Scream Queens is a Hoot

Scream Queens might just be the surprise of the television season. Well, maybe not surprise, if you read reviews of the pilot season beforehand. I claim it is a surprise because it is so much more than the trailers suggest and definitely better than the way it was advertised. Set in a college sorority, these rich, stuck up girls are a story that's already been told. Emma Roberts' character Chanel Overlin, the queen bee, is the cruelest of them all yet she still maintains a ring of minions around her. Nothing new there. Even a killer who is on the loose on campus isn't what makes this show different. What really stands out about this show is the humor and the way it doesn't take itself too seriously. Everything is over dramatized and has a highly satirical, cartoonish tone. Creator of the Scream Queens, Ryan Murphy, explains the differences between this show and his other thriller American Horror Story. AHS tells a more serious story which is darker and sexualized. Scream Queens remains lighter and frequently laughable.




Not to mention Scream Queens is the voice of our modern college generation. Even though the dialogue may seem over the top at times, I can guarantee whatever you've heard on this show, you've probably heard a friend say. When they are not running from the killer, they talk about the same things you would find most college aged kids talk about. They do not try and dumb these characters down, but instead they reflect an inflated version of young adults today. In the pilot episode, superstar Ariana Grande guest plays a sorority girl who is murdered in her bedroom. Grande is not only texting the murderer as she stands in front of him, but then proceeds to live-tweet her death as it's happening. The laughable moments like that reflect who we are as a society and we can only choose to laugh at ourselves.

Overall, my goal is to spread the word on this comedy thriller and to urge at least the college aged demographic to check it out. With a star studded cast, it's impossible not to love. The actors and actresses we watched make a fool of themselves on Nick and Disney many years ago are now real actors who put on a great show. And if you weren't a fan of Jamie Lee Curtis beforehand, you will be.