Even though Glee is ending in spring 2015, creator Ryan Murphy won’t be leaving FOX anytime soon. The network has greenlit a new comedy-horror anthology series called Scream Queens in a straight-to-series order, which means it’ll bypass the pilot season.
The series’ first season will consist of 15 episodes and is set to premiere in fall 2015. The storyline for season 1 centers on a college campus rocked by a series of murders.
As with Murphy’s other anthology show, American Horror Story, the plan is to give each subsequent season brand-new settings and storylines.
Joining Murphy as executive producers are Brad Falchuk, Ian Brennan and Dante Di Loreto. All three have worked with Murphy on Glee, and Falchuk and Di Loreto also work on American Horror Story.
“I knew I wanted to work with Brad and Ian again on something comedic, and we are having a blast writing Scream Queens,” Murphy said in a statement. “We hope to create a whole new genre — comedy-horror — and the idea is for every season to revolve around two female leads. We’ve already begun a nationwide search for those women, as well as 10 other supporting roles, and we’re very grateful to Dana and Gary for their enthusiastic support.”
Dana Walden and Gary Newman, Chairmen and CEOs of FOX Television Group, added, “One of our top priorities at the network has been to get Ryan Murphy to create a new series for FOX. We loved every element of the pitch for this show — the genre-bending concept, which blends true horror with big comedic moments; the diverse and unforgettable characters; and reuniting the phenomenal creative team that delivered Glee. Scream Queens will go straight-to-series. It’s a huge commitment and an expression of our faith in Ryan. We are ecstatic to have him, along with Brad, Ian and Dante, as our partners on this exciting ride.”
With Glee airing its final season next year, it looks like Ryan Murphy is focused now on only producing anthology series. He started with American Horror Story, which is currently in its fourth season, Freak Show, and has already been renewed for a fifth season. And he’s developing a spin-off series called American Crime Story, with the first installment focusing on the O.J. Simpson trial. Now there’s Scream Queens.
With the complaints that he has received over the quality of Glee, maybe it’s for the better that Murphy is focusing his attention on shows/storylines with a definite beginning, middle and end.
Considering the two genres of comedy and horror, Scream Queens seems to be a mash-up of Glee and American Horror Story. It’ll be interesting to see if any cast members from either series show up on Scream Queens.
What do you think of this announcement? Does it sound like a show you want to watch? Will you tune in because Ryan Murphy is creating it? Or will you pass?
(Image courtesy of WENN)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
Jeff Dodge, a graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena.
