The popularity of horror films can be traced back to the golden age of cinema when monsters like Frankenstein, The Wolfman and The Mummy ruled the big screen, but in recent years, a different sort of monster has taken over television. Ever since Dexter premiered on Showtime in 2006, all the networks have been on a persistent quest to recreate that character drama’s success.
A Trio of Villains Rumored For 'Batman vs Superman'
Now, some eight years later, a number of TV shows prominently feature serial killers, including The Following, Bates Motel and Hannibal. Meanwhile, NBC just greenlit to series a Charles Manson drama with David Duchovny and CBS has a Kevin Williamson serial killer pilot in contention for next season. Not to be outdone, MTV picked up two serial killer pilots of its own last year: cyber stalker drama Eye Candy and Scream, based on the popular Wes Craven/Kevin Williamson film franchise.
The last news we heard about Scream on the small scream indicated that the show might delve into the supernatural. Now, TVLine has got a hold of character descriptions from the script. Just like in the original films, the main characters in the series are teenagers. Check out the decriptions below:
Harper Duval: A 16-year-old beauty “who’s a little too introverted and intellectual to be a social butterfly” but has nevertheless been annointed by the popular crowd to be one of their own. “She feels guilty that she has drifted away from former best friend Audrey,” but at least she’s got a ‘Gilmore Girls’-esque relationship with mom Maggie to keep her sane.
Audrey Jesen: Haper’s former BFF is described as “the bi-curious daughter of a Lutheran pastor” who’s “more arresting-looking than pretty.” This “artsy loner” dreams of being a filmmaker and shares a close bond with tech genius Noah.
Noah Foster: Audrey’s closest confidante is “creative, brilliant and tech-savvy enough to be the next Steve Jobs.” Lucky for him, he’s got a great sense of humor (“a la John Cusack in his teen prime”) that helps him navigate the halls of his high school. What’s more, Noah possesses “an encyclopedic knowledge of books, films, TV, apps, etc.”
Margaret “Maggie” Duval: Harper’s mom, in her early to mid-40s, is the town’s medical examiner, “a grown-up science geek who plays down her beauty.” Maggie spends a lot of her time trying to make up for the fact that Harper’s dad abandoned them. Oh, and she’s harboring “a dark secret from her past.”
Written by Jill Blotevogel (Ravenswood, Harper’s Island, Eureka), the pilot starts with a YouTube video going viral, which soon leads to problems for teenager Audrey and seemingly serves as the “catalyst for a murder that opens up a window to [her] town’s troubled past.” BloodyDisgusting reports that Wes Craven, who helmed all four of the Scream films, will direct the pilot this summer.
From these plot and character descriptions, there’s no indication that the new series will have any direct correlation to earlier events in the franchise, yet it’s almost guaranteed there will at least be references to the four films as nods to fans.
For one, it’s quite possible that the town these characters live in with the “troubled past” is the fictional Woodsboro from the original series. It’s also possible the YouTube video that goes viral is tied to a past murder from the films, maybe even footage that Emma Roberts’ character Jill shot during Scream 4. We’ll just have to wait until more details or a script are leaked to know for sure.
Do these character descriptions give you hope for a new entry in the Scream franchise, especially now that Wes Craven may also be involved?
First film was a great horror so thought I post this
