SCREAM with Ryan C. Showers

In this episode, Ryan is joined by Anthony Dapuzzo and Tarick Evans to compare and contrast the modern slasher trilogies from legacy IPs: HALLOWEEN (from Blumhouse Productions) and SCREAM (from Spyglass Entertainment). The group analyzes the box office results of each trilogy, which had a better part 1/part 2/part 3, and how eerily similar the narrative structures of trilogy are.

Follow us at @ScreamWithRCS at Instagram, Facebook, and X.

Sign up at Patreon.com/screamwithrcs to...

In this episode, Ryan invites Jess Melendez to explore Wes Craven's two central franchises, SCREAM and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, through the theme of family. Craven explores the concept of family, hidden secrets, and parent/child relationships in different ways over both franchises. Ryan also reveals the screentimes for Heather Langenkamp over her three films as Nancy and compares the data to the SCREAM screentimes. To close out the horror talk, Ryan and Jess rank the A Nightmare on Elm Street series. Then, Ashley joins Ryan for the very appropriate Taylor Swift song of the week, "Wildest Dreams,"...

In this episode, Ryan joins producer TJ Jones on his Friday the 13th-themed podcast, Camp Crystal Takes, to review the new thriller "Verity." Subscribe to Camp Crystal Takes everywhere you get podcasts and follow @campcrystaltakes on Instagram.

In this episode, Ryan celebrates Neve Campbell's October 3rd birthday with discussions about her impact as a public figure and through her character of Sidney Prescott and what she's up to next with HBO's The Shore.

Ryan shares the story about meting Neve on Facetime during the COVID-19 pandemic, and welcomes Jared as a first-time guest who has a deep connection to Neve. Josh and Justine from the Scream Queens Podcast perform the 30 Years of SCREAM interview. Then, Ashley joins Ryan to discuss the song "Holy Ground" by Taylor Swift and how it aligns with Sidney looking...

In this episode, Ryan and Amar rank the finales from the seven SCREAM films. The finales are the most important part of a film, and in this highly anticipated episode, Ryan and Amar review all seven climaxes. Then, Ryan invites Kam Gassaway for his debut appearance on the show for the 30 Years of SCREAM interview. To finish this epic show, Ryan and Ashley meet for an instant reaction to Taylor Swift's new deluxe album, "The Life of a Showgirl: Encore."

Ryan is joined by Anthony Dapuzzo to cover the biggest headlines circling the SCREAM world at the moment. They discuss Matthew Lillard's recent comments about Melissa Barrera and his role in SCREAM 7, as well as Courteney Cox's interest in potentially directing a future SCREAM film. (Ryan has not shared his thoughts on this topic elsewhere #exclusive.) Then, Ryan and Anthony probe ways in which the Sidney 2.0 Era can be expanded with SCREAM 8 and SCREAM 9, and how to fashion an emotional and meaningful character and story arc for these upcoming films.   They also  share mini reviews of "Resident Evil" and "Practical Ma...

In this special edition episode, Ryan interviews Joe Vallese. As a legend of the podcast, Joe is a college professor, writer/editor of "It Came From the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror", and host of "Introverted But Willing To Discuss Tori Amos."

But in SCREAM circles, he is best known for writing three scripts for the podcast that Ryan performed aloud on the show: SCREAM 7 (ep. 112), SCREAMS (ep. 155), and THE FINAL SCREAM (ep. 275).

Ryan performs the 30 Years of SCREAM interview for Joey, but in addition, Ryan and Joey reflect on their trilogy of scripts now...

In this Patreon bonus exclusive episode, Ryan invites the Patreon community to share memories and thoughts in honor of Hayden Panettiere after her tragic passing last month. Panettiere left an enormous impact on the series as Kirby Reed in Scream 4 and Scream Vi.   Listen to the full episode at Patreon.com/screamwithrcs.

