McCandless native Greg Nicotero (“The Walking Dead”) hosts “Guts & Glory,” a six-episode horror-themed competition series now streaming its first two episodes on Shudder and AMC+ (new episodes debut weekly Tuesday through the two-episode finale Nov. 4).

Players are put into “an immersive horror experience full of unexpected challenges,” per a Shudder release. For Nicotero, a makeup effects artist who also wrote, produced and directed Shudder’s “Creepshow” series, “Guts & Glory” offers an opportunity to blend multiple interests, including reality TV, “Blair Witch Project” and Sam Raimi-style horror.

“Obviously, I’m a big Halloween fan and I love any opportunity to go to a haunted house,” Nicotero said last week via Zoom. “I wanted this to be like you’re going through a Halloween Horror Nights (Universal Studios haunted house)-style experience, but it doesn’t just end after a boo! scare or a two-minute experience, but you’re living in it. So it’s a hybrid of a competition show and a Halloween haunted experience.”

Nicotero said the 10 “Guts & Glory” contestants had no idea what they were getting themselves into.

“They just think they signed up for this high-energy competition show,” Nicotero said.

Contestants don’t learn of Nicotero’s involvement until they visit a hospital in Episode 2, filmed in a shuttered real hospital previously used for “The Walking Dead” filming.

Turns out the whole series was filmed on “The Walking Dead” studio lot in the Georgia woods far enough away from soundstages that contestants had no idea where they were.

Contestants flew into Atlanta in March 2025 and were bused to Alabama for one night. After contestants turn their cellphones over to Greg’s cousin, TV host Frank Nicotero (who helped with behind-the-scenes production on “Guts & Glory”), they board a bus with blacked-out windows and drive back to Georgia to film the series.

“We just told them we were in Alabama,” Nicotero said. “I thought it was important for them to feel that they were in the middle of nowhere. The entire show really is misdirection. … They thought they were in the middle of the swamp. And they were literally five minutes away from (soundstages).”

As someone who normally works in scripted TV, Nicotero said making an unscripted show was a learning experience.

“When you’re shooting a TV show or a movie, you can do take two or take three,” Nicotero said. “In my head, when I was developing this whole thing, I thought, OK, everything has to happen, live. And what’s most important is capturing the reactions, right? When they see something scary or horrific, you’ve got about eight seconds until their brain says, ‘That’s not real,’ so I wanted that eight seconds when they see the monster for the first time, or they see this possessed person for the first time. I wanted those reactions to be authentic.”

In a morgue scene, the production pumped “decomposing corpse smell” into the room and one contestant threatens to vomit.

“The one thing I must have said to myself 100 times was, ‘These poor people,’ ” Nicotero said. “I’m going to hell because I felt bad that they were all gagging, but then I thought, please throw up. I wanted one person to throw up just because I thought it would have been good television. Is that horrible of me to say? It’s terrible, but when they didn’t, I wasn’t like, ‘Well, we didn’t get the money shot.’ I was just like, OK, good. But if they had thrown up, that would have been in the episode.”

‘Middlehood’

Independently produced comedy-drama series “Middlehood” has been making the rounds this year and settles in Thursday on free, ad-supported streamer Tubi, where all eight episodes will be available.

Written, directed and created by playwright Michele Palermo, “Middlehood” is a generally well-written, character-driven comedy that’s a little reminiscent of CBS’s “Life in Pieces,” as “Middlehood” chronicles extended Italian-German family members driving to be together for the holidays.

The focus is on Lisa (Elena Wohl, “Spotlight”), a 50-year-old woman who’s divorcing her husband (Mark Damon Espinoza) but is afraid to share that news with her elderly parents.

The show’s indie nature shows through in some aspects, most notably a failure to clearly convey when a flashback is beginning, which may confuse some viewers.

But the depiction of mid-life Gen X personal and family crises feels authentic amidst characters rooted in specificity.

‘9-1-1: Nashville’

Last week, ABC debuted the latest “9-1-1” spin-off, “9-1-1: Nashville” (9 p.m. Thursday, WTAE), without sending critics screeners for review in advance. I DVRed the episode, repeating at 10 p.m. Wednesday, and … now I can see why ABC didn’t want reviews.

As ridiculous as the other “9-1-1” series have become — it appears Athena (Angela Bassett) goes to space in this week’s episode of the original “9-1-1” — they generally began more grounded.

“9-1-1 Nashville” cuts to the chase and goes straight for the ridiculous in its first episode when a child gets carried away by a helium balloon.

The character stuff is also over-the-top with firehouse leader Don Hart (Chris O’Donnell) welcoming the hunky stripper son, Blue (Hunter McVey), he had out of wedlock to join the fire department, much to the chagrin of firefighter son Ryan (Michael Provost, “The Holdovers”).

Perhaps the thinking was: We’re going to go off the rails sooner or later, might as well get it over with. Mission accomplished!

Kept/canceled

Disney+ renewed animated “X-Men 97,” returning for its second season in summer 2026, for a third season.

Amazon canceled dramas “Countdown” and “Butterfly” after a single season each.

“Yellowjackets” will end with its upcoming fourth season on Paramount+ with Showtime.

Channel surfing

“Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home,” a documentary film about the late rocker and his wife making the move back from the U.S. to the U.K., is now streaming on Peacock. … The latest “Star Trek” series, “Starfleet Academy,” will begin streaming its 10-episode first season Jan. 15 on Paramount+.

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