In 2015, Scream hit television screens. The horror anthology show, inspired by the slasher film series of the same name, told the story of a group of high school teenagers who are stalked by a masked killer.
The show was designed as a spin-off of the Scream franchise, but not a direct continuation. As such, rather than picking up with characters or events from the movies, Scream reworked the premise of the films to introduce a new cast.
This new cast was seen as a way to inject fresh new blood into the franchise, and to hopefully attract a loyal fanbase. However, Scream never quite hit the same heights the films achieved, and despite amassing some fans, the show was eventually cancelled.
But how many episodes of Scream were produced and why was it cancelled? All the answers are provided below.
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How many episodes of Scream were produced?
Scream ran for three seasons, and one Halloween special. Across the course of its run, a total of 30 episodes of Scream were produced, with ten episodes broadcast in season one, twelve in season two, two for the Halloween special, and six in season three.
The first two seasons of the show, as well as the Halloween special (episodes 1 – 24), aired on MTV between 2015 and 2016. These episodes revolved around Emma Duval – a high school student from the town of Lakewood, who becomes the target of the mysterious ‘Lakewood Slasher’.
Duval was played by Willa Fitzgerald, who was accompanied by a cast that included Bex Taylor-Klaus, Amelia Rose Blaire, and Amadeus Serafini. Mike Vaughn provided the voice of the killer, who was revealed to be multiple people during the course of the seasons.
The third and final season aired on VH1 in 2019. This season – retitled as Scream: Resurrection –focused on a new victim called Deion Elliot. RJ Cyler played the role of Elliot for this brief run of episodes.
This season was notably different to the previous seasons, as it abandoned the existing characters and setting in favour of a new cast. The look of the killer was also altered.
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Why was Scream’s third season different to the previous seasons?
When Scream made its debut on MTV in 2015, the pilot episode received fairly positive reviews and was watched by just over one million US viewers. However, as the first season continued, the critical reviews became less positive and the viewers began to drop off.
Going into the second season in 2016, the critical response was better, with many commenting that the series had shown signs of improvement, but unfortunately, this didn’t convince viewers to stick around. With some audiences losing interest during the first year, the ratings for the show’s second season continued to decline, and it was clear the show was not appealing to audiences in the way the network had hoped.
But MTV was convinced there was plenty of life left in the property, so greenlit a third season in late 2016 to give things another go. However, rather than rush back into production, the show was put on an extended hiatus, so the network could devise a plan for taking the series forward.
After much consideration, and a change in showrunners, Scream was to press ahead, but not as a direct continuation of what had come before. The previous setting was to be dropped, new characters were to be introduced, and a new subtitle (‘Resurrection’) was to be added.
In addition to the above, the show was also going to align itself a little more closely to the movies, by reintroducing the ‘Ghostface’ killer. In the first two seasons, the killer(s) had sported a mask that was very different to the one seen in the movies, but with season three it was decided to return to the iconic look from the films, in order to better appeal to legacy fans.
And with the return of the Ghostface mask, also came the return of Roger L. Jackson – the actor who voiced Ghostface in all of the movies. Although the series was still to remain a standalone affair, it was hoped that by bringing Jackson back, this would act as another hook to entice fans.
Along with the alterations, there came a network change too, and after three years away from screens, the show returned in 2019, only this time via VH1. No huge explanation was given for the change in channel, but it was assumed the show was looking to start afresh, and by moving to a new home for what was being billed as an ‘event’ season, this could help redefine the series.
But despite all the time spent on redeveloping this new season, and the move from MTV to VH1, it still wasn’t enough to get audiences interested. There was an uptick in ratings for Scream’s third season, but it wasn’t a significant increase and certainly not one that could convince the network to keep the show going any longer.
With Scream simply not achieving the impact it needed after three seasons, the show was brought to a close. Scream had given television its best stab (so to speak), but the format change didn’t make the cut.
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Did any of the actors from the original Scream movies appear in the Scream show?
With the exception of Roger L. Jackson, who returned to voice Ghostface for the third season (aka Scream: Resurrection), Scream did not feature any of the cast from the movies. However, during its run, the Scream show did include notable names amongst its cast, including Tony Todd, Tyler Posey, Paris Jackson, and Mary J. Blige who all appeared in Scream: Resurrection.
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A list of Scream episodes in order
Should you want to catch up on the show, to see what it was all about, then you will need a list of the episodes. Below is a list of all 30 episodes of Scream, covering seasons one, two, and three, as well as the Halloween special.
Season One
- 01) Pilot
- 02) Hello, Emma
- 03) Wanna Play a Game?
- 04) Aftermath
- 05) Exposed
- 06) Betrayed
- 07) In the Trenches
- 08) Ghosts
- 09) The Dance
- 10) Revelations
Season Two
- 11) I Know What You Did Last Summer
- 12) Psycho
- 13) Vacancy
- 14) Happy Birthday to Me
- 15) Dawn of the Dead
- 16) Jeepers Creepers
- 17) Let the Right One In
- 18) Village of the Damned
- 19) The Orphanage
- 20) The Vanishing
- 21) Heavenly Creatures
- 22) When a Stranger Calls
Halloween special
- 23) Halloween
- 24) Halloween II
Season Three: Resurrection
- 25) The Deadfast Club
- 26) Devil’s Night
- 27) The Man Behind the Mask
- 28) Ports in the Storm
- 29) Blindspots
- 30) Endgame
Please note: In keeping with the self-referential nature of the Scream franchise, the titles for episodes 11 – 24 (aka Season Two and the Halloween special) take their names from famous horror movies of the past. If you’re a horror buff, you’ve no doubt spotted this already.
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