The opening scenes of the SCREAM films are a sacred commodity. In fact, Drew Barrymore's stunning opening in the original film is perhaps the single most iconic aspect of the franchise. Today, Ryan is joined by Amar Karim to rank the seven openings of the SCREAM series. Ryan and Amar reveal their rankings, then analyze each film's introduction on the merits. Then, Roy "Hoodie" Garza, from the Hoodie Talks Podcast, joins Ryan as the 30 Years of SCREAM, 30 Questions Interview. Rankings from Best to Worst Scream (1996) Scream 2 Scream 3 Scream 4 Scream (2022) Scream VI Scream 7 30 Years of SCREAM Interview: Roy "Hoodie" Garza

...

In this episode, Ryan is joined by Anthony and Jess to discuss the state of the Scream franchise. The trio look forward to Scream 8: will the critics be fair to the movie, or is the era of the critics being fair to the series and seeing SCREAM as "trendy" is over for now?

In addition, Ryan, Anthony, and Jess evaluate the alleged "lessons" from SCREAM 7 that anti-fans believe need to be improved upon in the next film. The trio present arguments as to why many of these suggestions are the incorrect lessons to learn from the last...

In the milestone 350th episode, Ryan ranks and grades every scene from SCREAM 7 from weakest to best. In season six, Ryan plans to cover all of the SCREAM films and more, ranking all the scenes within that film, one per month. Then, Ryan is joined by special guest Cory Wilson for the 30 Years of SCREAM Interview this week. To finish up, Ashley joins Ryan for a fun Taylor Swift Song song to celebrate the 350th occasion, "22" from Red.

In this episode, Ryan and Isaías Rapan go through the history of the "final girl." Ryan and Isaías discuss Carol J. Clover's writing about the term, describe the different interpretations of the concept, and investigate the qualities that make a character a "final girl." They catalog specific examples that show the evolution of this character mold from the 1970s to 2026. Ryan and Isaías each name an underrated final girl, as well as thoroughly examining the final girl through the characters of SCREAM. Then, Ashely joins Ryan to discuss the Taylor Swift song of the week, "Who's Afr...

In this week's episode, Ryan welcomes Dustin Putman (Author of "The Fright File" and Writer from "The Film File") to countdown the Top 7 Moments from SCREAM 7, as well as ranking the moments of realization Sidney has each time Ghostface returns across the franchise. Then, Ryan and Ashley use "The Moment I Knew" as the Taylor Swift Song of the Week, in honor of Ryan's birthday last week on August 18.

...

In this emergency episode, Ryan covers the tragic news of Hayden Panettiere's Passing at the age of 36. Ryan recaps the facts and pays tribute to Hayden's legacy as Kirby Reed in Scream 4 and Scream VI.

In this episode, Ryan is joined by Ben from the Hot Takes Film Club to discuss how the concept of meta is employed in the SCREAM franchise. Ben provides a tutorial of the different eras of "meta," then Ryan and he apply meta to each of the SCREAM films, as well as looking ahead to how Meta could be used in the future. Then, Ashley joins Ryan to cover a sophisticated meta song of the week in "Dear Reader" from Taylor Swift's album, Midnights.

In this episode, Ryan and Anthony cover the big news items connected to the world of SCREAM from this summer. They discuss the viral online gossip and false information spread about Neve Campbell and Kevin Williamson on Instagram, and her involvement in SCREAM 8.

Additionally, Ryan and Anthony muse about Jasmin Savoy's Broadway debut in "Hadestown" this fall, and how that likely means SCREAM 8 will not film until early 2027. With some space before production gets underway, Ryan provides the result of polls conducted about which character fans most want Scream 8 to focus on: Sidney, Gale, or Tatum. The...

In this episode, Ryan watches in real time and performs an audio commentary of Kevin Williamson's "SCREAM 7" (2026). Ryan analyzes every detail of the filmmaking, story, and character work of the most underrated SCREAM film in this episode. Listen along like a normal episode or sync this podcast with the film to get the full experience. Join Patreon.com/screamwithrcs to enjoy the complete audio commentary. 

Follow us at @ScreamWithRCS at Instagram, Facebook, and X.

