Scream Queens (2015 TV series)

Scream Queens
File:Scream Queens, title art.jpg
Genre	Black comedy Mystery Satirical horror
Created by	Ryan Murphy Brad Falchuk Ian Brennan
Starring	Emma Roberts Skyler Samuels Lea Michele Glen Powell Diego Boneta Abigail Breslin Keke Palmer Oliver Hudson Nasim Pedrad Lucien Laviscount Billie Lourd Jamie Lee Curtis
Theme music composer	Mac Quayle Heather Heywood Alexis Martin Woodall
Opening theme	"You Belong to Me" by Heather Heywood
Composer(s)	Mac Quayle
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Alexis Martin Woodall Ian Brennan Brad Falchuk Ryan Murphy Dante Di Loreto
Producer(s)	Robert M. Williams Jr. Barry Berg
Production location(s)	New Orleans, Louisiana (season 1) Los Angeles, California (season 2)
Cinematography	Michael Goi Joaquin Sedillo
Running time	42–44 minutes
Production company(s)	20th Century Fox Television Prospect Films Ryan Murphy Productions Brad Falchuk Teley-vision
Release
Original network	Fox
Original release	September 22, 2015 (2015-09-22) – present
External links
Website

Scream Queens is an American television series created for Fox by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan and produced by Murphy, Falchuk, Brennan and Alexis Martin Woodall. The series premiered on September 22, 2015. The series is produced by 20th Century Fox Television, Ryan Murphy Productions, Brad Falchuck Teley-vision and Prospect Films. The first season takes place at the fictional Wallace University. One of the sororities, Kappa Kappa Tau, becomes plagued by a serial killer, who uses the university's Red Devil mascot as a disguise. Scream Queens is about a sorority group that gets haunted by an evil red devil.

On January 15, 2016, Fox renewed the series for a second season; Emma Roberts, Abigail Breslin, Billie Lourd, Lea Michele, Jamie Lee Curtis, Niecy Nash, Glen Powell and Keke Palmer will reprise their roles and the season will be set in a hospital.

Plot

The first season focuses on the Kappa Kappa Tau sorority at Wallace University, led by Chanel Oberlin (Emma Roberts), that is threatened by Dean Cathy Munsch (Jamie Lee Curtis). Events reignite a 20-year old murder mystery, with the reemergence of the serial killer dressed as the Red Devil mascot, who begins targeting the sorority members.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Scream Queens characters

Main

• Emma Roberts as Chanel Oberlin
• Skyler Samuels as Grace Gardner
• Lea Michele as Hester Ulrich / Chanel #6
• Glen Powell as Chad Radwell
• Diego Boneta as Pete Martinez
• Abigail Breslin as Libby Putney / Chanel #5
• Keke Palmer as Zayday Williams
• Oliver Hudson as Weston Gardner
• Nasim Pedrad as Gigi Caldwell
• Lucien Laviscount as Earl Grey
• Billie Lourd as Sadie Swenson / Chanel #3
• Jamie Lee Curtis as Dean Cathy Munsch

Special guest stars

• Ariana Grande as Sonya Herfmann / Chanel #2
• Nick Jonas as Boone Clemens
• Niecy Nash as Officer Denise Hemphill
• Chad Michael Murray as Brad Radwell

Recurring

• Jan Hoag as Ms. Agatha Bean
• Breezy Eslin as Jennifer
• Brianne Howey as Melanie Dorkus
• Jeanna Han as Sam
• Aaron Rhodes as Roger
• Austin Rhodes as Dodger

