As someone who frequently revisits the original Scream quadrilogy of films quite often (at least several times a year because I’m a weird nerd who unabashedly loves this franchise), I wasn’t sure what to expect with MTV’s television series before it premiered in June 2015. But as the first season went on, it was very apparent that while Scream: The TV Series might share a name with Wes Craven’s films and celebrate the same spirit as the movies, the show was all about establishing its own rules and delivering a murder mystery on its own terms as well.
With Season 2 set to kick off on Monday, May 30th, Daily Dead recently had the opportunity to catch up with one of the stars of MTV’s Scream, Bex Taylor-Klaus, who plays Audrey Jensen on the show. Those of us who watched last season saw that Audrey had a pretty big secret revealed in the finale, and during our interview, Taylor-Klaus discussed how that secret is going to play into the new episodes, how it will challenge her character’s friendships, and more.
Great to speak with you today, Bex. I have to say I went into the first season of Scream a little skeptical of how it was going to work, just because the film series means so much to me as a fan. But by the end, I loved it. I enjoyed that you guys did something that felt very much in the tradition of those films, but it was completely its own thing as well. So congrats on being able to come back for this next season.
Bex Taylor-Klaus: Thanks so much! It feels really good. It feels like all that work paid off, you know? We really wanted to make something that would resonate and it’s cool to see that we did just that.
So how early into the first season did you find out that Audrey had been involved with everything that happened behind the scenes; not necessarily in terms of the murders, but that she had this involvement with Piper that could taint her relationships with her friends?
Bex Taylor-Klaus: I didn't know until about episode seven. That’s when they finally told me. One of the reasons that I had the chance to have an involvement was because of the performance that I'd given up until that point. The writers and producers thought that I'd given a strong enough performance to validate Audrey being a part of something and that’s really awesome as an actor. It meant I was doing something right.
I've seen the first episode of Season 2 and what I think is really cool is that it seems like, while Willa's character was a huge focus for last season, Audrey has her own storyline going into this new season. What were your thoughts coming into this and seeing the turmoil that Audrey was going to be dealing with?
Bex Taylor-Klaus: I just remember first thinking, “Oh boy, this is going to be fun.” I mean, it's definitely a new aspect of Audrey, where she’s the victim, she’s being terrorized, the one who's not in control. That was definitely new and this has definitely been a fun season for me.
Yeah, it was fun for me to see this other side of your character, where this time she’s right in the middle of everything. Last season, Audrey was more of an observer of the turmoil her friends were going through, and now, it all feels very different.
Bex Taylor-Klaus: Oh yeah, she liked that. Audrey was fine with that. This time, she's sucked into the middle and she's not used to that. That's a role that she's never taken on before and it gave me a lot more to explore as a performer.
How much of this is going to end up impacting her relationships with her friends? Are we going to see real trauma come from revelations throughout the season?
Bex Taylor-Klaus: Oh yeah. Audrey is not an innocent anymore and her friends are starting to realize that. At this point, that's her worst nightmare and that’s going to play heavily in what’s to come.
I want to talk about the opening scene of the premiere, because it was a lot of fun and felt like an homage to Scream 2’s opening in terms of that theater setting. It certainly sets the tone for the rest of the episode, and I’m hoping the rest of the season, too.
Bex Taylor-Klaus: Oh yeah, I agree it sets the tone. That's basically what this season is. It's a lot of twists and turns and a lot of things that aren’t exactly what you’d expect. You cannot trust what you see anymore. Not that we didn’t do that in the first season, but Season 2 is really going to raise that bar for fans.
So then, nobody in Season 2 is safe?
Bex Taylor-Klaus: Absolutely. Last year that was the whole feeling where nobody's safe and we did a great job of adhering to that. And that's still what's going on for Season 2. It's going to be a little more suspense instead of just all the gore. We’re trying to mix things up, but still give people a fun horror show, too.
Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.
Daily Dead's Official Podcast! Daily Dead's Official Podcast!
