Only 5 episodes into its first season on MTV, Scream has been renewed for a second season on the cable network. The network, once upon a time known for music videos, forayed into the world of serial horror series with the hit show Teen Wolf in 2011. Piggybacking off that success, and the explosion of horror themed shows on network and cable TV, Scream debuted in late June. And while the show tends to be more Melrose Place and less Halloween, it has maintained a steady audience in its targeted demographic.

The show, loosely based off the franchise started in 1996 by horror maestro Wes Craven, stars Willa Fitzgerald, Bex Taylor-Klaus and John Karna amongst other nubile teens in the town of Lakewood. 20 years earlier, a deformed teen named Brandon James, triggered by a prank gone wrong, went on a bloody rampage, and Emma’s (Fitzgerald) parents were two of the survivors. Emma and friends quickly find themselves the violent and psychological victims of a killer, who wears the mask made infamous by Brandon James 20 years earlier. Whereas Craven used the technology available in the mid-90s (cordless phones), the killer in the updated series uses all that the wonders of technology have to offer, from cell phones to web-cams to viral videos on YouTube.

Bob Weinstein, co-chairman of Dimension Films said of the renewal:

“We couldn’t be happier “˜Scream’ has been renewed for a second season and that we have a wonderful working relationship with Doug Herzog, Stephen Friedman, Susanne Daniels, Mina Lefevre and her team. The “˜Scream’ franchise has been such a huge part of our history and to watch it evolve, find a new generation of fans and succeed at MTV makes this all the more sweet. We promise even more scares, surprises, romance and of course kills in season two.”

[Source: Variety]

While the show does more often resemble Melrose Place or The OC rather than straight forward slasher horror (only 4 deaths, 3 on screen in 5 episodes with more than enough teenage melodrama), the horror moments have been really strong. Scream aims to please its demographic, and obviously it’s achieving its goals there. Scream continues with season 1 next Tuesday at 10:00pm ET on MTV.