Happy Season Six! In this premiere episode, Ryan celebrates the sixth season of SWRCS with the introduction of the '30 Years of SCREAM, 30 Questions' interview. Amar Karim joins as the inaugural guest for the interview questions.   Ryan and Amar share their "Scream 2.0 Story," commit to a new franchise ranking, and answer three dozen questions about SCREAM. In addition, Ryan and Amar homage Wes Craven on his birthday, August 2nd.   Sign up at Patreon.com/screamwithrcs to get your own interview on the podcast like Ryan and Amar, in honor of the 30th anniversary of SCREAM (1996). Wes Craven Birthday Wishes & Change Sc...

Season 6 of the 'SCREAM with Ryan C. Showers' podcast will premiere on August 2, 2026 (Wes Craven's birthday). This season will also feature a new segment on the show: '30 Years of Scream, 30 Questions.' 

As the franchise celebrates its 30th anniversary in December, Ryan will provide an interview of four in-depth questions and then 30 speed round questions, for approximately 30 minutes to Patreon members on the podcast. This is designed to be an all-encompassing Q&A to expose every kind of SCREAM opinion a person can have. 

The podcast will begin scheduling interviews with Patreon subscribers on Au...

"The Final Scream" is the 275th episode of this podcast first released December 19, 2025. Please enjoy this re-release of a spec script by Joey Vallese, performed by Ryan, envisioning an alternative version of Sidney's life if she had been married to Mark Kincaid and a story focused on her young children.

If you weren't able to listen in December, here is your second chance while the podcast is on hiatus between season five and six.

Follow us at @ScreamWithRCS at Instagram, Facebook, and X.

In the season five finale of the podcast, Ryan brings together a reflection of the SCREAM 7 era as well as a discussion about the closure of Sidney, Tatum, and Gale in the film.   First, Ryan is joined by Anthony and Jess to look back at the buildup to SCREAM 7 over the last year and 100 episodes in the before-during-after of the SCREAM 7 release. They discuss the legacy SCREAM 7 is leaving behind, and the divisive (and frustrating) nature of the discourse around Jessica, the movie and finale.   Then, Ryan is joined by Josh, Justine and producer Ashely to follow up on their ep...

Building a consensus in general can be tough. Among the hundreds of people associated with SWRCS, the verdict could not be clearer. Most fans rank the new era of films produced by Spylgass and Paramount as the following: Scream 7 > Scream (2022) > Scream VI. In this episode, Ryan is joined by Joey Vallese (writer of "The Final Scream" and the other podcast spec scripts), Amar, and Christian to discuss the ranking. Then, in the second half of the episode, the Patreon group joins Ryan with their rankings of the Spyglass era SCREAM films.

THIS IS A PUBLIC PREVIEW...

In this episode, Ryan is joined by two guests (Sarah and Alex) with different perspectives on SCREAM to review SCREAM 7: one who has defended Scream 5 ad 6 era, and another who is primarily a Wes Craven fan. The results may surprise you! In addition, Ryan opens the episode with a discussion of how it felt to get Sidney and SCREAM back with SCREAM 7 using the lens of "I Knew It, I Knew You," Taylor Swift's original song recently featured in "Toy Story 5".

In this episode, Ryan explores the theme of family in SCREAM 7 with Kelly. They discuss Sidney's family unit with Tatum and Mark, as well as Mindy and Chad's sibling dynamic and Jessica's view of her family. Then, Ryan welcomes back Jake from TikTok, aka ScoobyScream, for a triumphant review of SCREAM 7 after years of hype and anticipation. 

Follow us @ScreamWithRCS at Facebook, Instagram, and X.

Subscribe at Patreon.com/sc...

In this episode, Ryan unboxes all of the physical media from SCREAM 4 and SCREAM 7 that were released in the last three weeks. Then, Ryan is joined by Brian Balcarcel (host of "Gay for the Record") to review SCREAM 7 and highlight strengths of SCREAM 4. Then, the duo analyze Ariana Grande's new song "Hate That I Made You Love Me" through a parasocial lens and connect it to SCREAM 7, as well as discussion of Ariana's "positions" album. 

