B. Williams originally under the title of The 13th Hour; the series ran for 72 episodes. Mancuso Jr. never intended to link the television show directly to the Friday the 13th film series, but utilize "the idea of Friday the 13th, which is that it symbolizes bad luck and curses". The creators wanted to tie-in Jason's trademark hockey mask to the series, but the idea was discarded so that the show could have a chance to exist on its own. Mancuso Jr. was afraid that mentioning any events from the films would take the audience away from "the new world that we were trying to create". The decision to name the show Friday the 13th, over the original title, was made because Mancuso Jr. believed a "Friday the 13th" moniker would better help to sell the show to networks. Filming took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Friday the 13th: The Series aired in first-run syndication, initially in a late-night spot; the success of the series as a late-night show prompted some broadcasting stations to move it to prime time. Produced on a budget estimated below $500,000 per episode, the first season placed second in the male 18- to 49-year-old demographic, just behind Paramount's Star Trek: The Next Generation. In addition, the first season placed fifth in the female 18- to 49-year-old demographic. Cancellation The first two seasons had 26 episodes apiece. However the third season was cut short due to the abrupt decision to cancel the show. The cast and crew were informed about the ending of the series while they were filming the 20th episode of the third season, which ended up being the series finale. The cancellation was so sudden that they were unable to film more episodes or more scenes that would provide some kind of closure. International broadcasts The series was broadcast on Tele 5 in Spain in 1991 under the title of Misterio para tres. In Greece, the series was broadcast on ANT1 and Makedonia TV under the title To mystirio tis Paraskevis (The mystery of Friday) and in Germany under the title Erben des Fluchs (Heirs to the Curse). It was also broadcast in Indonesia on TVRI from 1990 to 1991 every Thursday night and on RCTI from 1992 to 1996 every Friday night. In Finland, the series was known as Aaveita ja kummituksia (Ghosts and Ghoulies) and broadcast by MTV3. Home media All