History Series / ScreamTheTVSeries

''Scream'' is an Creator/{{MTV}} series that premiered on June 30, 2015. It is based on [[Film/{{Scream}} the film series of the same name]] and has many stylistic elements, including its {{postmodern|ism}} take on the {{slasher|Movie}} genre, but it otherwise takes place in its own universe.

The first season, taking place in the fictional town of Lakewood, opens with a teenage girl named Audrey being outed as a lesbian (though Audrey labels herself as bicurious) by another girl named Nina Patterson and her boyfriend Tyler O'Neill, with Nina being found brutally murdered the next day. A series of murders ensues, and amid the dark secrets that start spilling out in the town, one girl named Emma Duvall becomes the center of it all. The massacre is also seemingly connected to the town's past as the site of a horrifying massacre by a deformed boy named Brandon James twenty years earlier -- and the killer is wearing a mask very similar to James'.

A girl named [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer Audrey]] is outed as a lesbian (though Audrey labels herself as bicurious) by [[AlphaBitch Nina Patterson]] and her boyfriend Tyler O'Neill, who record a video of her making out with another girl. The next day, Nina is found brutally murdered, with Tyler (also murdered, but [[NeverFoundTheBody currently missing]]) the main suspect. This incident causes all manner of dark secrets to start spilling out in the town of Lakewood, which had been the site of a horrifying massacre by a deformed boy named Brandon James twenty years earlier -- and the killer is wearing a mask very similar to James'.

Season 2 premiered on May 30, 2016. It picks up three months after the events of the first season, and focuses on the survivors of the first murders, now dubbed The Lakewood Six, coping with the real world and psychological effects of their ordeal, as a new killer surfaces, with the intent on making one of them come clean about their part in the last murder spree.

A Halloween special aired shortly after season 2. Though it touched on remaining threads from the previous season, most of it took place on an isolated island that the survivors go to to help Noah and Stavo do research for their new graphic horror novel - and stumble onto a new set of killings.

On April 26, 2017, it was confirmed that, along with new showrunners, the six episode third season would be a creative reboot, with a new location and a new cast. It was filmed in late 2017 for a Spring 2018 release, but the season was delayed indefinitely following disgrace of producer Harvey Weinstein. The long-delayed third season, ''Series/ScreamResurrection'', was finally announced in June 2019, airing six episodes over three nights the following month on Creator/VH1. Aside from being a {{retool}} of the first two seasons with an entirely new cast and plot, ''Resurrection'' features the return of the classic Ghostface mask from the movies[[note]]the series previously couldn't use its likeness for [[ScrewedByTheLawyers copyright reasons]][[/note]] as well as the voice of Creator/RogerLJackson as Ghostface, who was last heard in 2011's ''Film/{{Scream 4}}''.

-->--'''Noah Foster''', "Pilot"

* WritersCannotDoMath: Will and Emma were high school freshmen in the fall of 2014 (they watched Film/TheMazeRunner on their third date, which came out in September of that year), but by the fall of 2016, Emma is in her senior year.

* DelayedSeasons: The first season takes place in October 2015, but was filmed in the summer. This results in lush, green foliage all around Lakewood, and a student body perennially dressed for spring break, despite the fact that the license plates in season two imply that the show is set in Colorado. This is a consequence of the show being filmed around Baton Rouge, Louisiana, an area that is genuinely like that in October. In most of the South, the chilly weather and fall foliage don't set in until November or even December, if they come at all.

* AlternateContinuity: The show is set in a different continuity from the film series. The mask has also a different origin story.

* AmbiguousSituation: [[spoiler: Audrey]] does tell Noah the reason why she's being targeted, but since [[spoiler: she seemed willing to kill Noah earlier when he was about to see an incriminating video tape, it's not really certain if she's telling the truth.]]

** Most of Lakewood's teen populous reacts to Nina's death with mild indifference, dry humor, or as a legitimately good thing, seeing as she was an AssholeVictim after all. Riley's death changes this, sending waves throughout the town and causing many of her friends to have grief-induced breakdowns.

