‘Scream Queens’ Creator Ryan Murphy on ‘The Walking Dead’s Impact on TV Horror, ‘Scream’ and More!

Scream Queens is one of FOX’s most highly anticipated new series of the fall. The more we learn about it, the more we understand exactly why that is.

Ryan Murphy gave reporters a little more insight into the series that he describes as “satirical” and “cartoonish “during the show’s panel at the Television Critics Association summer press tour today.

During the panel, Murphy credited a show that’s near and dear to our heart as being the reason behind the horror on TV surge. “This genre has really exploded in the years since The Walking Dead came on and made such a huge impact,” said Murphy. “That show really made an impact on us because it brought horror back to television in a big way.”

So what does Ryan think of another new series that shares a similar title with Scream Queens? “The more the merrier,” is what he had to say when asked about MTV’s hit new series Scream, based on the 1996 film. He also noted that he wasn’t worried about people getting the two confused because “Our’s is more comedic and more satirical.” He continued, “I think that people can easily figure out that they are two different shows with ‘scream’ in the title.”

Creating a horror show for network TV has proven to be a little different than working with a cable network that gets to be a little more lenient on what’s allowed. While Murphy hasn’t faced too much backlash from the powers that be, the reasons backlash that he has faced are actually pretty surprising. “Violence is cool for the most part,” he explained. “That’s very easy to get through in my job. It’s language, it’s slang, it’s trying to reflect how people really talk. It’s trying to write characters who are open about their sexuality, who talk about their sexuality, that gets the most attention and the most pushback.”

Scream Queens premieres on FOX with a special, two-hour series premiere event on Tuesday, Sept. 22 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT).

We’ll be tuned in for the killer debut…will you?

Photo Credit: FOX