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	"Pilot"	Ryan Murphy	Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk & Ian Brennan	September 22, 2015 (2015-09-22)	1AYD01	4.04
In 1995, at a sorority party in Kappa Kappa Tau, four sisters find a pledge, Sophia Doyle, lying in a bathtub and has given birth to a baby. Instead of helping, all of the sorority sisters but one walk out to go dance. When the sisters come back, they are shocked to find the pledge dead. In present day, Grace Gardner attends Wallace University and plans to join the sorority Kappa Kappa Tau run by queen bee Chanel Oberlin and her minions to honor her mother, who was once a member. Dean Cathy Munsch attempts to shut down KKT due to Chanel's rude behavior and suspected assault on the presidential predecessor Melanie Dorkus. After threatening to revoke the charter, Gigi Caldwell votes in their favor, and per her suggestion Kappa is forced to accept anyone who wishes to join. This lowers Chanel's popularity, causing her rich and womanizing boyfriend, Chad Radwell, a member of the Dickie Dollar Scholars, to end their relationship. Ms. Bean, Kappa's housemaid, is killed via deep fryer in a prank-gone-wrong devised by Chanel to scare the pledges off. They all hide the body in the house's storage freezer. Grace joins forces with Pete Martinez, an investigative reporter who also works at the college's coffee shop and both plan to take down Chanel and restore Kappa Kappa Tau's reputation. Shortly afterwards, Ms. Bean's body disappears and Chanel realizes that something strange is going on. Scared, Chanel #2 decides to leave the university, but is stabbed to death by a serial killer known as The Red Devil, who also beheads a pledge named Tiffany, with a lawnmower.
2	"Hell Week"	Brad Falchuk	Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk & Ian Brennan	September 22, 2015 (2015-09-22)	1AYD02	4.04
The pledges are encouraged to move into the Kappa house by Gigi, who assigns them a security guard, Denise Hemphill. Concerned with Grace's safety, her father, Wes Gardner, transfers to Wallace University, where he rejects Munsch's advances and builds a rapport with Gigi. Meanwhile, Grace and Pete develop a relationship, and Grace finds a secret room where the leaders of Kappa hide their greatest secrets, and learns that in 1995 a pledge bled to death due to the sisters' neglect after giving birth to a child, which then disappeared, and that Munsch supposedly covered up the incident. Grace finds the Red Devil costume in Pete's closet and becomes convinced he's both the killer and the child of the pledge that died 20 years prior. The Red Devil fatally stabs Denise's partner Shondell, slashes the throat of Boone, and leaves a threatening message to the Kappa sisters. Later at the campus morgue, the Red Devil rendezvous with Boone, who faked his death and is also one of the killers.
3	"Chainsaw"	Ian Brennan	Ian Brennan	September 29, 2015 (2015-09-29)	1AYD03	3.46
Keen to boost her dwindling popularity and restore her diminishing band of minions,Chanel decides to give Hester a makeover and induct her into the sorority as Chanel #6. Chanel #3 grows close to Sam and tell her a family secret: that Charles Manson is her father, and they both decide to be each other's alibi, when someone else dies. Grace, Zayday, and Denise discover bloodstains in Chanel #2's bedroom and believe that she has been murdered, but learn that Chanel #2 is still posting pictures to her Instagram.The trio head to Bel Air to speak to Chanel #2's parents, who divulge that Chanel #2, whose name is Sonya, was dating Chad. Denise becomes convinced that there are two Red Devils, Zayday being one of them, while Grace believes Chad may be responsible for the murders. The Red Devil is goaded into fighting The Dickie Dollar Scholars, who have become convinced that Boone's 'suicide' was actually murder. However, confronted by two Red Devils, each wielding a chainsaw, the scholars are hopelessly outplayed, resulting in Caulfield losing both his arms. Dean Munsch and Gigi decide to move into the Kappa house temporarily to protect the girls. Irritated by Dean Munsch's white noise machine, Gigi decides to sleep downstairs, where she is confronted by a chainsaw-wielding Red Devil. Aided by Wes, Gigi manages to evade the attack.
