Much like he did with The Haunting of Hill House, Mike Flanagan has made some creative changes for the TV adaption of Christopher Pike's 1994 novel The Midnight Club.
And the stars of Netflix's latest terror tale, out Oct. 7, are glad he did. Aya Furukawa—who you may recognize from the Baby-Sitters Club reboot—confirmed to E! News that her character Natsuki, Sauriyan Sapkota's character Amesh and Adia's Cheri didn't "actually exist in the original book."
But Aya teased that the new characters weren't the only changes fans of the novel can expect, adding that "the show itself expands so much more outside of the book."
Now, before you get too concerned about this adaptation, Aya assured E! News that Netflix's Midnight Club keeps "the integrity of the stories" at the heart of the novel.
Iman Benson, who plays the central character Ilonka, expressed a similar sentiment. First, she applauded the diversity in Mike's adaptation, telling E! News, "A main difference with Ilonka is that in the book she's described as Polish. And I'm, for sure, not Polish, which I think is a great thing that we have such a diverse cast. We get to show that terminally ill kids look diverse like us."
And while Iman noted that the group's stories in the show "are very different" and that they've put "their own spin on it," she feels fans of the novel will still enjoy this new iteration of The Midnight Club.
For those unfamiliar with The Midnight Club, the new show follows eight terminally-ill young adults, who all reside at a scenic hospice and meet each night to tell stories. Though this may sound like the Midnight Society in Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Chris Sumpter, who plays Spence, defended that this small similarity is as far as the comparison goes.
"Although in The Midnight Club the stories are almost the biggest part of the show," he explained, "I think there's so much more going on at the hospice."
As Netflix teased in their description, the young adults "make a pact that the next of them to die will give the group a sign from the beyond."
The Midnight Club also stars Igby Rigney, Ruth Codd, Annarah Cymone and A Nightmare on Elm Street's Heather Langenkamp.
Curious to learn more? The Midnight Club is now available to stream on Netflix.