes several additions; most notably about half a dozen stars from the legendary sci-fi masterpiece Battlestar Galactica. Battlestar Galactica is widely considered one of the greatest sci-fi shows of all time, and Flanagan appears to be a huge fan. The post-apocalyptic drama began with a miniseries that premiered 23 years ago, ultimately leading to four seasons that ran from October 18, 2004, to March 20, 2009.
The unexpected Battlestar Galactica reunion, per TV Insider, kicks off with Michael Trucco, known for playing Samuel Anders in the space opera. In Carrie, Trucco portrays John Hargensen, the father of mean girl Chris Hargensen (Alison Thornton), and has a recurring role across the season. Next, Tahmoh Penikett, who was Karl "Helo" Agathon on Battlestar Galactica, appears in Episode 6, "Home Economics," as Carrie's late father Ralph White. In flashbacks, he appears as Margaret White's conspiracy-minded partner, whose radical views influenced how they raised their daughter.
Four franchises, four completely different ways of getting underneath your skin. This is the one built out of your particular fear, why it works so well on you, and what it would leave behind.
Your nightmare does not wait outside the door. It waits for you to close your eyes, which you are going to have to do eventually, because nobody has ever won that particular argument.
Your nightmare is not really the doll. It is the face of the person you tell, and the way they decide, very kindly, that you have imagined all of it.
Your nightmare has your number, knows your name, and has almost certainly been inside your house before. The worst part is that you already know them.
Your nightmare is not really about you. It is about the people asleep down the hall, and the feeling that whatever is here is not interested in leaving.
Carrie Episode 7, "Romantic Literature", is where things really get interesting. Battlestar Galactica's Katee Sackhoff, who played Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, appears as an entirely new character in Carrie's story. Sackhoff isn't the only Battlestar Galactica alum in the episode, as she is joined by Aaron Douglas, Tricia Helfer, and Rekha Sharma.
As parents and students in Carrie convene to debate whether Ewen High School should cancel its senior prom, the room suddenly resembles a scene from Battlestar Galactica. Douglas, known for playing Chief Galen Tyrol in the sci-fi gem, appears as a frustrated parent in Carrie, while Helfer, who was the humanoid Cylon Number Six on Battlestar Galactica, joins as a concerned parent. Similarly, Sharma, who played Tory Foster, one of the Final Five Cylons, also appears as a parent speaking out at the meeting.
