How Mike Flanagan's Carrie Series Reinvents 1 Key Stephen King Character Explained By Star

Courtesy of Prime Published Oct 7, 2026, 4:40 PM EDT Grant Hermanns is a TV News Editor, Interview Host and Reviewer for ScreenRant, having joined the team in early 2021. He got his start in the industry with Moviepilot, followed by working at ComingSoon.net. When not indulging in his love of film/TV, Grant is making his way through his gaming backlog and exploring the world of Dungeons & Dragons with friends. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Mike Flanagan's Carrie brings Stephen King's novel back to life, and offers a meaningful expansion of one key character. The Prime Video series is generally staying true to the 1974 novel of the same name, centering on the eponymous isolated young teenager as she makes her way to public school for the first time at Ewen High School. As she becomes the center of a city-wide bullying scandal, and struggles to get out from the controlling grasp of her domineering mother, Carrie also begins to develop telekinetic powers that put her on a dangerous path to find her own agency in the world. Summer H. Howell, fresh off her leading turn in the slasher thriller Night of the Hunter, leads the star-studded Carrie cast in the eponymous role alongside both new and returning Flanagan faces, including Samantha Sloyan as Carrie's mother Margaret, Siena Agudong, Alison Thornton, Matthew Lillard, Rahul Kohli, Katee Sackhoff and Ruth Codd. Having initially premiered at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, the series has scored largely positive reviews from critics, with praise particularly directed towards its cast and modernization of King's novel. Warning: Some SPOILERS lie ahead for Carrie!Among the cast of Flanagan's Carrie series is that of Prey breakout Amber Midthunder as Rita Desjardin, gym teacher for Carrie's new school who becomes something of a sympathetic protector for the young character. However, the series also adds new layers to the mix, including establishing Desjardin as a newcomer to the town and putting her in a relationship with another teacher that quickly proves to be more complicated than either expected. Ahead of the show's premiere, ScreenRant's Grant Hermanns interviewed Amber Midthunder to discuss Carrie. In looking at the development of her version of Ms. Desjardin in comparison to her predecessors — Betty Buckley in Brian De Palma's 1976 classic, Rena Sofer in the Angela Bettis-led TV film, and Judy Greer in Chloë Grace Moretz's 2013 film — Midthunder began by describing her character as being "the most contemporary to the students of any of the faculty," which in turn has put her in a position "where she's sort of in the middle" on sympathizing with students while being their teacher: Amber Midthunder: She's close to these students, and obviously this is Carrie's story, but you also get to see Chris, and you get to see Sue Snell, and you get to see all of these students. So, I think through that catharsis of being so close to this group, and yet still remaining on the outside, and wanting to reach in, and wanting to offer help and looking at Carrie, who is this young girl who is so earnest, and has struggled so much, her olive branch just isn't being taken. The star went on to opine that Ms. Desjardin's arc in Carrie is "wildly relatable" to adults who have a young person in their life, be it their own child or such extended family as "nieces and nephews." For Midthunder, the sense of frustration Desjardin encounters in her efforts to protect the titular young protagonist is felt in the way real-world adults "know how close they might feel" to their young counterparts, but are still "far away [from] the world that they live in," and proves "difficult to help them navigate that." The Legion alum further shared that Ms. Desjardin's story in Carrie should also speak to teachers who watch the series, given her character is "bound by this system in which there are rules," and therefore has to "navigate that in her own way" to help both Carrie and the school's other students: Amber Midthunder: I think being at a loss in that way, or trying to do your best and feeling the deceit of that is where she's at. You get to see the effects of this world. Obviously, Mike has built social media into our iteration in a really beautiful way, and so you see the sort of trickle-down effect of what that does. Not just to Carrie, not just to the group, but to the whole town. Robert Falconer/Prime The social media Midthunder is referring to is that of "@carriered_," an Instagram account created by one of the show's characters in an effort to initially bully the titular character, only to then use it to spread gossip about both the other students and various adults in town. Unlike many of her counterparts, however, Ms. Desjardin largely seems unaffected by the account's various posts, choosing to instead keep her outward focus on caring for Carrie, her students and that of Rahul Kohli's Seth Peist, another teacher with whom she develops a relationship. Asked about why Rita doesn't allow the account to impact her, Midthunder actually clarifies that her character "absolutely does get consumed" by the posts and the backlash they're creating throughout town, but is processing them "in her own way." She further denotes that Ms. Desjardin's humanity is what makes that reaction look so different from those around her, as "the empathy of her focus is the effect of what this is doing to the kids, and the community, and the culture of the school": Amber Midthunder: Obviously, she's not a principal, she's not a guidance counselor, she only has so much power. So, you get to see a couple of scenes of her at home, or her hanging out with Tim Bagley's character, and there