** The season finale, "Revelations": Sheriff Hudson is killed, Ghostface is revealed to be Piper Shaw before being killed, and the last scene that reveals that Audrey had contact with her all along.[[spoiler:But turns out to be a RedHerring as Season 2.]]

** The season finale, "Revelations": Sheriff Hudson is killed, Ghostface is revealed to be Piper Shaw before being killed, and the last scene all but states that Audrey was working with her all along.

** In "Revelations", Audrey burns several letters between her and Piper and documents stolen from the police station, hinting that she was involved with the murders. It transpires that [[spoiler: the Season 2 killer has saved copies of those letters, as Audrey learns in "I Know What You Did Last Summer". It revealed that Audrey is innocent since the2nd killer is Kieren and she only burned the letters because she knew it made her look like a RedHerring]]

* FanDisservice: Nina, the first victim, was relaxing in a hot tub wearing a black bikini when she is attacked and killed by Ghostface.

** In "Revelations", Audrey burns several letters between her and Piper and documents stolen from the police station, hinting that she was involved with the murders. It transpires that [[spoiler: the Season 2 killer has saved copies of those letters, as Audrey learns in "I Know What You Did Last Summer".]]

* YourCheatingHeart: At the party in the pilot, Brooke accidentally reveals that Will slept with Nina. He justifies it by saying he and Emma were "on a break", but she counters that they were "on a break" for less than a month and clearly considers it cheating -- especially because the two apparently continued to flirt on Facebook, and he's continuously used the excuse of his phone being dead to avoid her calls. And then after learning this, she makes out with Kieran (though it seems to be because she's upset and tipsy, rather than trying to get back at him).
** Emma's father Kevin was apparently cheating on his girlfriend Maggie with one of her best friends. When Maggie's best friend Brandon James learned about this, he decided to confront Kevin. It didn't end well.

* BigBadDuumvirate: Like the films, there are, in fact, two killers running amok in Lakewood. [[They're revealed to be Piper Shaw and Kieran Wilcox. Piper ends up dead by the end of the first season, allowing Kieran to occupy the role alone for the second.]]

* {{Adorkable}}:
** Riley, in spades.
** Noah has his moments.
** Season 2 introduces [[NerdsAreSexy Zoe]] to take up the mantle.

* SixStudentClique: The central characters loosely fit into this mold, depending on who you count:
** The Head: Emma
** The Muscle: Will
** The Smart One: Noah/Kieran
** The Quirk: Riley/Audrey
** The Pretty One: Brooke
** The Wild One: Jake
** Season 2 has a similar set up:
*** The Head: Emma
*** The Muscle: Kieran
*** The Smart One: Noah/Zoe
*** The Quirk: Eli
*** The Pretty One: Brooke
*** The Wild One: Eli/Stavo

** [[spoiler:Jake's]] death is debatable, as he showed shades of being a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.

* EvilVsEvil: This seems to be the case in Season 2, as Ghostface targets [[spoiler: Audrey,]] the apparent surviving half of Season 1's BigBadDuumvirate who seemingly got away clean. [[spoiler:But this turns out not to be the case]].

* AbortedArc: With the announcement that season 3 will be rebooting the series with a new cast and plot, any questions still left from the end of season 2 will remain unanswered.

* {{Adorkable}}: Riley, in spades. Noah also has his moments.

* ApatheticCitizens: Most of Lakewood's teen populous reacts to Nina's death with mild indifference, dry humor, or as a legitimately good thing, seeing as she was an AssholeVictim after all.
** Riley's death changes this, sending waves throughout the town and causing many of her friends to have grief-induced breakdowns.

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Jake's]] death is debatable, as he showed shades of being a JerkWithAHeartOfGold. However, no one will miss [[spoiler:Haley]], who spent every moment of her time being a {{Jerkass}} to all of the characters.

* BettyAndVeronica: Sheriff Hudson's love interests, [[SecondLove Maggie]] (Betty) and [[OldFlame Lorraine]] (Veronica).

