Fresh off a series of teasers and such, Fox has finally unveiled the full-length trailer for its upcoming horror-comedy series Scream Queens. The show comes from creators/executive producers Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan, the same trio behind Glee. In keeping with Murphy and Falchuk’s American Horror Story formula, Scream Queens is an anthology series with the first season taking place at a college campus rocked by a string of murders.
As you can see in the full-length trailer, via Fox, the show takes on the culture of sorority life, as Emma Roberts and her privileged Kappa sisters are forced by the university’s Dean (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) to allow anyone who rushes to become a member of the sorority. There’s a central mystery surrounding the house that’s somewhat intriguing, but the tone of this thing is way off. It’s reaching for camp but failing, so we’re left with an erratic, over-the-top, unfunny tone that’s more grating than cute. For a horror-comedy, this trailer is neither scary nor hilarious.
Murphy and Falchuk are currently busy with their other Fox anthology series American Crime Story, so I’ll be curious to see how hands on they are with Scream Queens, but for now the series isn’t exactly instilling confidence. That said, Fox has been knocking the long lead marketing of this thing out of the park, so I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be a big hit.
The series also stars Lea Michele, Abigail Breslin, Nasim Pedrad, Oliver Hudson, Skyler Samuels, Keke Palmer, Billie Lourd, Diego Boneta, Glen Powell, Lucien Laviscount, Niecy Nash, Nick Jonas, and Ariana Grande.
Here’s the official synopsis for Scream Queens:
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.
