In a shake-up of its content roster, Netflix is set to remove all three seasons of Scream: The TV Series from its platform this summer. The MTV adaptation of the famed horror franchise has found a receptive audience on the streaming giant for nearly a decade; however, come 31st August 2023, the chilling series will no longer be available for subscribers.
Filling the 11-year hiatus between Scream 4 and its fifth instalment, Scream: The TV Series offered fans a different perspective on the familiar horror tale. The show, which ran for three seasons from 2015 to 2019, diverged from the conventional narrative of Ghostface, Woodsboro, and the tenacious Sidney Prescott that the Scream fans were accustomed to.
In a bold departure, the first two seasons followed a fresh narrative centred around the character Emma Duval, played by Willa Fitzgerald, and her life in the new town of Lakewood. The new storyline was complete with a unique killer who drew inspiration from the haunting lore of Brandon James.
With the events taking place in the 21st century, elements such as podcasts, social media, and mental health became significant components of the narrative. The third series caused some controversy amongst the show’s fans for abandoning the storyline of the first two altogether.
Season three of the series returned much closer to its original roots, presenting an outright Ghostface storyline that featured NOPE star Keke Palmer as the protagonist who must outwit the knife-wielding killer.
Scream: The TV Series is now leaving Netflix at the end of August. This gives horror fans just over a month to binge-watch all 29 episodes. At present, only the first season is available on DVD, so this may be the last opportunity to view the entire series – unless another streaming platform opts to host it.
The MTV series played a pivotal role in maintaining interest in the franchise, bridging the gap between films and is considered to have paved the way, in part, for the recent resurgence of Scream films. Meanwhile, horror fans have plenty of other options to satiate their fear factor.