comes this time when — I think if you were to spend more time with her character, I think a lot of her time is spent thinking about, "What can I do here?" And feeling powerless against the machine that is social media and the machine and the monster that is social media. Once one thing goes off, the gigantic domino effect of everything that follows after that, and wanting to stop the momentum of that and not being able to. So many different characters try to handle this in the way they think is best, right? And for some of them, that's head on. For some of them, that's a really gentle effect. Some of them, it's to ignore that it's happening, and you're not really sitting there thinking anybody is right or wrong. It's really just all these people who are flailing and trying their hardest. Midthunder's Ms. D Is A More Contemporary Reflection Of The Key King Character ScreenRant: One thing I always love about Mike Flanagan is that he has this great roster of regulars that he loves to work with. And now, you have gotten to join that world with this series. What was it like getting to become part of the Flanagan family? Amber Midthunder: That was one of the really exciting parts of it is you watch all his shows, and he has so many amazing actors that you see, and so, obviously, I knew that I would be working a lot with Rahul Kohli. I was really excited for that, because Rahul is such a smart actor, and he has such a unique presence, so working with him was definitely one of my favorite parts of doing the show. But everybody also made it feel so welcoming, and I think we really quickly built a family. I think you hear that a lot, like, "Oh, we became a family, we became a family." This time, it's true, and yeah, everybody was very welcoming. ScreenRant: Obviously, Mike and the rest of the writers' scripts are your immediate true north for who Rita Desjardin is. But I'm curious. You know, did you find yourself diving into King's novel, or maybe any of the other previous adaptations before filming began for this? Amber Midthunder: Not at all. Mike was quite — obviously the source material is phenomenal, and Carrie has been done really beautifully in the past, but I think Mike was really certain that we were all creating something new while being loyal to the original tentpole pieces of the story that you love. We all really were intentional about expanding upon those characters, or creating a new vision for what that is. I really love the journey that we got to take this character on. I don't think that, much in the past, people have wondered what Miss D. does when she goes home. But in this, I think we really got to create somebody who is a lot more contemporary and connected to students. We get to see her inner world in a different way, and that definitely intrigued me greatly. ScreenRant: One thing I did actually want to ask about, as well, was that scene in the bar with the three of them, and Miss D. is reflecting on her own high school life, and seems to point to her maybe being involved in some bullying events back in the day. How much did you and Mike talk about what her high school life looked like, and how much that sort of drove the sympathy and empathy that Miss D. brought to her students, including Carrie? Amber Midthunder: Yeah, definitely, we discussed her past and where she's coming from, and really what it is that brought her to the moment that she's in. We discussed that she's obviously new to this town. She's new to this job, and she's sort of fighting for these ideas that she has of being accessible and relatable. And also being lonely. I think that's how she ends up in this relationship that she might not have otherwise found herself in. I think, too, that journey she references, like, "Man, could I have been one of those girls in the locker room who's also shouting at Carrie instead of helping her?" Though unquestionably, helping her is the right thing to do. I think that that is also what I loved about this is I think it's very honest. I think that that's the self-examination and the looking in the mirror that is good that everybody does, because I think that that's also what's really heartbreaking about Chris Hargensen's journey. At so many points throughout this story, if one person had just said something differently, or not done something, or if just a couple smaller choices had been made, everything would have turned out totally different. And that's the tragedy, I think, of this story. Higheror Lower? Choose the movie with the higher Rotten Tomatoes score. ScreenRant: We just mentioned it, but your character's relationship with Rahul's character was so cute, and so fun up until a certain point. I'd love to hear, first and foremost, what it was like finding that rapport and that rhythm with Rahul as filming went on for this. Amber Midthunder: It was so easy. There was not a day of working with Rahul that I did not look forward to. He is, like I said, such a phenomenal actor. He's funny, he's fun, and he's one of a kind, and I was really thankful to have shared so much with him, or sort of be brought into the Mike Flanagan world by way of working so closely with Rahul. I think we very quickly learned that we had a [similar] sense of humor, and that we could like banter similarly. But also, he's very committed, and he just sort of locks into a scene in this way that he doesn't hold back. I think that type of energy is really quite tone setting, and it's really inspiring. So, I loved working with him in every possible capacity. ScreenRant: We talked a little bit about Miss D. having that bit of loneliness to her as she's in a new town, a new job, and I'm curious if you think there's more to why she and Mr. Peist found their way to each other eventually in the show. Obviously, they have a rapport