Follow u...

In this special release, Ryan reviews Buffy the Vampire Slayer season two and remembers the late Anthony Stewart Head, featuring Sam Levy. Then, Ryan performs an audio commentary of an episode for Patreon subscribers for the series-defining "Becoming Part II" season finale.  Remembering Giles Buffy Season 2 Review "Becoming Part II" Audio Commentary Listen to the full audio commentary by subscribing at Patreon.com/screamwithrcs.

Kirby Reed is one of the most popular characters ever in the SCREAM franchise. In this episode, Ryan is joined by Justin from "Foolish Mortals and Happy Haunts" to argue why Kirby's next appearance should be in SCREAM 8. Despite Hayden Panettiere's confirmation that there are no direct plans, Ryan and Justin also articulate a vision of what a Kirby/Ghostface/FBI spinoff Paramount+ show could look like. 

Follow at @ScreamWithRCS at Instagram, X, and Facebook.

Subscribe at Patreon.c...

June 15th is Courteney Cox's birthday! In her honor, this episode explores the morality of Gale Weathers as character over 30 years and how she is discussed as a pop culture figure with Ivan. Then, Ryan is joined by Brendon for a discussion/ranking of Courteney Cox's TV shows and characters over the years from Friends, Dirt, Cougar Town, and Shining Vale. To round out the show, Ashley joins Ryan to analyze "Hoax" (from Taylor Swift's "folklore") in the context of Gale Weathers in Scream (2022), Scream VI, and Scream 7. 

"Scary Movie 6" starring Anna Faris and Regina Hall released just days ago to a massive box office overhaul, continuing Paramount Pictures' streak of franchise hits after "Scream 7." In this episode, Ryan reviews "Scary Movie 6" with producer TJ Jones, Josh Carr, Anthony Dapuzzo, and Jess Melendez.   Ryan discusses the bold statement the Wayans Brothers make with the ending of this movie about embracing the original characters rather than the requel replacements, a concept that has been widely discussed in relation to the SCREAM franchise since "Scream VI." In addition, Ryan explains his point of view as to why the Wayans spoofed t...

Most fans agree, Kevin Williamson's return to the franchise with SCREAM 7 led to many improvements. A notable, yet obvious, example is the writing. In this episode, Ryan is joined by Amar, Tarick, and Roy (from the Hoodie Talks Podcast) to evaluate the writing of the main characters, and how it improved from Scream 5 and 6. 

Follow us at @ScreamWithRCS on Facebook, Instagram, and X. 

Subscribe at Patreon.com/Scr...

In this Pride Month special, Ryan takes a moment to open up about his experience as a gay man, how he connected to Sidney, Gale and the concept of 'the final girl' at a young age through the representation and subconscious identifying with them. Then, Ryan covers how Scream 7 was "the moment," and what that means for Scream 8. Also, Ryan makes a prediction about how the critics will treat Scary Movie 6 the same way as they did Scream 7. Ryan also covers the release of Marco Beltrami's Scream 7 Score. 

For the second half of the episode, Ryan goes t...

She's f*cking Sidney Prescott's daughter. In SCREAM 7, Kevin Williamson introduced a new main character for the franchise in Tatum Evans played by Isabel May. In the final character-centric episode, Ryan is joined by Amar, Anthony, and Jess to break down Sidney Prescott's daughter, her personality, how she changes over the course of SCREAM 7, and the impact she brings to the film. Then, Ashley joins Ryan and names "Eyes Open" (from Red and the original The Hunger Games film) as the Taylor Swift Song of the Week to match up with Tatum.

In this bonus episode, SWRCS covers the new, cool, "it" factor movie, "Obsession." THIS EPISODE FEATURES SPOILERS FOR THE FILM! First, Ryan discusses the phenomenon around the movie, the cultural factors, how the hype made the film underwhelming upon his viewing and questions the film's perspective on its premise. Then, Jess performs a solo episode analysis of how "Obsession" represents the issue of consent and wrestles with the messaging of the film.