* BoundAndGagged: Brooke does this to herself in "Wanna Play a Game?", preparing for a sex session with Branson. Little does she know, it's a trap set by the killer.

* BreatherEpisode: Season 1, Episode 4, "Aftermath", deals mostly with...the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin aftermath of]] Riley's murder. Though several important plot points are explored, particularly the killer's lair, Brooke's relationship with her father, and Will and Jake's sex tape operation, it is the first episode in the series where Ghostface never appears and nobody dies.

* CainAndAbel: Emma and Piper.

* CreepySouvenir: The gang find Tyler's decomposing head in Ghostface's hospital lair. He was using it to prop up a Brandon James mask.
** The killer also keeps mementos from his victims: a necklace of Nina's, an action figure of Rachael's, and Riley's keychain.
*** Interestingly, "Ghosts" plays up the similarity between Riley's keychain and the locket Daisy once gave Brandon James. It hasn't been explored further, however, and the explanations for the other souvenirs remain a mystery.

* CrowbarCombatant: When Audrey and Emma go to search Ghostface's AbandonedHospital lair, Audrey brings along a crowbar, saying she prefers the old fashioned method of self defense.

* DeadpanSnarker: Noah and Audrey are a duo of these. Brooke is also very acerbic.

** In "Revelations", Audrey burns several letters between her and Piper and documents stolen from the police station, hinting that she was involved with the murders.
*** It transpires that [[spoiler: the Season 2 killer has saved copies of those letters, as Audrey learns in "I Know What You Did Last Summer".]]

* DumbBlonde: Brooke suggests ''Literature/TheCastleOfOtranto'' started the 'castle genre'. Then again, she might just be ObfuscatingStupidity to score some private 'study sessions' with Mr. Branson.
** It turns out that Brooke is [[HiddenDepths much]] [[DeadpanSnarker more]] [[ObfuscatingStupidity intelligent]] than others give her credit for.

* FinalGirl: Emma, Audrey, and Brooke. Emma's mom was one during the murder spree twenty years prior to the start of the series.

* FlowerMotifs: Maggie and Emma are associated with daisies. Emma even has a large print of a daisy over her bed, and of course Daisy was Brandon James' nickname for Maggie back in the day. Daisies are traditionally associated with purity and innocence -- fitting, since Maggie and Emma were traditional Final Girls in their respective generations.

* GirlPosse: Emma, Riley, and Brooke are a Girl Posse without their AlphaBitch.
** In Season 2, Emma, Audrey, and Brooke have formed one of their own, illustrating how their [[FireForgedFriends ordeal]] has broken down any social barriers there may have been between them originally.
* GiveGeeksAChance: Riley develops a crush on Noah. The two have a first date and kiss in "Hello, Emma".

* ImprovisedWeapon: Emma believes she's being stalked in a dark alley and wastes no time picking up a nearby wooden plank, which she nearly clobbers Will with as she tries to get away.

* MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot: Multiple murders copying Brandon James → an underground blackmailing market being covered up

-->'''Emma:''' (upon discovering Riley's dead body) "I didn't mean to choose!"

-->'''Jake:''' A landline? What is this, 1996?

** In "Jeepers Creepers", Noah goes to meet somebody at a deserted fairground, but [[GenreSavvy realizes it's probably a trap]] and goes back to his car where [[spoiler: he is grabbed by Ghostface, in a reference to Randy Meeks's death in ''Scream 2'']].
*** Averted, however, [[spoiler: as that particular Ghostface was just Audrey, as part of a scheme to convince him she was innocent]].

* OhCrap: Noah and Audrey have the same similar reaction when they accidentally upload a SexTape of Emma's first time to the entire GW High student body.

* ParentalNeglect: Very much the case with Brooke's parents. Brooke's dad, the Mayor, is rarely around for her and only knows his daughter on a superficial level, while her mother is away on a never ending stream of meditation retreats, giving Brooke free reign to throw lavish parties at their house and engage in sex games with her English teacher.
** "Aftermath" explores this further, showing that Brooke comes to resent having parents that, frankly, have other things to do.
** "Exposed" takes a darker turn, suggesting that Brooke's mother was DeadAllAlong, at her father's hand no less.
** "Ghosts" reveals that Brooke's mother is alive and the dead guy was her drug pusher who OD'ed in the family home.

