Season two of MTV’s horror series Scream is set to premiere on May 30, 2016 with Willa Fitzgerald, Amadeus Serafini, Bex Taylor-Klaus, John Karna, Carlson Young, Tom Maden, and Austin Highsmith returning in starring roles. Season two kicks off with Emma’s return to Lakewood after spending a few months at a retreat in order to try and get over the brutal killings of her friends. Unfortunately, Lakewood isn’t going to be returning to its former peaceful state anytime soon as a killer is once again terrorizing Emma (Fitzgerald) and her friends.
In support of Scream season one’s release on DVD on May 10th and season two’s debut on May 30th, Amadeus Serafini took some time off from shooting to discuss what fans of the MTV series can expect from the upcoming season. He also talked about when he found out the killer’s identity in season one and how season two will expand on his character, Kieran’s, backstory.
Amadeus Serafini Interview:
Have you mastered the art now that you’re in season two of talking about the series without really talking about it, because you can’t give anything away? Was that hard throughout season one?
Amadeus Serafini: “If such a thing can be mastered, yeah. It was hard last season and it’s been hard this season. We actually just had our first bits of press – local and MTV stuff – but still we can’t share all that much, you know? They can’t print all that much yet. It makes it tough.”
When during season one did they let you know who the killer was?
Amadeus Serafini: “I didn’t know until very close to the end. It was that way with the rest of the cast as well, and they haven’t really changed their ways into the second season. It’s very, very much the usual suspects. It makes it challenging, definitely, but this season at least for my character – and for everyone’s character, but certainly my own – last season he was kind of not held back but slowly introduced as the new character. All of the other characters were a bit more established. So this time around we learn a lot more about him.”
Was there a point during season one when you were positive you were the killer?
Amadeus Serafini: “No. No. It’s funny, I keep getting asked that and I had my hopes. [Laughing] I think everyone would much rather be the killer rather than killed. I don’t know how long this is all going to go, I really don’t, but my fingers are crossed.”
You don’t get a heads up on how many episodes of season two’s 14 episodes you’ll be sticking around for?
Amadeus Serafini: “Right. I don’t know if I’m going to be there for all of it.”
How worried are you each time you open a script that you’ll read, “And now he’s dead?”
Amadeus Serafini: “I think we all hold our breath and we love saying this but it’s true… Whenever we get our new script of the next episode, we flip straight to the end and check to see if we’ve been killed off. It’s really hard to tell, but I think they’ve done a good job of not stretching the storyline but, you know, this is the show now – it’s not a movie – and 14 episodes is definitely an increase to the first season’s 10. But it’s not just horror, it’s not just slasher, it’s not just everyone getting killed off. There’s a lot of comedy at play and a lot of drama, and interpersonal stuff going on with the characters and of course between Emma and Kieran. As we’ll see he’s got a new family member coming to town. In fact, a couple new family members coming to town who kind of bring the dirt of his past to light, that makes Kieran perhaps a little more suspect as we learn about all of the characters and their flaws.”
Did they give you a backstory for season one or are you just learning about him as you go along?
Amadeus Serafini: “They did. There was a backstory; it was kind of just exclusively for me to work with and then it changed a little bit as we went into season two and it started explaining it to the audience. So, we just have to adjust a lot but that’s the nature of the whodunit.”
Can you tease anything about the relationship between Emma and Kieran this coming season?
Amadeus Serafini: “Yeah. It’ll be tumultuous. It’s going to fall off a little bit before it comes back. After that, I don’t even know.”
Are you the type of person who in real life would go into a haunted house and stay there walking around, even though you know freaky things are happening? Or are you the type of person who would bail at the first weird noise?
Amadeus Serafini: “It depends what kind of haunted we’re talking about. [Laughing] If it’s a squatter’s lodge, I would probably stick around and look. I think I’m more adventurous and skeptical enough to be led beyond superstition.”
Has being part of the Scream cast made you more of a horror fan than you were previously?
Amadeus Serafini: “Absolutely, especially since we have to get in touch with our directors’ materials. We have new directors every episode and these directors are typically of horror backgrounds. And so we, as a cast, we get together if we can and we watch at least one of each director’s movie. So for instance we have Leigh Janiak who will be directing our next episode and she did a movie called Honeymoon which was really brilliant. It’s really a slow-burn and a shocker. It’s not your typical horror. It’s not tons of blood and gore. It’s more psychological.”
And the cast really gets together to look at a director’s past films?
Amadeus Serafini: “Yeah, we definitely try to. We had our other director E.L. Katz who directed Cheap Thrills and that’s a crazy movie also worth checking out. I think Noah, played by John Karna my co-star, with all of his research he gets real method and kind of drags me down that rabbit hole, that horror rabbit hole, with his research.”
In season one you were able to channel your inner John Travolta and show off your Pulp Fiction dance moves. Are they having you do anything like that in season two? Do you get to show off any special skills this time around?
Amadeus Serafini: “Maybe some ass-kicking skills.”
So will there be more action in season two?
Amadeus Serafini: “There’s going to be some action. Like I said, it’s not just tumultuous between Emma and Kieran but between the group as a whole. One might use the word ‘hysteria’ and its hold on the town as things progress.”
Do you see the overall tone for season two as a little darker than season one?
Amadeus Serafini: “I think so. I think so, especially as everyone gets sullied. Each character gets tarnished in their own way. It’s really going to be difficult for the audience to contend with all that, getting pulled in all of these directions. And of course on social media they all have their favorites – all of our fans – and they don’t want anyone to be the killer. [Laughing] They also don’t want anyone to die, so I think our showrunners and the writers are really having fun stressing the audience out.”
