Fox is betting big on Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk this fall with the American Horror Story creators’ campy horror-comedy Scream Queens, and now that the first full trailer for the anthology series has been released, it’s easy to see why – seemingly every teen idol this side of Disney pops up in the preview.
Emma Roberts (Unfabulous), The Nine Lives of Chloe King‘s Skyler Samuels, Glee‘s Lea Michele and Keke Palmer (True Jackson, VP) are seemingly taking on the biggest roles in a cast that also boasts Abigail Breslin, Nasim Pedrad, Oliver Hudson, Billie Lourd, Diego Boneta, Glen Powell, Lucien Laviscount, Niecy Nash, Nick Jonas and Ariana Grande. Oh – and original Scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis is on hand to provide the series’ real horror credentials (unless you want to count Breslin’s Zombieland and Haunter, which is entirely valid).
Unfortunately, the uneven tone displayed by this trailer doesn’t exactly instil confidence in Murphy and Falchuk’s latest. AHS and Glee both also struggled for thematic consistency, but Scream Queens looks even more troubled in that department, stuck between self-aware humor (“If you die protecting a fellow sister, you’re allowed to skip the rest of Hell week”) and savage bloodletting (that twisted lawn-mower kill). Moreover, I neither jumped nor chuckled at anything in the preview, from the uber-bitchy line-readings to the bizarre transformation Michele has undergone.
Given how strong the build-up to this series has been, that comes as a particular disappointment. Here’s hoping that Fox can erase the rather terrible first impression in the coming months.
Scream Queens premieres sometime this fall.
The girls of Kappa House are dying for new pledges. SCREAM QUEENS is a new killer comedy-horror series from Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan, the Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winning executive producers of GLEE and “American Horror Story.” Wallace University is rocked by a string of murders. Kappa House, the most sought-after sorority for pledges, is ruled with an iron fist (in a pink glove) by its Queen Bitch, CHANEL OBERLIN (Emma Roberts, “American Horror Story: Freak Show,” “Scream 4”). But when anti-Kappa DEAN MUNSCH (Jamie Lee Curtis, “Halloween,” “A Fish Called Wanda,” “True Lies”) decrees that sorority pledging must be open to all students, and not just the school’s silver-spooned elite, all hell is about to break loose, as a devil-clad killer begins wreaking havoc, claiming one victim, one episode at a time.
Part black comedy, part slasher flick, SCREAM QUEENS is a modern take on the classic whodunit, in which every character has a motive for murder…or could easily be the next blood-soaked casualty. SCREAM QUEENS stars Emma Roberts, Jamie Lee Curtis, Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominee Lea Michele (GLEE), Academy Award nominee Abigail Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine,” “Zombieland,” “August: Osage County”), Nasim Pedrad (“Saturday Night Live”), Oliver Hudson (“Nashville,” “Rules of Engagement”), Skyler Samuels (“American Horror Story: Coven”), Keke Palmer (“Akeela and the Bee,” “Masters of Sex”), newcomer Billie Lourd, Diego Bonita (“Rock of Ages”), Glen Powell (“The Expendables 3”), Lucien Laviscount (“Episodes”), Niecy Nash (“Getting On,” “The Soul Man”), pop superstar and actor Nick Jonas (“Kingdom”) and Grammy Award nominee and actress Ariana Grande.
