“Scream Queens” is back with a bizarre premise, swapping last year’s college campus for a haunted hospital in which none of the employees seem qualified. Following a disjointed storyline that jumps back and forth from past to present, the second season premiere is confusing at best. At worst, it’s uncomfortable to watch.
This season premiere tries to fit last year's overarching murder mystery theme into a completely different narrative, but it lacks the same complexities. While the humor is strikingly the same, there is something off-putting about the lack of character growth in a supposed three-year time jump and the exchanges are just not as funny.
Last season drew its hilarity from the Chanels (Emma Roberts, Abigail Breslin, Billie Lourd), a squad of three sorority sisters who were out of touch with reality that viewers could only laugh at their cutting exchanges. With their self-obsessed actions and outrageous fashion choices, the Chanels were soon fan favorites.
While the first season ended with the Chanels happily sentenced to a mental hospital after being framed for murder, the second season quickly sets the record straight. With their names cleared, the Chanels are released from the mental hospital only to be forced into low-level jobs where they miserably struggle to get by. The unwanted dose of reality in a show that seems to exist in its own universe is a little painful to watch.
The second season adds some new faces, but the Chanels are not the only veterans returning. Dean Munsch (Jamie Lee Curtis) is back, becoming the only consistently entertaining character and effectively carrying the premiere’s storyline. John Stamos comes in as newcomer Dr. Brock Holt, a Harvard-educated surgeon who lost credibility after undergoing a hand transplant, and Taylor Lautner plays the other mysterious doctor, Dr. Cassidy Cascade. While Stamos is mildly entertaining as Holt, the push to turn him into a love interest for the college-aged Chanels feels awkward and forced. And Lautner’s Cascade is simply forgettable.
Despite the scattered narrative, the final 15 minutes may give the season hope. As the storyline finally solidifies, the hospital is able to successfully replace last season’s sorority house as a haven from reality, allowing the characters to continue their ridiculous actions and raunchy dialogues free of real-world opposition.
Of course, the season would not be complete if there wasn’t another masked serial killer on the loose. While it’s doubtful new viewers will jump in for the second season, for viewers who enjoyed last season’s heightened drama and sinister undertones, the “Scream Queens” premiere might have ended with just enough intrigue to persuade them to return for one more episode.
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