4	"Haunted House"	Bradley Buecker	Brad Falchuk	October 6, 2015 (2015-10-06)	1AYD04	2.97
Zayday announces her candidacy for Kappa president. Zayday decides to campaign by throwing a charity haunted house at an abandoned shack on Shady Lane. Adamant that Zayday is responsible for the murders, Denise refuses to allow Zayday to throw the party, but later backs off when Zayday reveals that she knows Denise is a former Kappa reject, and thus a possible suspect. Grace and Pete speak to the sole survivor of the 'bathtub incident' of 1995, Mandy Greenwell. She tells them that after the baby's mother died, Dean Munsch took care of the situation, enlisting Mandy and her friends to bury the corpse, and taking the baby to an unknown location. Mandy also reveals that the baby was not a boy but a girl. As punishment for talking, The Red Devil fatally stabs Mandy. Hester starts seducing Chad, and the pair head to the Shady Lane shack to have sex, but find the dead bodies of Ms Bean, Chanel #2, Shondell, Coney, and Mandy. Grace investigates the case of 'The Hag of Shady Lane', the former resident of the abandoned shack, learning that she was taking care of the bath tub baby in 1995. It is then revealed that the hag is Gigi.
5	"Pumpkin Patch"	Brad Falchuk	Brad Falchuk	October 13, 2015 (2015-10-13)	1AYD05	2.39
Chanel's plan to throw a pumpkin patch party to gain popularity and undermine Zayday's presidential campaign is thwarted when Dean Munsch closes the university campus and institutes a curfew on Halloween night. Hester begins wreaking havoc with the sorority, getting Chanel arrested for Ms Bean's murder and claiming that Chanel #5 went to the police. After her brief stint in prison, Chanel throws the pumpkin patch party anyway, and forces Chanel #5 to light all of the pumpkins with her boyfriends, Roger and Dodger. When lighting the pumpkins, they are attacked by The Red Devil, who manages to disembowel Dodger. Meanwhile, Zayday manages to escape The Red Devil by stabbing him in the hand with a fork. Grace, Pete, Wes, Gigi, and Denise also find The Red Devil's secret lair, where Gigi manages to taser The Red Devil, however they escapes down a laundry chute before their identity is revealed. Back at the house, Chanel tries to call the presidential election early due to Zayday and Grace's absences, however they both return and the sorority casts their votes. Later that night, Gigi has a rendezvous with The Red Devil.
6	"Seven Minutes in Hell"	Michael Uppendahl	Ryan Murphy	October 20, 2015 (2015-10-20)	1AYD06	2.59
After a tie in the presidential vote, Chanel opts to cede her presidency to Zayday in an attempt to survive. For her first act as new sorority president, Zayday decides to throw a Kappa slumber party in the house, however the sisters soon discover that the house's doors and windows have all been locked from the outside. Chanel summons Chad and the rest of the Dickie Dollar Scholars to rescue her, only for Caulfield to be slaughtered with an axe by The Red Devil outside the house. The girls then play a game of Truth Or Dare to try to determine who the killer is, which ends with Sam revealing that Chanel #3's father is Charles Manson. Angered but confused by her feelings for Sam, Chanel #3 orders her to take a nap in the bloody Kappa bathtub, where Sam is asphyxiated by The Red Devil. Soon after, Roger is murdered with a nailgun, and Chad discovers a series of secret passageways underneath the house. Chanel and Zayday venture down, and are confronted by The Red Devil, and escape after Chanel knocks them unconscious.
7	"Beware of Young Girls"	Barbara Brown	Ryan Murphy	November 3, 2015 (2015-11-03)	1AYD07	2.44
