What do you get when you cross American Horror Story with Glee? Quite literally, Scream Queens. FOX’s newest hit is the concoction of the same writer-producer team (Ryan Murphy and Brad Fulchuk) that created those other two iconic TV shows of the 2010s. It’s a 21st century take on the black comedies of the 80s, at once so absurd and so real; it’s the Scary Movie franchise with a dash of wit and mystery.
Teen queen Emma Roberts plays Kappa Kappa Tau sorority president Chanel Oberlin. She rules over Kappa Kappa Tau with her minions, Chanel #2, Chanel #3, and Chanel #5 (yes, Chanel #4 is no longer…there). Kappa Kappa Tau has an eerie past involving teen pregnancy and the mysterious deaths of past sorority presidents. Dean Munsch (Jamie Lee Curtis—Freaky Friday fans, pay attention!) threatens to shut down the sorority unless she sees changes, and conveniently, Rush begins right around Halloween. The Red Devil, a serial killer, begins to take victims using a range of creative techniques.
Why talk about that girl you don’t like behind her back when you could just kill her instead? If you want that backstabbing frienemy out of your life, why not actually physically dispose of her body? These are the questions that Scream Queens poses. I would like to say that Scream Queens explores the whole mean-girl paradigm, but that’s something stories like Mean Girls did. Scream Queens is just pure fun.
The show smartly assumes you already see the absurdity in the situation, so rather than point it out, the show proceeds to top it off with even more ridiculousness. In fact, security guard Denise Hemphill (Niecy Nash)—the classic “voice of reason” character in the show and the one who actively runs away from haunted houses, serial killers, dark basements and the like—is also regarded as one of the more laughable characters.
You could also name this show “Emma Roberts and her Famous Teen Pop Pals”: the cast includes Keke Palmer, Lea Michele, Nick Jonas, Abigail Breslin, and Ariana Grande. New actors like Glen Powell, who plays frat star Chad Radwell, a man-boy especially aroused by dead bodies, easily match the comedic skill of seasoned players. And, no matter how hilarious and ridiculous the characters are, the story is still skillfully planned out to create suspense and mystery surrounding the Red Devil and who he will strike next. It’s rumored that one character will die every episode (minimum—think Game of Thrones). Now that’s drama.
In a day and age when teenage girls being seriously tormented by girls for six years on Pretty Little Liars is supposedly entertainment, Scream Queens is a delightful 40 minute dose of bringing the fun back to your weekly TV.
