Scream the Series Review!

In a world where remakes, reboots, and spin-offs thrive it's a matter of time before your favorite property gets one. For the most part nearly every announcement that falls under this category gets some sort of backlash, and when Scream was announced to be a series on MTV there were many doubts. From them being on MTV to changing Ghostface's mask, the lead up to the premiere had many mixed reactions. Now, two seasons into the show Scream: the series has really found it's footing and a balance of honoring the beloved film franchise while also being it's own thing.

MTV has been known as the music channel for decades. Around 2009 they started to invest more in scripted dramas with their biggest success Teen Wolf (2011-2017). From there they tried a fantasy series call The Shannara Chronicles, and now Scream with a few one season wonders mixed in between. Their shows are varying degrees of success, but I like how they're trying a little bit of everything to find out what kind of channel they want to be for the scripted shows and that's probably the only reason Scream was able to come to the small screen.

Season 1 starts off similarly to the first movie. A girl at home, alone, gets a mysterious call, she doesn't believe the threats, horror ensues. The first few episodes are a bit rough as Scream has a big cast of characters, mostly to kill off, that need to be introduced as characters and not stereotypes while they start their respective character/story line. In between the roughness is a surprising love for the horror genre, respect to the franchise, and an effort to make these characters stand on their own. And while the first season isn't all that great there is a lot to love that makes you want to come back for the next episode.

The story revolves around Emma Duval (Willa Fitzgerald), a semi-popular high school girl that is targeted by a serial killer using the legend of their home town. Throughout the season the killer is slowly unraveling the truth of what started their town legend that directly affects Emma and her family. The supporting cast around her include Audrey (Bex Taylor-Klaus) the childhood friend cast aside, Noah (John Karna) the meta character, Will Belmont (Conner Weil) the ex, Jake Fitzgerald (Tom Maden) the Jock, Brooke (Carlson Young) the Queen Bee, and Kieran Wilcox (Amadeus Serafini) the new boy at school.

What I really enjoyed about this show was the fact that they took these stereotypes of teens and allowed their characters to grow out of them...unless they were killed. The survivors at least grew out of where they started. Take the character of Brooke. She's the typical pretty girl that's at the top of the ladder. At the beginning of season 1 she cares about relationships and being pretty and you'd expect her to be one of the first to die. Instead, these constant acts of tragedy forced her character to interact with people she wouldn't have before and as the episodes went along, and with her dad's subplot, it really deepened her character to the point where she's one of my favorites and I'm constantly rooting for her in every episode.

While there is a lot to love about season 1 there's equal parts that aren't so well done. The biggest obstacle for season 1 was balancing . The references to the franchise didn't always land the way I think the writers wanted. The pacing was awkward because there were so many kills and you didn't get breathing room for their resolution, it usually happened in the same episode. Annoying love triangles. And then the red herrings. There are so many red herrings in this show, and they want the audience to suspect everyone, but there are times later in the season where they're pushing so hard on some of them that it got annoying, because it was obviously not them and yet the episode was dedicating so much time to setting that up. So, while I enjoyed season 1 I have to say that it was a mess. Granted, a lovable mess.

When it came time to watch season 2  I was stunned by how much the show improved. They turned it up to 11 in the first three episodes with the amount of WTF moments. Not only that but they did a great job at pacing and making the deaths gruesome and meaningful. The first death of the season is actually drawn out, for effectiveness, and  once the body is finally found there's a whole episode on how the characters grieve. Season 2 is really good at slowing down the pace to focus on character based decisions rather than plot based, and just as you think "Oh this character is safe this season," you watch a scene where they're brutally attacked.

Emma comes back for the sophomore season with the familiar PTSD story line, although I think it's handled well. Her friends have grown and the stakes are raised. Season 2 is really good at making you guess who the killer is up till the last two episodes. I don't even want to talk too much about this season because it's such a great experience. So I'll just say that these characters are so lovable and you can tell that MTV learned a lot during season 1, so with the faults I have with it it appears season 2 has fixed them. It's a nearly perfect season that has some great twists, memorable moments, and the big reveal will make you want to rewatch the first season.

Over it's two season and two-part Halloween special, Scream the series has vastly grown on me and I've become a such major fan of not only the show but all the actors involved. I'm amazed at how far MTV allowed the deaths to go. Some are painful scenes of stabbings, while others are wildly creative and gruesome that will put a smile on any horror aficionado. The ending of season 2 is a good place for the story to stop, and the Halloween special is a great addendum to cap off this cycle of the show, even if they quickly set up the third season at the end.

As of this posting Season 3 is in the works, and will be a reboot of the show. New actors, characters, story, the whole shebang. It sounds like season 3 will be released next year, so I'd highly recommend anyone interested in horror TV and fans of the Scream franchise to check this out. I refer to this part of the Scream series as "The Lakewood 6 Cycle," and I believe it's a great watch for this upcoming Halloween season.

Currently you can watch Scream the series on streaming, such as Netflix, or physical with Season 1 on DVD.