The members of Kappa Kappa Tau and the Dickie Dollar Scholars attend Chanel #2's memorial service, where Chanel delivers a scathing eulogy. Chanels #3, #5, and #6 bring an ouija board to Kappa so that Chanel and Chanel #2 can bury the hatchet. During the seance, Chanel #2 claims that Chanel is the killer, terrifying the minions into plotting Chanel's murder. However, during a fever dream, Chanel is visited by Chanel #2 who warns her of the impending murder plot in an attempt to get herself promoted out of Hell. Chanel forgives her minions and recruits them to help her prove that Grace and Zayday are the killers. Meanwhile, Gigi tries to manipulate Grace into investigating a former Kappa member named Feather McCarthy, who ran away with Professor Munsch, Cathy's ex-husband, who is then murdered and dismembered in his home. Cathy is arrested and later strikes up a quid pro quo deal with Grace and Pete that they agree to and they soon discover DNA evidence proving that Feather killed Professor Munsch. Detective Chisholm becomes convinced that Feather is also responsible for The Red Devil killings and has her locked in the institution. It is revealed that Dean Munsch killed her ex-husband and framed Feather for it.
8	"Mommie Dearest"	Michael Uppendahl	Ian Brennan	November 10, 2015 (2015-11-10)	1AYD08	2.51
Dean Munsch reneges on her deal with Grace and refuses to tell her anything about the bathtub baby. Returning home, Dean Munsch is attacked in her shower by two Red Devils and an unknown third perpetrator in a Justice Scalia mask, but she evades their attacks. Munsch reluctantly tells Grace that Sophia Doyle was the girl who died in the bathtub after giving birth, but Grace is still convinced that she is the bathtub baby. Grace then goes to Pete to try and figure out who Sophia Doyle is, returning to the mental asylum an discovering that Gigi was taking care of not one, but two children at the asylum twenty years ago. The Red Devil kills Jennifer and melts wax over her corpse, prompting the immediate closure of the university indefinitely. Meanwhile, the minions employ Denise to prove that Zayday and Grace are the killers, and Chanel recruits two Scotland Yard detectives to look into the pair as well. Grace returns to the Kappa house, where Chanel tells her all about her mother, Mary Mulligan; a violent drug dealer who repeatedly drunk-drove with Grace in the car. Grace confronts her father, and warns him to stay away from her, claiming that she is her mother's daughter. Boone is seen wearing a disguise in a local gym working out, and speaking on the phone to an unknown person about Gigi's ridiculous Justice Scalia mask and states that Gigi needs to be taken out.
9	"Ghost Stories"	Michael Uppendahl	Ryan Murphy	November 17, 2015 (2015-11-17)	1AYD09	2.37
Chanel informs the minions that Chad has invited her to Thanksgiving at his family's compound, infuriating Hester, who fakes a pregnancy to goad Chad into admitting that he has been having sex with Hester behind Chanel's back. Meanwhile, Boone returns to campus in order to kill Gigi and seduce Zayday, who he is in love with. After realizing that Boone was her Red Devil captor, Zayday rebuffs him due to her loving Earl. In a fit of jealous rage, Boone stabs Earl on the Kappa lawn. Denise realizes that the girls are terrified that they will be the next victim, and so tells them a variety of ghost stories to calm their nerves. Chanel #5 flees the house in her car, only to avoid the attacks of a Red Devil and returns to the house. Grace continues her investigation into the bathtub incident, and learns from Dean Munsch that Sophia gave birth to two children – a boy and a girl – and that Boone is the male child. Boone summons Gigi so that he can kill her but the other Red Devil kills Boone instead. Chad decides that the honourable thing to do is to invite the mother of his child to Thanksgiving. The minions trick Hester into revealing that her pregnancy was a fake ploy and Chanel pushes Hester down the Kappa staircase.
10	"Thanksgiving"	Michael Lehmann	Brad Falchuk	November 24, 2015 (2015-11-24)	1AYD10	1.98
Chanel confides in Chad that she murdered Hester, but when she goes to show Chad the body, it has disappeared. Chanel #3 attends her family Thanksgiving, but quickly departs and returns to the Kappa house to find Grace, Zayday, and Dean Munsch preparing dinner. Grace allows Wes to join them, and when Chanel #5 also returns to the house, Dean Munsch suggests that the survivors posit their Red Devil killer theories. Gigi and the remaining Red Devil also spend Thanksgiving together, while Chad and Chanel's Thanksgiving with the Radwells is halted by the arrival of Hester. Dean Munsch and Chanel #3 believe that each other is the killer, while Wes admits that he believes it is Grace. Pete arrives at the Kappa Thanksgiving, and reveals that Wes is the biological father of Boone, and likely the father of the remaining Red Devil. After being humiliated and bullied by the Radwells, Chanel and Hester return to the Kappa house, with Chad in tow, just in time for dinner. All of the survivors sit down to dinner, but are horrified to find Gigi's severed head on the platter instead of the turkey.
