Scream Queens A first look at Fox’s new slasher comedy that will have viewers dying of laughter.

FIRST LOOK

IT DOESN’T DEBUT UNTIL THE FALL, BUT EW HAS AN EXCLUSIVE PEEK COMEDY FROM THE CREATORS OF GLEE THAT WILL HAVE VIEWERS DYING OF LAUGHTER. BY TIM STACK AT FOX’S SCREAM QUEENS, A SLASHER

GETTING INTO THE RIGHT

college can be murder. But on Fox’s horror-comedy Scream Queens, which has been picked up to series for a fall debut, it’s surviving college that’s the real life-or-death challenge. From Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan, Queens is an homage to the slasher movies of the ’80s. (Or as Murphy puts it, “Heathers meets Friday the 13th.”) The premise: In 1995 Wallace University was rocked by a tragedy that befell a Kappa sorority pledge. Now, 20 years later, someone dressed in the school’s Red Devil mascot costume appears to be seeking revenge and picking off the student body. “Every character has the motivation to be the killer,” says Murphy, who promises that the first season’s mystery will be wrapped up. “It’s not revealed until the last episode, when literally the mask of the Red Devil comes off and we say, ‘Boom! Here’s your killer!’”

HORROR HEROINE

Jamie Lee Curtis has become a genre icon thanks to her role in Halloween. So Murphy was hell-bent on having her play Dean Munsch. “If I didn’t get Jamie Lee Curtis, I didn’t want to do it,” he says. “The show is a tribute to her in many ways.”

THE FRAT PACKER

Pop star Nick Jonas plays Boone, a member of golfing fraternity the Dollar Scholars, which also includes Chanel’s boyfriend. Teases Murphy: “Nick’s character is not who he seems to be. Boone has a dark side that comes out.” (Also to reveal themselves: his abs.)

AHHHHHH HHHHHHHH HHHhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhh !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GIRLS’ FRIGHT OUT

Kappa is ruled by president Chanel Oberlin (Emma Roberts) and her posse of pastel-hued ladies. Abigail Breslin (far left) and Billie Lourd (not pictured) play her henchwomen Chanel #5 and Chanel #3, respectively. (Pop star Ariana Grande, not pictured, portrays Chanel #2.) “Dean Munsch makes Chanel accept everyone who pledges into the sorority,” explains Roberts. “To Chanel, that’s completely crazy talk. It kind of becomes a sorority of misfits.” Among the misfits are two new pledges: the secretive Grace (Skyler Samuels, in jeans) and the genius Zayday (Keke Palmer, in shorts).

BRACE YOURSELF!

Lea Michele plays Hester, a notso-stylish pledge with scoliosis. “We won’t let her put on any makeup,” says Murphy. “Lea calls it her Charlize Theron Monster moment.”

THE QUEEN B

Roberts is Chanel, the queen of Kappa, who’s often draped head to toe in vintage Chanel. (Her godfather is the label’s designer, Karl Lagerfeld.) “She’s the queen bee on campus,” says Roberts. “She’s a bit of a mean girl, but in a very funny way.”