Scream Queens season 1

The first season of the black comedy slasher television series Scream Queens originally aired on Fox in the United States. It premiered on September 22, 2015 and concluded on December 8, 2015. The season consists of 13 episodes.

The first season takes place at the fictional college campus of Wallace University. One of the sororities, Kappa Kappa Tau, becomes plagued by a serial killer, who uses the university's Red Devil mascot as a disguise.

The season stars Emma Roberts, Skyler Samuels, Lea Michele, Glen Powell, Diego Boneta, Abigail Breslin, Keke Palmer, Oliver Hudson, Nasim Pedrad, Lucien Laviscount, Billie Lourd, and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Main

 * Emma Roberts as Chanel Oberlin
 * Skyler Samuels as Grace Gardner
 * Keke Palmer as Zayday Williams
 * Lea Michelle as Hester Ulrich / Hester Doyle / Chanel #6
 * Oliver Hudson as Weston "Wes" Gardner
 * Diego Boneta as Pete Martinez
 * Nasim Pedrad as Gigi Caldwell / Jess Meyer
 * Lucien Laviscount as Earl Grey
 * Glen Powell as Chad Radwell
 * Billie Lourd as Sadie Swenson / Chanel #3
 * Jamie Lee Curtis as Dean Cathy Munsch
 * Abigail Breslin as Libby Puttney / Chanel #5

Special guest stars

 * Niecy Nash as Denise Hemphill
 * Ariana Grande as Sonya Herfmann / Chanel #2
 * Nick Jonas as Boone Clemens
 * Chad Michael Murray as Brad Radwell

Recurring

 * Breezy Eslin as Jennifer
 * Jeanna Han as Sam
 * Aaron Rhodes as Roger
 * Austin Rhodes as Dodger
 * Evan Paley as Caulfield Mount Herman
 * Anna Grace Barlow as Bethany Stevens / Mary Mulligan
 * Grace Phipps as Mandy Greenwell
 * Jim Klock as Detective Chisolm
 * Jan Hoag as Ms. Agatha Bean

Guest

 * McKaley Miller as Sophia Doyle
 * Chelsea Ricketts as Amy Meyer
 * Anna Margaret Collins as Coco Cohen
 * Brianne Howey as Melanie Dorkus
 * Whitney Meyer as Tiffany DeSalle / Deaf Taylor swifte
 * Julia Duffy as Bunny Radwell
 * Patrick Schwarzenegger as Thad Radwell
 * Rachele Brooke Smith as Muffy St. Pierre-Radwell
 * Faith Prince as Kristy Swenson
 * Gary Grubbs as Mr. Swenson
 * LB Brown as Freddy Swenson
 * Wallace Langham as Mr. Putney
 * Lara Grice as Mrs. Putney
 * Jean Louisa Kelly as Delight Ulrich
 * Steven Culp as Clark Ulrich

Casting
In December 2014, it was reported that Emma Roberts and Jamie Lee Curtis would be featured as series regulars. In January 2015, Lea Michele, Keke Palmer, and Abigail Breslin joined the series' main cast, as well as actress/singer Ariana Grande in a recurring capacity. Later that month, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Nick Jonas would recur throughout the first season. In February 2015, newcomer Billie Lourd and Skyler Samuels joined the series' main cast. Later in the month, Niecy Nash joined the recurring cast as Denise, a kick-butt security guard, as well as British actor Lucien Laviscount, Diego Boneta and Glen Powell being confirmed as regulars. In March, Nasim Pedrad was cast as a regular. On March 13, 2015, previously cast Joe Manganiello was forced to depart the series, due to publicity obligations for his film Magic Mike XXL. Oliver Hudson was hired as his replacement. On June 24, 2015, it was announced that Charisma Carpenter and Roger Bart would portray Chanel #2's (Ariana Grande) parents. In August 2015, Philip Casnoff was cast as Cathy's (Jamie Lee Curtis) husband. In September 2015, series co-creater Ryan Murphy announced, through his Twitter feed, that Patrick Schwarzenegger had joined the cast. He portrayed Chad Radwell's (Glen Powell) younger brother, Thad. His older brother, Brad, was portrayed by Chad Michael Murray, while Alan Thicke and Julia Duffy were cast as their parents Mr. and Mrs. Radwell: all appearing in the "Thanksgiving episode".

Critical response
The first season of Scream Queens received mixed to positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the first season a 68% of approval with an average rating of 6.35/10, based on 74 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads: "Too tasteless for mainstream viewers and too silly for horror enthusiasts, Scream Queens fails to satisfy." On Metacritic, the season was given a score of 59 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

IGN reviewer Terri Schwartz gave a very positive review of the two-hour premiere, giving it a 9.7 out of 10 and saying "Ryan Murphy has worked his TV magic again with a killer start to Scream Queens. From the acting to the costuming to the writing, everything about this concept and execution works. Scream Queens is as funny and self-aware as it needs to be to not bore audiences, but also offers up enough mystery and intrigue to keep even the biggest skeptic entertained." The Telegraph also gave a positive review, awarding the show four stars out of five. They commented that the show pummels "the viewer into submission with sheer, rictus-grinning relentlessness" and praised it for being "shiny, gory and whip-smart."

Robert Rorke of The New York Post panned the series, later putting it on his list of 10 worst TV shows of 2015 and criticized Roberts' performance, saying that she "can't act".