11	"Black Friday"	Barbara Brown	Ian Brennan	December 1, 2015 (2015-12-01)	1AYD11	2.40
The Chanels go shopping on Black Friday, but The Red Devil attacks and manages to maim Chanel. Wes, Pete, and Grace go to the police to report Gigi's death and find that the entire police department has been fired due to wasting resources, and that Denise has been appointed the new Chief of Police. Chad reveals to Pete that Boone left most of his possessions to him, despite the fact that they barely knew each other. Pete admits that Boone was his source for a story about the negative effects of the Greek system. Recovering from her injury, Chanel decides that the only appropriate course of action is to murder Dean Munsch who is assumed by everyone to be the killer. Munsch survives both an attempted poisoning and thirty minutes in a cryogenic stall. Pete enlists Wes to help investigate Gigi's past, and discover that her birth name was Jess Meyer, the sister of Amy, who committed suicide after her role in the bathtub incident. Pete decides to flee the campus and Grace intervenes, telling him she wants to have sex with him, but he protests saying that he doesn't want Grace to lose her virginity to a murderer.
12	"Dorkus"	Bradley Buecker	Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk & Ian Brennan	December 8, 2015 (2015-12-08)	1AYD12	2.53
Pete admits to Grace that he was part of the Red Devil scheme. Pete claims responsibility for the murders of Roger, Boone, and the attempted murder of Chanel at the mall. Grace is disgusted and tries to leave, but Pete piques her interest with the identity of the remaining Red Devil who fatally stabs him before he can talk. Meanwhile, an email, penned by Chanel, goes viral and the public turns on Chanel. A pizza delivery guy is strapped to a dynamite vest and forced to impersonate the Red Devil and is blown apart in the Kappa house. Chanel considers suicide, but Zayday convinces her to rise up and reform herself. She begins with a fake apology to Melanie Dorkus. The Chanels plan go to Melanie's house for the apology, however Hester stays behind to rob Chanel's closet, and Chanel #5 leaves for a Tinder date. Chanel attempts to stab Melanie with scissors, convinced she is the killer, before Grace and Zayday stop her with the proclamation that Hester is the Red Devil. Grace, Zayday, Chanel, and Chanel #3 return to Kappa, finding Chanel #5 in the bathroom, and Hester with a stiletto heel jammed into her eye socket. As Hester is being taken to the hospital she claims Chanel #5 was the one who attacked her.
13	"The Final Girl(s)"	Brad Falchuk	Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk & Ian Brennan	December 8, 2015 (2015-12-08)	1AYD13	2.53
In 2016, Kappa Kappa Tau has been rebuilt thanks to the efforts of president Zayday, vice-president Grace, and treasurer Hester. Dean Munsch is now a best-selling feminist author and is in a serious relationship with Wes. Chad sets up a foundation honoring his dead friends and ends his short-lived relationship with Denise. Hester reveals that she was the Red Devil and got away with all of her crimes. Having grown up in the asylum with Gigi and Boone, Hester soon became obsessed with exacting revenge on the people who took away her mother, and faked her scoliosis to distract people from her plans. When Munsch realizes that Hester is the murderer, she agrees to not talk after being blackmailed into turning her in for the coverup of Sofia and for murdering her husband, Steven. Back in December 2015, Hester survives the stiletto stabbing, having inflicted it on herself, manages to convince Denise that the three Chanels are all killers, and they are arrested. During their trial, Chanel, Chanel #3, and Chanel #5 are found guilty of all charges and are sentenced to life in the mental asylum. But the Chanels are having a fun time in the asylum. One night, Chanel is awoken in the middle of the night by a knife-wielding Red Devil.

