Scream: The TV Series: The Complete History Of An Underrated Horror Gem

After slashing up the global box office and keeping fans guessing over who was terrorizing Sidney Prescott and her friends again, "Scream" made the jump to the small screen in the form of the aptly titled "Scream: The TV Series" (2015-2019). The show shifted the setting of events from Woodsboro to Lakewood, with an all-new cast and story that served as an homage to the franchise. While it was a big piece of news for horror fans, the series struggled to draw in the viewers, as only the debut episode managed to cross the million-viewer mark in the United States, as per TV Series Finale.

The retention of viewers wasn't the biggest obstacle that the show had to contend with, either. There was a constant turnover of showrunners, while there were questions posed about the decision to change Ghostface's iconic mask and not involve the original voice actor for the character. To further confuse matters, the third season rebooted the entire story and cast. It ultimately proved to be the final installment in the series.

The passage of time allows for clarity and reflection, as some fans and critics have realized "Scream: The TV Series" was a horror gem (via Buzzfeed). With that being said, let's take a look at the history of this show.

Despite having the name of a major horror franchise attached to it, "Scream: The TV Series" seemed to have an aura of constantly being on the chopping block. It didn't help when Season 3 left the previous storyline on a cliffhanger and decided to move in an entirely new direction. While it may have appeared as if there were no real concrete plans for the series, the showrunners for Season 2 — Michael Gans and Richard Register — revealed to Bloody Disgusting they had mapped out two more seasons.

Gans and Register explained how Season 3 would have seen Emma drifting away from her surviving pals. Of course, there would be more characters introduced to throw the audience off the scent of the real killer. In this version of the show, Kieran would still be alive, as this was planned before the Halloween specials. "We pitched this kind of 'Silence of the Lambs' thing," Gans said. "Someone was doing [the killings] at Kieran's bidding, and the only person he would tell what was going on to was Emma."

At the end of Season 3, it would have been revealed this was all a TV show. Essentially, Season 4 would have been meta, like "Wes Craven's New Nightmare," where the actors play fictionalized versions of themselves with a killer on the loose. It also would have been an opportunity for the original film's actors to return.

When "Scream: The TV Series" aired its first footage, there was a seismic gasp from the fandom — not because of the terrifying scenes, but because of the change to Ghostface's iconic mask. Bob Weinstein, an executive producer on the show, told The Hollywood Reporter that the change was necessary as it ties into the story and separates the show from the movies.

Created by Fun World, the original Ghostface mask became synonymous with "Scream," and even Wes Craven believed it was a critical element to the franchise's success. As the director of four "Scream" films and an executive producer on the series, Craven explained to The Hollywood Reporter that he had no part in the decision to change the mask and felt it unnecessary.

"I'm not going to speculate in public, probably shouldn't have even mentioned it, but you know, sometimes you realize that something's not broken, so don't fix it," Craven said. "And that was the course we took on all the 'Scream' films: Don't mess with that, it's just perfect." Ultimately, the original Ghostface mask returned for Season 3 of the show.

There are many franchises that keep the actors on a need-to-know basis. The MCU and "Star Wars" are prime examples, as they often only provide partial scripts to their actors in an effort to keep a lockdown on the production and to prevent any potential leaks from reaching the media's eyes and ears. Turns out that "Scream: The TV Series" applied a similar principle, as the actors had no idea who the killer was until they needed to know for filming purposes.

"I didn't know until very close to the end," actor Amadeus Serafini, who plays Kieran Wilcox on the show, told Showbiz Junkies. "It was that way with the rest of the cast as well, and they haven't really changed their ways into the second season. It's very, very much the usual suspects."

Serafini added how he did wonder if he would be the killer in the first season (Kieran is revealed as one of the accomplices in Season 2). The actor explained how most of the cast would rather be revealed as the killer than be the victims, as it would ensure they would continue on the show. It must have been fun to speculate among themselves on set, though.

The first two seasons of "Scream: The TV Series" possess a connected storyline that follows the Lakewood Six. After 24 episodes, the audience is invested in their story and wants to see where it goes, especially after the shocking conclusion to Season 2. With all the questions and plot threads still up in the air, fans hoped that Season 3 would provide all the answers and tie up loose ends. No one expected it to be a reboot and tell an entirely new story with different characters.

Fans weren't the only ones left shocked by this decision. Carlson Young, who plays Brooke Maddox, told Collider about the cast's reaction to the news. "It was like, 'You got renewed for a third season!'" Young said. "Then it was quiet. And we're like, 'What does that mean?' And especially just the way the show ended. There's these cliffhangers and, I don't know, it didn't feel wrapped up."

Young added how when she found it was a reboot, she chose to be grateful for the experience and being a part of the "Scream" franchise rather than be upset about it. However, she did pitch an interesting idea that she felt could have closed the chapter far better: an episode where the original cast is all killed off.

Showrunners make or break a show. However, it isn't unusual for these creative minds to be replaced after some time — either because they want a new challenge or the show is looking to freshen up its storylines. In the case of "Scream: The TV Series," though, there was a constant state of flux as the showrunners were replaced after every single season of the show.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Jill Blotevogel and Jaime Paglia departed after the first season; however, Blotevogel stayed on as a consultant for the next season. Reportedly, there had been friction brewing between the showrunners and the production company Dimension Television regarding the overall direction of the show, so they decided to part ways. Subsequently, Blotevogel and Paglia were replaced by Michael Gans and Richard Register for Season 2. Before Season 2 had aired its final episode, however, it was announced that Gans and Register would be replaced for Season 3, per Deadline. A few months later in 2017, MTV announced that Brett Matthews would serve as the sole showrunner for Season 3 of the series.

As one of the masters of horror, Wes Craven had a hand in shaping some of the most beloved and successful franchises in the genre, such as "The Hills Have Eyes," "A Nightmare on Elm Street," and "Scream." Having directed the first four "Scream" films, Craven was brought on as an executive producer for "Scream: The TV Series." However, the filmmaker revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that he didn't have much influence on the show, which aired a few months prior to his passing in August 2015.

In a previous interview, Willa Fitzgerald, who plays Emma on "Scream: The TV Series," confirmed that she never met Craven but said he played a pivotal part in the development of the series. "Wes was involved, but by the time that we were shooting the show, he wasn't traveling much," she said. "He was involved more in the production side of things and was never able to make it to set, but he created a whole genre of slasher, horror, campy."