Tag Archives: Channel Eleven

Scream Queens, TV

Series Review: Scream Queens

Emma Roberts as Kappa Kappa Tau leader Chanel No.1. Source: Network 10
Emma Roberts as Kappa Kappa Tau leader Chanel No.1.                                                      Source: Steve Dietl/Network 10

When you hear the name ‘Ryan Murphy’ and it’s attached to a new project, viewers these days tend to lean towards one of two ways – either the Glee side or the American Horror Story side.  Both brought to us by the mind of Murphy and so vastly different in their approach but so alike in their delivery and cult standing, it’s hard not to wonder which way Murphy’s newest project, Scream Queens was going to end up.

Oddly enough, even I had trouble placing this slasher series…ending up somewhere between Glee but closer towards AHS. While sharing more than a few Murphy project-related faces, Scream Queens takes it’s shine to a more comedic gross out presentation so think Glee with no singing and AHS with fewer tense and dark dramatic moments.

So what’s to expect with Scream Queens?  Well the series opens in a flashback to 1995 at a kicking party at Kappa Kappa Tau where “Don’t go chasing waterfalls….” is on blast, alcohol is flowing, there’s lots of long blonde hair…and a co-ed mysteriously dies…..after giving birth. Cut to present time and Kappa Kappa Tau has turned into Clueless on Mean Girl steroids where head sorority sister Chanel No.1 (Emma Roberts) has such a standing within the sorority (basically she’s a right mean bitch) that she has three mini-me minions who have all shed their birth names in favor of being named Chanel No.2, Chanel No.3 and Chanel No.5 (apparently no one knows what happened to Chanel No.4)

Chanel No.1’s life plans are in play but things take a nasty turn when sorority hating Dean Cathy Munsch (Jamie-Lee Curtis) shows up (she enforces Chanel to open up Kappa Kappa Tau to the entire community “even fatties”) and someone in a crisp red devil mask starts killing off those close to her and her sorority.

Of course, Scream Queens will be likened to MTV’s recent (and not so good) Scream series but fear not, the two are not alike.  While they may share a masked killer and a victim-of-the-week familiarity, Scream Queens isn’t aiming for emotional deaths, instead optiong to invest you in the bloodshed, and compared to it’s namesake, Scream Queens offers a lot of it…like bucket loads.  Not for the squeamish is an appropriate tagline one would assume after seeing the first two episodes.

Between awkward politically incorrect exchanges between sorority sister and maid, standardized stereotyping, pop culture bitchiness and floods of blood, Scream Queens opens itself to be a true entry into redefining what slasher entertainment used to be.

Starring Emma Roberts, Jamie-Lee Curtis, Ariana Grande, Nick Jonas, Lea Michelle, Abigail Breslin, Billie Lourd and Skyler Samuels.

Scream Queens premiere’s tonight, Network 10 at 9:15pm with the second episode airing directly after at 10:20pm on Eleven which will be the show’s permanent home.

Comedy, TV

Friends With Better Lives Coming to Eleven

James Van Der Beek Stars in Friends With Better Lives. Source: Provided
James Van Der Beek Stars in Friends With Better Lives. Source: Provided

The pulled-after-eight-episodes American comedy Friends With Better Lives (Or FWBL) is finally making is Aussie TV debut with Channel Eleven airing the series starting September 9th.

From the press release: Friends With Better Lives is a romantic comedy about six friends at different stages in their lives: married, divorced, newly engaged and single. They are all outwardly happy but are finding it tough to look at each other without wondering who really has the better life.

Central couple Bobby (Kevin Connolly) and Andi (Majandra Delfino) are married with kids with another on the way who are struggling to find a balance between being married with kids (and being pregnant) and keeping the romance alive in their relationship. Bobby’s best friend and co-worker Will (James Van Der Beek) has just moved in after finding his wife having an affair with their marriage councilor but he refuses to believe the marriage is actually over.

The beautiful Jules (Brooklyn Decker) has found herself a new boyfriend in free-spirted environmentalist Lowell (Rick Donald) who owns and runs a local organic health food coffee shop while Kate (Zoe Lister-Jones) finds herself more successful in her professional life than her romantic one.

Of all the characters, It’s Kate and Will, both steadfast and overtly determined to outdo the other, who bring out the biggest laughs, often finding themselves in a myriad of dating disasters while their happily co-joined friends natter among themselves about the troubles that come with coupledom.

Like most comedies that have come out in the past few years, the humor offered up by FWBL leans more towards the adult side (think Two and a Half Men, 2 Broke Girls and Mom) thankfully though, it’s not as crass as the aforementioned shows that seem to push the boundaries of what’s subtle and what would make one blush.  FWBL finds the right fit with it’s taste level resulting in a nice balance between comedy and sexual comedy – a certain scene (and very funny one at that) in the pilot episode see’s a surprise birthday party resulting in another surprise all on it’s own for married couple Bobby and Andi.

While Two and Half Men and 2 Broke Girls never appealed to me, FWBL fitted quite nicely into my viewing roster and I found myself looking forward to the next episodes and while the show itself is nothing really new, FWBL is just a fun show with a fun cast that offers up some fun laughs.

Yes, FWBL was pulled after just eight episodes in America.  As someone who was enjoying the series, I assumed everyone was watching it, so I was certainly surprised by the news of it’s cancellation (considering FWBL comes from the same network that brings us the god-awful Mom) but hopefully, Eleven will air the additional four episodes not aired in the US.

So here it is, I enjoyed FWBL, was sad to see it cancelled and can’t wait to see those missing last four episodes if and when they eventually air.  Give it a shot, see what you think, even if it’s just to see James Van Der Beek playing funny after his stellar turn in Don’t Trust the Bitch in Apartment 23.

Friends With Better Lives begins Tuesday September 9th, 9pm on Eleven.