Production

Development

Brad and Ian and I, all three of us, were always obsessed with the '80s/early '90s slasher genre that was always about young people and always about coming of age. So we loved that and we decided to sort of be inspired by that idea. That was sort of the impetus of it.

—Co-creator Ryan Murphy on the inception of the series.

On October 20, 2014, Fox Broadcasting Company announced that it had ordered a 15-episode season of Scream Queens, created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan who also co-created Glee, which was later reduced to 13 episodes. The series will be executive produced by Murphy, Falchuk, Brennan, and Dante Di Loreto. The series premiered in September 2015. Murphy has stated that every episode a cast member will be killed off, saying, "It's very much like Ten Little Indians. There's a real tune-in factor because it's like, Who's going to be picked off this week? And also who is the killer? Every episode, you get clues as to who the killer is going to be and then all of these clues accumulate." The series will not be completely anthological in nature with Murphy stating, "Whoever survives—and there will be people who will survive—they will go on next season to a new location and a new terror. Unlike [Murphy and Falchuk's other like series] American Horror Story, which completely reboots, this has some of the continuity in that some of the characters and some of the relationships continue into a new world." The first season's killer will not be revealed until the final episode. Murphy has announced that the freshman season will feature 3 Halloween episodes.

Falchuk shared insight on the decision making of who the killer(s) would be, saying, "We decided right at the beginning. We talked through what is it — Who is the killer? What is it? — so we would always know going forward. In that process, we've had moments where we're like, 'What if instead of this person, it's this person?' Then we talk it through, and we've always come back to our original plan." Further elaborating on the nature of a whodunit narrative Falchuk stated, "We're very careful to have somebody go through the script all the time and try to understand who was attacked, when they were attacked, why they were attacked, and if it's possible that we are eliminating anyone as a suspect by doing this. The answer always has to be no, because we know how fans are. They make big charts about who the killer is, and then someone figures it out. I think there's great fun in the whodunnit, but it's also, somebody's going to figure it out. By the end of episode one, somebody's going to figure it out, because that's what people do. I don't think it'll take anything away from anything."

Falchuk talked at length about the decision making processes as to who will die in each episode, "It's harder casting and directing actors you know you're going to have to kill off. Once you get on the set and you're working with them, they're sometimes so great that it's challenging." The creator continued, "...when we got to know the actress who played Deaf Taylor Swift, she was so funny that we got together and said, 'Is there a way we can not kill her and maybe kill someone else?' And it's like no, we love everybody, and it also sort of fit with the story, so we had to go forward with it." Speaking to the tricky horror/comedy nature of the show, Falchuk stated, "The way you find the balance is understanding that, when you're missing some ingredients, certain ingredients are super strong, and the flavor is so strong that if you use too much, it ruins the whole soup. Horror is something that is a really strong flavor, so just little drops of it is the best recipe." The series is a commentary on "youth culture and college culture", with characters like Dean Munsch and Wes Gardner providing the adult commentary. "He's connected in a way that it's harder for him to be objective about, because his daughter, Grace, is there. Then you have the dean, and she lives having seen this culture develop over the course of her years as an educator, and she's reacting to it."

Casting

"It's Mean Girls meets Friday the 13th. I think it's laugh-out-loud funny, it's edge-of-your-seat scary and everyone is wearing Chanel. What other reasons do you need [to watch]?"

