The Chanels won’t live to see another day. Though it had been speculated that Season 2 of Fox’s Scream Queens would be its last, Variety reported today that the series will not return for a third season.
The anthology series created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan struggled to maintain steady ratings during the show’s two year run. Season 1 told the story of a serial killer named the Red Devil as many murders took place at Wallace University. The series followed the experiences of Kappa Kappa Tau sorority members, led by Chanel Oberlin (Emma Roberts) and her dedicated followers Chanel #3 (Billie Lourd) and Chanel #5 (Abigail Breslin). Season 2 told the story of the Chanels as they are threatened by a new serial killer called the Green Meanie in a hospital that is run by former Wallace University Dean, Cathy Munsch (Jamie Lee Curtis).
Fox chairs Gary Newman and Dana Walden announced that the series would not continue at a press conference that took place before the network’s upfront presentation this morning. Newman explained to reporters,“It feels as if it was a complete series. We have no plans to go back and tell more stories there. We won’t be seeing Scream Queens this season.”
Fox executives told reporters earlier this year that the fate of Scream Queens had not yet been determined. While the show struggled with finding a consistent audience, the network liked the appeal the series had toward a younger audience. According to TV By The Numbers, the series was Fox’s lowest rated show. It barely averaged a 0.6 rating among the 18-49 demographic and had 1.43 million viewers.
Many of the show’s stars have been slated to join new series, which initially began the suspicions that the series was cancelled even before it was announced. Lea Michele, who played the unstable Hester, was the first cast member to announce she’d be leaving the show when TVLine reported her casting on ABC’s The Mayor. TVLine reported in April that Billie Lourd had been cast in Season 7 of Murphy’s American Horror Story. It had also been reported by Deadline that Keke Palmer, who played Zayday Williams, had been cast in Season 2 of the Epix drama Berlin Station.
Over the course of the two seasons, the series also starred Skyler Samuels, Glen Powell, Diego Boneta, Oliver Hudson, Nasim Pedrad, Lucien Laviscount, Kristie Allie, Taylor Lautner, James Earl, and John Stamos. Ariana Grande and Nick Jonas appeared as recurring special guest stars in Season 1.