* RejectedApology: Throughout the pilot, Emma tries to reach out to Audrey (since they used to be friends) by doing things like inviting her to Brooke's party. This culminates in her showing up at Audrey's house to apologize because she was there when Nina made the video and didn't stop her. Audrey is ''not'' having it.
-->'''Audrey:''' "So this whole 'let's be friends again' thing is because you felt guilty? You bitch."

-->'''Stavo''': Next time, I'll destroy something ''you'' love.
*** Later, she tries to apologize to Emma for a whole raft of bad decisions, which prolonged the killing spree in season 1 and put suspicion on Audrey in season 2. While they did reconcile, it took a while, and likely wouldn't have happened had [[spoiler:they not barely rescued Noah and failed to rescue Zoe, during their fight.]]

* SanitySlippage: "Ghosts" reveals that Emma is developing insomnia after witnessing Will's death, and is experiencing a series of increasingly surreal hallucinations as a result.
** These hallucinations continue well into Season 2, coming to the point where even the audience isn't sure which of Emma's encounters with Ghostface are real, and which are her imagination.

* SequelHook: Piper[=/=]Ghostface is killed by a bullet to the head at the end of the Season One finale, but Noah, narrating a final episode of her podcast, notes that she herself was attacked by Ghostface. While he admits that it's entirely possible that she simply banged herself up to make herself look like a victim, he also points out that Will confirmed the attack and raises the question of who was wearing the mask that night. The final scene implies that it was Audrey.
** Season 2 ends with three. The first of which [[spoiler: has Maggie discover a note she wrote to Brandon James, who she believes may still be alive, pinned to the tree in her backyard by a knife with a bloodstain on the paper. The second shows Kieran, revealed to have been Piper's actual accomplice, receiving a phone call while in prison, with the caller using the killer's voice changer to ask him "who told you you could wear my mask?" implying that Brandon James IS alive.]] There is also the matter of [[spoiler:what actually happened on the night of the Brandon James murders, and whether Brandon James was able to survive into the present day thanks to Maggie and Miguel helping him]].

* ShoutOut: When discussing how the Gothic genre is alive and well in the present day, the literature teacher mentions ''Series/AmericanHorrorStory'', ''Series/BatesMotel'', and ''Series/{{Hannibal}}''. ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' and Creator/GeorgeARomero also come up.
** "Hello, Emma" mentioned Series/GameOfThrones, Literature/{{Carrie}}, Series/HowToGetAwayWithMurder, and {{Series/Scandal}}. The Lakewood kids seem to have broad taste in T.V.

* StalkerShrine: Ghostface's hospital lair comes complete with an array of photos clipped from the '94 Lakewood high yearbook, depicting the victims of the Brandon James murders. And Emma.

* AllHallowsEve: The Brandon James murders occurred during the 1994 Halloween Dance. Fittingly, the season concludes on the twenty year anniversary of the killings, starting off with the Halloween Dance.

On April 26, 2017, it was confirmed that, along with new showrunners, the six episode third season would be a creative reboot, with a new location and a new cast. It was filmed in late 2017 for a Spring 2018 release, but the season was delayed indefinitely following disgrace of producer Harvey Weinstein. The long-delayed third season, ''Scream: Resurrection'', was finally announced in June 2019, airing six episodes over three nights the following month on Creator/VH1. Aside from being a {{retool}} of the first two seasons with an entirely new cast and plot, ''Resurrection'' features the return of the classic Ghostface mask from the movies[[note]]the series previously couldn't use its likeness for [[ScrewedByTheLawyers copyright reasons]][[/note]] as well as the voice of Creator/RogerLJackson as Ghostface, who was last heard in 2011's ''Film/{{Scream 4}}''.