Some movies are ideal candidates for television adaptations — for instance, The Odd Couple, M*A*S*H, and Clueless. All worked out just fine, due to one very important factor: They didn’t continuously kill off their cast members. But such a luxury might not be available to a Scream series, a project that is currently being developed by MTV, according to TVLine. As such, producers Tony DiSanto and Liz Gateley are going to have to either dial back the killing, or stack on a pretty extensive supporting cast. Either way, the show is starting off on shaky ground.
Part of the reason the Scream series was so successful was due to its sustained starring cast. All three of Scream‘s central players, Courteney Cox, Neve Campbell, and David Arquette, maintained their roles in each of the four movies; this is a rarity in film series, especially in the horror genre. Considering the extremely low likelihood of seeing Cox, Campbell and Arquette involved in the Scream program — especially considering Cox’s casting on Cougar Town — the series will already be working with a very present “bummer” to fans. If the show can secure some of the movies’ other icons — Matthew Lillard, perhaps — it might have a fighting chance.
Still, one must wonder about the sort of liberties MTV will take with the Scream sensibility. The network is entering its second season of Teen Wolf, a show that is quite a far leap from its source material, the 1985 Michael J. Fox fantasy-comedy. Scream might be a better fit for MTV (and the horror craze), since it has a darker and more sinister nature than Teen Wolf does. But the show is not without its share of self-aware comedy; that is what made it such a classic. If the series can uphold that, its chances are even better. However, without the original cast, director Wes Craven, or writer Kevin Williamson on board (none of whom are confirmed to be attached), success seems like a long shot.
[Image Credit: New Line Cinema]
More:
The Best and Worst Moments of the 2012 MTV Movie Awards
Hunger Games and Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Among MTV Movie Award Winners
