It’s official: Fox is done trying to scare up viewers for Scream Queens. The network confirmed Monday what had been obvious for months, namely that the Ryan Murphy–produced horror anthology wouldn’t be returning next season. The scrawled-in-pig’s-blood handwriting had been on the wall for the series since last fall. Despite a small, passionate core audience of viewers under 34, the series’ overall ratings were simply too low to justify renewal. Scream Queens didn’t do very well in the Nielsen ratings during its first season, and collapsed even further last fall, losing about half of its already small audience. Fox will still be in business with Murphy, however: The prolific producer is working on a new first-responder drama, 9-1-1, starring Angela Bassett. It’s expected to premiere in early 2018. What’s more, even if Scream Queens is now dead at Fox, the anthology nature of the series means it would be very easy for Murphy to resurrect the concept down the road, either at Fox or another network. In TV these days, just as in most horror movies, nothing is ever really dead. Case in point: Fox says it’s not yet ready to say 24: Legacy or Prison Break are done for. While the latter revival won’t be back next season, Fox says another round of Prison could be green-lit in the future. As for the new 24, despite disappointing ratings, Fox is planning to talk to co-creator Howard Gordon over the summer, before making any official verdict on the show’s fate.
