# Critters: A New Binge
**Critters: A New Binge** is an American horror-comedy web series and a reboot of the *Critters* film franchise, released as eight short episodes on the Shudder streaming service on March 21, 2019. It was written and directed by Jordan Rubin with Jon Kaplan and Al Kaplan, and it was the first new screen entry in the franchise since *Critters 4* in 1992.[1](https://www.amcglobalmedia.com/2019/02/28/critters-a-new-binge-series-to-premiere-march-21-exclusively-on-shudder/) • [2](https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3551358/review-even-critters-franchise-deserves-better-critters-new-binge/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Eight short-form episodes of roughly 9 to 12 minutes each, about 70 minutes in total, rated TV-MA[2](https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3551358/review-even-critters-franchise-deserves-better-critters-new-binge/) • [3](https://tubitv.com/series/300017479/critters-a-new-binge) |
| Premiere | All episodes released exclusively on Shudder in the U.S. on Thursday, March 21, 2019; trailer released February 28, 2019[1](https://www.amcglobalmedia.com/2019/02/28/critters-a-new-binge-series-to-premiere-march-21-exclusively-on-shudder/) • [4](https://critters.fandom.com/wiki/Critters%3A_A_New_Binge) |
| Origin | Ordered in January 2018 by Verizon's go90 from Blue Ribbon Content, Warner Bros. Television Group's digital studio; go90 shut down before release[5](https://bloody-disgusting.com/tv/3477868/crites-will-return-earth-tv-series-critters-new-binge/) • [6](https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3537980/critters-new-binge-moving-forward-feature-film/) |
| Creators | Jordan Rubin, Jon Kaplan, and Al Kaplan (the team behind *Zombeavers* and *The Drone*) wrote and executive produced; Rubin directed[1](https://www.amcglobalmedia.com/2019/02/28/critters-a-new-binge-series-to-premiere-march-21-exclusively-on-shudder/) |
| Main cast | Joey Morgan (Christopher), Stephi Chin-Salvo (Dana), Bzhaun Rhoden (Charlie), Lauren K. Robek (Veronica), with Gilbert Gottfried and Thomas Lennon[1](https://www.amcglobalmedia.com/2019/02/28/critters-a-new-binge-series-to-premiere-march-21-exclusively-on-shudder/) • [3](https://tubitv.com/series/300017479/critters-a-new-binge) |
| Setting | The Critters land in Burbank, California, and torment a group of high school students and their families[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/critters_a_new_binge) |
| Current availability | Streaming free with ads on The Roku Channel, Plex, and Tubi; no longer on Shudder[8](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/critters-a-new-binge/season-1) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and story
The series is a reboot that bears no storyline connection to the earlier films, acknowledging only that the Critters were on Earth in the 1980s and again around the turn of the millennium.[2](https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3551358/review-even-critters-franchise-deserves-better-critters-new-binge/) • [10](https://www.joblo.com/critters-a-new-binge-web-series-review/) The Crites, the carnivorous furry aliens of the franchise, return to Earth on a covert mission to recover one of their own who was left behind years earlier, pursued by intergalactic bounty hunters, and under orders from their president to keep their hunger in check.[1](https://www.amcglobalmedia.com/2019/02/28/critters-a-new-binge-series-to-premiere-march-21-exclusively-on-shudder/) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/critters_a_new_binge)
They encounter lovelorn high-schooler [Christopher](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher) (Joey Morgan), his crush Dana (Stephi Chin-Salvo), his best friend Charlie (Bzhaun Rhoden), and his mother Veronica (Lauren K. Robek). The episode titles trace the arc: after early episodes in which the police dismiss reports of "furry balls with teeth," Christopher and Veronica are abducted in episode six, "For Crite's Sake," where Chris learns the truth about his heritage; the finale, "The Final Battle," takes place at a hot dog eating contest.[3](https://tubitv.com/series/300017479/critters-a-new-binge)
The central reveal, which the show's own marketing kept as a surprise, is that Christopher is a Crite/human hybrid, conceived at a Y2K party between his mother and the president of the Crites. The Crites want Chris to join them, and bounty hunters threatening his friends force the confrontation that ends the series.[4](https://critters.fandom.com/wiki/Critters%3A_A_New_Binge) • [11](https://www.slashfilm.com/555685/critters-the-new-binge-interview/) Reviewers singled out this hybrid storyline as the series' most distinctive and most divisive creative decision.[12](https://cultsploitation.com/critters-a-new-binge-review-shudder/) • [2](https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3551358/review-even-critters-franchise-deserves-better-critters-new-binge/)
## Production history
The project was announced in January 2018, more than 25 years after the fourth *Critters* film, when Verizon's go90 ordered the series from Blue Ribbon Content, with Abominable Pictures producing. Jordan Rubin, Jon Kaplan, and Al Kaplan, the creative team behind *[Zombeavers](https://www.edgepedia.org/zombeavers)*, were attached as writers and executive producers, with Rubin also directing. Rupert Harvey and Barry Opper, producers on the original film franchise, joined the production.[5](https://bloody-disgusting.com/tv/3477868/crites-will-return-earth-tv-series-critters-new-binge/)
Verizon shut down go90 before the series could premiere, putting the project in peril.[6](https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3537980/critters-new-binge-moving-forward-feature-film/) In February 2019, Shudder, AMC Networks' horror-focused streaming service, announced it had acquired exclusive U.S. rights. The press release described the show as an eight-episode short-form series produced by Front Street Pictures Inc. and Abominable Pictures in association with Blue Ribbon Content, with Ivana Kirkbride and Chris Castallo as additional executive producers and Jonathan Stern and Harvey Kahn as producers.[1](https://www.amcglobalmedia.com/2019/02/28/critters-a-new-binge-series-to-premiere-march-21-exclusively-on-shudder/)
