The two-hour premiere of “Scream Queens” aired this past Tuesday, fulfilling its promise of sorority-girl slaughter and ridiculous one-liners.
The new FOX show was written by the trio that brought you “Glee”: Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. To confirm their credibility within the slasher genre, Murphy and Falchuk are also the minds that brought you “American Horror Story.” Combining these two elements, “Scream Queens” is a surefire horror comedy, with a much bigger emphasis on the latter.
One of the main draws of the show is the well-known cast. A huge star lineup of Emma Roberts, Keke Palmer, Lea Michele and the original Scream Queen, Jamie Lee Curtis, along with recurring guest stars Ariana Grande and Nick Jonas, will help attract people across many genres.
For those who missed the premiere, here’s a quick summary: freshman Grace Gardner, played by Skyler Samuels, decides to join the Kappa Kappa Tau sorority to honor her late mother, a former member. Headed by the blunt and vicious president Chanel Oberlin, portrayed by Roberts, KKT is known for their exclusivity until the school’s dean (Curtis) forces them to allow all pledges to join.
When Chanel’s prank to scare the new pledges ends in the death of their housemaid, the members lug the body into a conveniently placed walk-in freezer. The body mysteriously disappears, and the girls of KKT end up being stalked by a man in a red devil suit for the rest of the two hours.
Though the show centers on the murder of the semi-innocent sorority girls, don’t go into it thinking you need a pillow to hug or blanket to hide under. So far, the scariest part of Murphy’s creation is Roberts’ ridiculously mean personality.
The one-liners are nothing short of genius, and are the main reason that I will continue to watch this series. Most of these come from Roberts, who dishes out her fair share of well-timed derogatory terms. Just as hilarious is the commentary from main fraternity brother Chad, played by Glen Powell.
This isn’t to say the other characters don’t have their shining moments. Partially-closeted fraternity member and Chad’s best friend Boone, played by Nick Jonas, has a rapidly developing storyline, and I can’t wait to see what the writers do with the relatively underdeveloped sorority members Hester “Neckbrace” Ulrich, played by Michele, and Zayday Williams, played by Palmer.
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Unfortunately, if you came into this with the hope of suspenseful murder scenes, you will be extremely disappointed. Even the main death of the episode features a girl getting stabbed in the back while posting on social media. Though it adds to the over-the-top ridiculousness of the show, hardcore horror fans will probably walk away after the first episode.
Another weird element in the series is the ever-present narrator between dialogues. It seems like the goal of the narration was to add a few laughs during dry moments by stating obvious actions about to take place. The execution is at times lacking and in some places it could just be done without.
The good news is that Murphy and Falchuk were able to create something completely separate from “American Horror Story.” You won’t be getting Murder House or Coven flashbacks — whether that’s good news or bad news is up to you.
If you are looking for a show that mixes immature humor with the sorority-slasher trope, I would definitely check this out. Murphy guarantees at least one death per episode and you won’t want to miss out on that.
Episodes air Tuesdays at 9 p.m.