The Phenomenon

Ryan's Underwhelming Experience

The Hype

Jess's Reaction to the Characters

The Representation of Examples

...

Despite pushback from fans with the first TV season without Roger Jackson's voice, the iconic Ghostface mask, or the beloved trio, MTV pushed through a second season of SCREAM the TV Series, premiering on May 30, 2016.

In this episode, Ryan and Taz review the second season of the TV show for its tenth anniversary and describe how the show should be re-evaluated for its merit and commitment to the SCREAM mythology -- especially compared to the Radio Silence films.

Ryan and Taz start the episode ranking the three seasons of the TV show with the seven...

In this month's audio commentary, Ryan watches and analyzes "Wes Craven's New Nightmare." This heralded 1994 project is widely viewed as Craven's prologue to his signature exploration of meta, the film industry, and art vs. reality in the "Scream" trilogy in the latter part of the decade.

Join Ryan for a discussion about one of Wes Craven's smartest, most high-brow, and incredibly personal films of his career, either while watching the film along or listening like any other episode. To open the podcast, Jen joins Ryan to introduce the topic and reflect on the entire "A Nightmare on...

In this episode, Ryan is joined by Joey Noberini who runs The Scream Vault. Ryan and Joey discuss the culture of SCREAM 7 and make a compelling argument that SCREAM 8 and SCREAM 9 should build on SCREAM 7, its focus around Sidney and Tatum. #KeepGoing In addition, Ryan explores how the OG fans have won the culture war within the franchise. Then, Ashley joins Ryan for the Taylor Swift Song of the Week, "Clean" (1989), for many fans feel we "are finally clean" after SCREAM 7.    How the OG Fans Won the Culture War The Vault and Remembering Jamie Blanks Scream 7 Analysis Why We Must #Ke...

In this episode, the central conversation analyzes the directing of SCREAM 7 by Kevin Williamson between Ryan and podcast superstar, Cory Wilson. We take a look at Kevin's point of view, the influence of 1970s slashers, and how he innovates the SCREAM franchise with the seventh movie as the filmmaker. In addition, Amar Karim joins Ryan to reflect on Wes Craven and "New Nightmare" and for Amar's take on the fallout of Melissa Barrera's Variety interview where she spread conspiracy theories. Also, Ryan discusses the '30 Years of SCREAM, 30 Questions' Interview for Patreon members that was announced last week. 

Starting August 2026, every week Ryan will interview one member of his community with a fresh set of questions about their specific viewpoint on SCREAM, reflect on living through the Spyglass era, and celebrate the 30th anniversary of SCREAM (1996).

There will be four to five long-form questions asked first, then 30 speed round questions that follow designed to evoke answers that describe your SCREAM personality. (This has been increased from 10 previously.)

Every member of the community will receive this opportunity for a 30-minute sit-down, and each interview is designed for the individual member to have spiritual ownership...

In this episode, Ryan meets with Anthony Dapuzzo and Jess Melendez to interrogate the themes of SCREAM 7 surrounding Ghostface, the identity of the characters under the mask, and bringing back Stu Macher via AI. The crew discusses how SCREAM 7's themes run through the opening to the finale and relate to the real world. Then, Ryan and Ashley discuss Anna Camp and Jessica through the lens of Taylor Swift's song "Sparks Fly," referencing the Macher house burning down in the opening. What is the Motive? Explaining Jessica Stu Macher AI Themes "Sparks Fly" Follow us at @ScreamWithRCS at Facebook, X...

Happy Mother's Day to all the SCREAM moms out there! In this episode, Ryan discusses how SCREAM 7 presents the central theme of motherhood through both Sidney Evans and the villain, Jessica Bowden. This is a significant moment in SCREAM history, considering the roots of the franchise are intertwined with Sidney's relationship with her mother's past. In addition, Ryan covers the (ridiculous) social media chatter about Courteney Cox's Instagram "like" from Friday 5/8/26 that was then removed. 

Follow us at @ScreamWithRCS on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

Subscribe at Patreon.com/screamwithrcs