Filming took place in Canada during the summer of 2018 and wrapped in Vancouver.[4](https://critters.fandom.com/wiki/Critters%3A_A_New_Binge) Rubin said the show was blocked and shot by location like a feature film, and that it could just as easily have been cut as one movie; the writing, however, was done with serialization and binge viewing in mind.[9](https://www.slashfilm.com/565128/critters-a-new-binge-interview/)
## The Crites on screen
Rubin deliberately gave the creatures far more personality than in the films. The Crites talk, scheme, and report to a suited president (voiced in a cameo by [Stephen Merchant](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-merchant)), and they try to restrain their appetite by tying people up or capturing them in nets rather than eating them, a rule they fail to keep.[10](https://www.joblo.com/critters-a-new-binge-web-series-review/) • [9](https://www.slashfilm.com/565128/critters-a-new-binge-interview/) Main puppeteer Glenn Williams created a miniature Crite language for filming, which was partly replaced in post-production by voice actors recording dialogue.[9](https://www.slashfilm.com/565128/critters-a-new-binge-interview/)
The Chiodo Brothers, who created the creatures for the 1986 film, did not work on the series; budget and location constraints in Vancouver led Rubin to hire the local effects company SFX instead, producing fully animatronic puppets that could also be rod-puppeted.[9](https://www.slashfilm.com/565128/critters-a-new-binge-interview/) Jon and Al Kaplan, who scored Rubin's earlier films, composed the series' music and theme.[13](https://musiquefantastique.com/bingeing-on-critters/)
## Reception
Critical and fan reception was largely negative. A [Bloody Disgusting](https://www.edgepedia.org/bloody-disgusting) review called the series cheap and unfunny and said it hardly captured the spirit of the films, while finding the episode-six reveal either amusing or the worst idea depending on taste.[2](https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3551358/review-even-critters-franchise-deserves-better-critters-new-binge/) A retrospective of the franchise in the same outlet reported that most fans consider *A New Binge* the low point of the series, though the reviewer admitted to an ironic enjoyment of its low-brow humor.[14](https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3709499/critters-franchise-retrospective/) The Cultsploitation review was more favorable, judging it better than the third and fourth films and praising the expansion of the Crites' motives, while criticizing the effects.[12](https://cultsploitation.com/critters-a-new-binge-review-shudder/) On IMDb the season holds a rating of 5.0 out of 10.[8](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/critters-a-new-binge/season-1)
Rubin left the ending open for a second season, but no second season followed. The franchise instead continued with the separate 2019 feature film *Critters Attack!*, and the series later left Shudder, resurfacing on free ad-supported services including [The Roku Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-roku-channel), Plex, and Tubi.[9](https://www.slashfilm.com/565128/critters-a-new-binge-interview/) • [15](https://www.joblo.com/were-here-for-the-krites/) • [8](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/critters-a-new-binge/season-1)
## References
1. [CRITTERS: A NEW BINGE SERIES TO PREMIERE MARCH 21 EXCLUSIVELY ON SHUDDER, AMC Global Media (February 28, 2019)](https://www.amcglobalmedia.com/2019/02/28/critters-a-new-binge-series-to-premiere-march-21-exclusively-on-shudder/)
2. [[Review] Even the 'Critters' Franchise Deserves Better Than "Critters: A New Binge", Bloody Disgusting (March 18, 2019)](https://bloody-disgusting.com/reviews/3551358/review-even-critters-franchise-deserves-better-critters-new-binge/)
3. [Critters: A New Binge, Tubi episode listing](https://tubitv.com/series/300017479/critters-a-new-binge)
4. [Critters: A New Binge, Critters Wiki (Fandom)](https://critters.fandom.com/wiki/Critters%3A_A_New_Binge)
5. [Crites Will Return to Earth for TV Series "Critters: A New Binge"!, Bloody Disgusting (January 10, 2018)](https://bloody-disgusting.com/tv/3477868/crites-will-return-earth-tv-series-critters-new-binge/)
6. ['Critters' Feature Film Could Shoot This January in South Africa, Bloody Disgusting (December 12, 2018)](https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3537980/critters-new-binge-moving-forward-feature-film/)
7. [Critters: A New Binge, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/critters_a_new_binge)
8. [Critters: A New Binge Season 1, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/critters-a-new-binge/season-1)
9. ['Critters: A New Binge' Director On Giving The Crites More Dialogue And Leaning Into Comedy [Interview], SlashFilm (March 21, 2019)](https://www.slashfilm.com/565128/critters-a-new-binge-interview/)
10. [Critters: A New Binge (Web Series Review), JoBlo.com](https://www.joblo.com/critters-a-new-binge-web-series-review/)
11. ['Critters: The New Binge' Director Talks New Story, New Bounty Hunters And Chiodo Puppets [Interview], SlashFilm](https://www.slashfilm.com/555685/critters-the-new-binge-interview/)
12. [Critters: A New Binge Review (Shudder), Cultsploitation](https://cultsploitation.com/critters-a-new-binge-review-shudder/)
13. [Bingeing on Critters, Musique Fantastique (March 22, 2019)](https://musiquefantastique.com/bingeing-on-critters/)
14. [Critters Franchise Retrospective - Revisiting All Six Movies!, Bloody Disgusting](https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3709499/critters-franchise-retrospective/)
15. [We're Here for the Krites: The Making of Critters book takes a 339 page dive into the Critters franchise, JoBlo.com](https://www.joblo.com/were-here-for-the-krites/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Adapted and franchise screen series › Television series based on films › Live-action series based on films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license