Steve Dietl/FOXOur new fall obsession just got more obsessiony-er. That's right, we here at E! News are so excited about Ryan Murphy's new FOX show Scream Queens, we don't even care that we can't form real words right now. Call it a Scream Haze. In a month, you'll be in it, too.
Scream Queens—the new comedy-horror series with a stellar cast including Jamie Lee Curtis, Emma Roberts, Lea Michele, Skyler Samuels, Ariana Grande and Nick Jonas—has already generated remarkably positive buzz after a press screening and Comic Con screening/panel earlier this summer. One look at the trailer and you know this show is ridiculous good fun, with bitchtastic one-liners and fashion to die for and, you know… murders to die for. Plus, Lea Michele in a neckbrace acting bat-poop insane? Oh yes, please.
But perhaps more important is this new revelation: The end of Scream Queens' second episode, which I just screened, has an unexpected twist so KILLER, it is now clear that Scream Queens—despite its decadent, hilarious and glossy veneer--is also an explosive storytelling force to be reckoned with. Like the best multilayered dessert. With Pop Rocks inside. And now I'm hungry.
The addition of Niecy Nash as the world's worst security guard, a new 90's-nostalgia-laden love connection between Nasim Pedrad and Oliver Hudson's characters, and some seriously alarming development of Lea Michele's character (Hester)--plus the overall comedy world domination of Emma Roberts as the most horribly horrible sorority girl ever to have lived—make Scream Queens' second episode arguably even stronger than the premiere. All very promising.
Murphy, who is co-writing Scream Queens with Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan—the same trio who penned the first season of Glee together—is known for creating gasp-inducing television, most notably on Nip/Tuck and American Horror Story. And episode two proves Scream Queens will not only deliver those gasps, but also give viewers a ridonkulously fun ride.
Fellow old people of the world: Remember how you felt about Heathers back in the day? Ever wish you could go back and have that much fun watching a dark comedy with bitchy-fun girls again? The kind of comedy that makes you want to run around town like a giant goob quoting horrible-but-oh-so-hilarious lines? Well, you just might just get that. You also might want to pre-apologize to your close friends and loved ones for the obnoxious Emma Roberts-as-Chanel-imitation that is about to ensue. It's the decent thing to do.
Young people of the world: Did you hear Tavi Gevinson was just cast in a role you'd NEVER expect? (Here's hoping Jamie Lee tears her apart.)
Scream Queens premieres Sept. 22.