that can be just as platonically friendly as it could be genuinely flirtatious. Amber Midthunder: Yeah, I mean it's that, right? Miss D. is new in this town, and she has found this group of teachers who — I don't know that, outside of work, they would have chosen each other to be friends. But they have this sort of common thread and common experience. As the events of the show go on, it's sort of that thing where you bond by way of your circumstances. Like, when they first get together in the pilot, she essentially is saying, "I don't want this to affect my credibility." Which clearly, he ends up doing in a much worse way. But, she has that voice in her head that goes like, "I know better, and this isn't quite me." But I think it's just that she is new in this place, and they happen to both catch each other on a good or bad night, depending on how you look at it. And then you just kind of fall into this thing because it's habitual in its pattern. They share this space, and they get along well. I think that definitely happens to people. I think if you're not careful, you can sort of fall into something that you don't necessarily intend to be in. And I think that that's sort of what happens to her. She falls into this relationship with this person. Ms. D's Grief Over Peist's Death Came From A Very Specific Place ScreenRant: And it almost turned out so beautifully, up until a certain reveal. And on that note, I would actually like to talk about that. The big talking point around Rahul's character is the reveal of him actually being in a relationship with Brooklyn, and sadly taking his life amidst the risks of being exposed. I found it so interesting watching Rita in the episodes that followed, because obviously, like we're saying, she's new to town, they're a new thing, so to speak, and yet there's that grief that's still present in her. But there's also the mixed emotions about what he's been doing. I'd love to hear what it was like, again, reading the scripts, internalizing them yourself, but then also talking with Mike and the writers to really find what that grief looked like for Rita in the final few episodes. Amber Midthunder: Yeah, that's a really great point, we definitely talked about that a lot. We also talked about navigating the accusations against him. There's that moment in the bar, and there's stuff written about him on CarrieRed, but it's sort of like you're in the midst of all this chaos. The irony is that she, more than anything, wants to protect and aid her students, and has become the closest to the most harmful person to them. So, I think her grief for herself is largely the guilt of not being able to have seen it, and not being able to have protected them better, and sort of that all-consuming feeling that she has of questioning her own worth, and her own discernment. And I think worth as in like her own worthiness of that [teaching] position that she's pursuing of, "Oh I want to be a resource to them. Well, how can they trust me if I can't even figure this out?" I think that that's a lot of it. But I think, more than anything, she's also grieving for the students that she couldn't protect. I think that she's grieving for Brooklyn and her family, and having this monster inside of the school, and that nobody knew, and there was nobody to protect them from him. ScreenRant: It really is so devastating, that scene in particular, when she's talking about all that with Peter afterwards, just trying to process. In some ways, Rahul's casting for that character made it all the more impactful because you're like, "Oh, he's so likable," and then it's like, "Oh, dang it, that's the point!" Amber Midthunder: Yeah! [Chuckles] And we were really pleasantly surprised with how many people in the time [since] — obviously the show's not out yet, but like from what we've experienced, the people that root for their characters to be together, who like this pairing, I do think it's more devastating. And I think it even makes sense, right? These people don't wear a baseball hat that says, "Bad Guy." It is often people who you wouldn't suspect, and I think that that was also a big part of this. They're charming, and they fly under the radar, and you would never — you so often hear that, right? "Oh, I would never know." So, I think that Rahul did a phenomenal job in his research and execution of building out that arc and that character, so that even you, as an audience member, feel betrayed by this discovery. Be sure to check out our other Amber Midthunder and Carrie-related coverage with: Our Carrie review Mike Flanagan acknowledging parallels between Carrie and Stranger Things' Eleven Summer H. Howell previewing Carrie's powers in the Prime Video series Our cover story interview with Carrie's Summer H. Howell Midthunder addressing Naru's future in the Predator franchise Midthunder addressing the chances of returning for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's X-Men reboot after her role in Legion Carrie is now available to stream in its entirety on Prime Video! Release Date 2026 - 2026-00-00 Network Prime Video Showrunner Mike Flanagan Cast Summer H. Howell Carrie White Samantha Sloyan Margaret White Alison Thornton Chris Hargensen In this new series adaptation of Stephen King's classic novel, Carrie White struggles through the daily torments of school life, her domineering mother, and a dormant set of telekinetic powers. Directors Mike Flanagan, Axelle Carolyn, Hiromi Kamata, Kate Siegel, Kyra Sedgwick Writers Mike Flanagan, Alexandra Magistro, Justina Ireland, Jamie Flanagan, Elan Gale, Rebecca Klingel, Elizabeth Padden, Dani Parker Main Genre Horror Creator(s) Mike Flanagan Executive Producer(s) Mike Flanagan, Stephen King, Trevor Macy Producers Justin Wagman, Rebecca Klingel, Dani Parker Seasons 1