Ryan Murphy’s Scream Queens is exactly what you’d expect a series from Ryan Murphy called Scream Queens to be. It’s a blend of everything that’s campy and bright about Glee and dark and grimy about American Horror Story. It’s also hilarious and engaging, with a cast of characters that you both love and hate, and keep you wanting more.
Season 1’s setting is the Kappa Kappa Tau sorority house at Wallace University. It’s pristine, extravagant and over the top, much like its snobbish, super-rich residents, known as the Chanels. It’s the place everyone wants to be, but very few get in. Everything changes for the Chanels, however, when a serial killer starts killing off students, and Kappa Kappa Tau finds itself at the centre.
The tone of Scream Queens is established in the very first scene when a sorority pledge dies in a bathtub after giving birth while her sisters dance to ‘Waterfalls’ by TLC at the house party downstairs. It continues to be simultaneously sinister and ridiculous, but in the best way. The show constantly looks for ways to both outrage and entertain, and it almost always pays off.
The cast would be the heart of Scream Queens, but it doesn’t really have one. Instead, each character is awful, annoying, petty and ludicrous, but often hilarious and always suspicious.
Emma Roberts brings everyone together as the sorority president, who might just be one of the best comedic characters of the decade. Her brat-like attitude and disregard for anyone who isn’t hot, rich or herself is a joy to watch. She steals every scene (even those she shares with Jamie Lee Curtis), and she’s the main reason we’re so excited for Season 2.
If you’re looking for a break from strong character exploration and development in favour of pure, over-the-top slasher fun, you’ve found it.