—Lead actress Emma Roberts on the series

In December 2014, it was reported that Emma Roberts and Jamie Lee Curtis would be featured as series regulars. In January 2015, Lea Michele, Joe Manganiello, Keke Palmer, and Abigail Breslin joined the series' main cast, as well as actress/singer Ariana Grande in a recurring capacity. Later that month, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Nick Jonas would recur throughout the first season. In February 2015, newcomer Billie Lourd and Skyler Samuels joined the series' main cast. Later in the month, Niecy Nash joined the recurring cast as Denise, a kick-butt security guard; and British actor Lucien Laviscount, Diego Boneta and Glen Powell were confirmed as regulars. In March, Nasim Pedrad was cast as a series regular. On March 13, 2015, previously cast Manganiello was forced to depart the series, due to publicity obligations for his film Magic Mike XXL. Oliver Hudson was hired as his replacement. On June 24, 2015, it was announced that Charisma Carpenter and Roger Bart would portray Chanel #2's (Grande) parents. In August 2015, Philip Casnoff was cast as Cathy's (Curtis) husband. In September 2015, Murphy announced, through his Twitter feed, that Patrick Schwarzenegger had joined the cast. He will portray Chad's (Powell) younger brother, Thad. Chad's older brother, Brad, will be played by Chad Michael Murray; while Alan Thicke and Julia Duffy have been cast as Mr. and Mrs. Radwell.

Scream Queens cast at 2015 Comic Con.
Jamie Lee Curtis, Emma Roberts, Lea Michele, Skyler Samuels, Keke Palmer, Abigail Breslin, Billie Lourd

Scream Queens cast at 2016 Paleyfest.
from L to R : Brad Falchuk, Jamie Lee Curtis, Emma Roberts, Lea Michele, Niecy Nash, Keke Palmer, Abigail Breslin, Billie Lourd

Filming

Ryan and Brad and Ian are geniuses, and they get it right. They get it right as a duo, and they get it right as a trio. So I trust Ryan with my life — literally, my career, my life, whatever the fuck he wants me to do. You want me to wear a neck brace and talk about how I love having sex with dead bodies? I'm all yours.

—Co-star Lea Michele on working with the series' creators.

The series began principal photography on March 12, 2015, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Exterior campus scenes were shot at Tulane University. The show completed filming of the pilot episode in April 2015, with filming for the remaining first season installments commencing in early June 2015. Murphy, Brennan, and Falchuk were said to be the first season's sole directors; however, this was later proven not to be the case.

Curtis filmed an intricate homage to her mother's, Janet Leigh, classic shower scene in Psycho. Falchuk spoke about being hesitant to include the scene, "I thought, 'Can I do this? Do I need to ask her?' So then I wrote it and then got a text from her very quickly after she read the script. Her text was, 'We need to do this shot-for-shot.' Then, typical Jamie Lee, she started sending me all the websites and Tumblrs that have each shot laid out and storyboarded." Curtis bought out a greeting card company that had the image of her mother screaming, and placed one near the monitor. She viewed the Psycho scene several times between takes, matching the smallest details, such as which hand reaches for the bar of soap, and twitches of the eye. "It's a big deal and I don't take it lightly," Falchuk concluded, "...that she went for it like that was very moving for me."

The second season will see production move from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Los Angeles, California; after scoring a significant tax credit. Principal photography will commence in July 2016

Main title sequence

The title sequence for the series features Roberts, Michele, Samuels, Palmer, Boneta, Powell, Breslin, and Lourd in an homage to 80s horror flicks. An original song, "You Belong to Me" is performed by singer Heather Heywood, which was written by show composer Mac Quayle, Heywood and executive producer Alexis Martin Woodall. The title sequence only appeared in the fifth episode "Pumpkin Patch", though it was trimmed down to under a minute due to time constraints.

Marketing

On February 13, 2015, Fox released the first teaser trailer for the series on YouTube. Another teaser followed on March 13, featuring Roberts, and another aired during the first season finale of Empire, featuring Palmer. On April 9, 2015, another teaser was released featuring Roberts, and once again on April 27. Later that month, Entertainment Weekly released a series of exclusive posters. Exclusive poster art was found at Six Flags locations throughout the summer. On May 19, 2015, the first full-length trailer was released. On July 1, 2015, cast portraits were released.

