Fans of MTV’s flagship slasher were Screaming (sorry) Friday night as Deadline reportedly outed a plot to reboot the show ahead of its third season. Scream will supposedly leave the murderous town of Lakewood for an all-new setting, backstory and cast of human meat-puppets.
The Scream community responded in passionate style, with some slating MTV’s “betrayal” of their loyal audience and others trending ‘#SaveScream’ to resist the original cast’s fate. But is this swift rejection of the idea doing the show a disservice?
Let’s be clear: That we may never know who killed Kieran, who really did the ’94 killings and just who that “Mr. James” guy was, sucks. Coupling this with such iconic (after just two seasons) heroes – final girl Emma, bi-curious Audrey and ex-virgin Noah to name a few – it’s easy to see why this rumour has ruffled feathers. We’d also be glad if this were all exposed as a hoax – a fulfilling closure to Lakewood’s story is mightily welcome – but this battered brand could do with a fresh start.
In our view, season 2 was legions ahead of the original – the writing was sharper, the kills were scarier and the stories deeper. The grand unmasking of Emma’s darling, the aforementioned Kieran, as the killer proved thrilling despite its blatancy. But then the Halloween special arrived, sporting yet another killer – this time unrelated to the main arc. Proceedings veered off into a near-cartoonish direction, and sensibility plunged down the kitchen sink – how many murderers can these folks realistically encounter? Beyond restoring some believable and compelling terror, resetting could also undo damage done by season 1’s weaker writing – perhaps a cause of its ratings plunging from a million to just 550,000.
These numbers only worsened in season 2. The Halloween special was seen by 300,000 viewers, with the main chunk of the season averaging just 377,000 pairs of eyes – as much as we love the show, it’s clear something hasn’t clicked. We doubt a third season, delving deep into Lakewood’s fan-pleasing backstory, would welcome new audiences, whilst a top-down DNA recode proves an opportunity to re-sell the show as worthy of a second shot.
None of this could materialise, of course – sources are unnamed and, according to Deadline, the project is yet to deploy a showrunner. But should this prove legitimate, let’s embrace it – season 3 could be our last chance to convince the wider public of this horror gem’s ‘killer’ appeal.
Are you clawing for a Scream reboot? Or is Emma Duval your firm #1? Let us know at @CelebMix!