Broadcast

The series had its world premiere at the 2015 Comic-Con in July. In late August, free screenings of the pilot along with two other new Fox pilots were held in select cities. In the United States, it premiered on Fox on September 22, 2015. In Canada, Scream Queens airs simultaneously with the U.S. On October 26, 2015, the series premiered E4 in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In Australia, the series debuted on Ten on September 23, 2015, before moving to its sister channel, Eleven, with episode two on the same day.

Reception

Critical response

The first season of Scream Queens received generally mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the first season a 59% of approval with an average rating of 5.9/10, based on 68 reviews, with the critical consensus reading, "Too tasteless for mainstream viewers and too silly for horror enthusiasts, Scream Queens fails to satisfy." On Metacritic, the season was given a score of 59 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

IGN reviewer Terri Schwartz gave a very positive review of the two-hour premiere, giving it a 9.7 out of 10 and saying "Ryan Murphy has worked his TV magic again with a killer start to Scream Queens. From the acting to the costuming to the writing, everything about this concept and execution works. Scream Queens is as funny and self-aware as it needs to be to not bore audiences, but also offers up enough mystery and intrigue to keep even the biggest skeptic entertained." The Telegraph also gave a positive review, awarding the show four stars out of five. They commented that the show pummels "the viewer into submission with sheer, rictus-grinning relentlessness" and praised it for being "shiny, gory and whip-smart."

Robert Rorke of The New York Post panned the series, later putting it on his Worst TV of 2015 list and criticized Roberts' performance, saying that she "can't act".

Ratings

No.	Episode	Air date	Rating/share (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)
1	"Pilot"	September 22, 2015 (2015-09-22)	1.7/5	4.04	1.4	3.02	3.1	7.06
2	"Hell Week"
3	"Chainsaw"	September 29, 2015 (2015-09-29)	1.4/5	3.46	1.3	2.51	2.7	5.98
4	"Haunted House"	October 6, 2015 (2015-10-06)	1.2/4	2.97	0.9	1.93	2.1	4.89
5	"Pumpkin Patch"	October 13, 2015 (2015-10-13)	1.0/3	2.39	0.8	1.77	1.8	4.16
6	"Seven Minutes in Hell"	October 20, 2015 (2015-10-20)	1.0/3	2.59	0.7	1.57	1.7	4.16
7	"Beware of Young Girls"	November 3, 2015 (2015-11-03)	1.0/3	2.44	0.8	1.67	1.8	4.11
8	"Mommie Dearest"	November 10, 2015 (2015-11-10)	0.9/3	2.51	0.8	1.67	1.7	4.18
9	"Ghost Stories"	November 17, 2015 (2015-11-17)	0.9/3	2.37	0.8	1.69	1.7	4.06
10	"Thanksgiving"	November 24, 2015 (2015-11-24)	0.8/3	1.98	1.0	1.97	1.8	3.95
11	"Black Friday"	December 1, 2015 (2015-12-01)	0.9/3	2.40	0.8	1.57	1.7	3.96
12	"Dorkus"	December 8, 2015 (2015-12-08)	0.9/3	2.53	0.7	1.39	1.6	3.92
13	"The Final Girl(s)"

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Recipients and nominees	Outcome
2015	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Most Exciting New Series	Scream Queens	Won
2016	Dorian Awards	Campy TV Show of the Year		Nominated
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite New TV Comedy		Won
		Favorite Actress in New TV Series	Emma Roberts	Nominated
			Lea Michele	Nominated
			Jamie Lee Curtis	Nominated
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress – TV Series Musical or Comedy		Nominated
	Satellite Awards	Best Actress – TV Series Musical or Comedy		Nominated
	Fangoria Chainsaw Awards	Best TV Supporting Actress		Pending
	Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards	TV Mini-Series (MOW) – Best Contemporary Make-up	Eryn Krueger Mekash, Kelley Mitchell, Melissa Buell	Won
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Show: Comedy	Scream Queens	Pending
		Choice TV Actress: Comedy	Emma Roberts	Pending
			Lea Michele	Pending

External links

• Official website
• Scream Queens at IMDb