Paley Fest 2015: Teen Wolf

Last night at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, the MTV thriller Teen Wolf took the stage, being the first scripted show from the cable network to be honored at the annual Paley Fest.

Before the night got underway, though, the audience that was seemingly jam packed with lots of screaming and excited teen fans – the show is called Teen Wolf after all! – a sizzle reel from the show’s past four seasons was screened.

As if the audience didn’t need to be “juiced” any further, the panel got underway with moderator Jarett Wieselman from BuzzFeed at the helm, introducing cast members Holland Roden, Shelley Hennig, Dylan O’Brien, Tyler Posey, Arden Cho and Dylan Sprayberry as well as executive producer Jeff Davis and surprise guest Crystal Reed.

It was quite an interesting panel with questions being fielded quickly, fans reacting almost too exuberantly and Tyler Posey being true to himself, full of enough energy to power the entire room. At least this time around, unlike at Comic Con 2014, he did not attempt any kind of acrobatics that ended in injury, but he did chug an entire bottle of water, throwing it into the audience with much excitement (more on the reason behind that little antic shortly).

The first question was lobbed at executive producer and series creator Jeff Davis, asking what he wanted to accomplish back in 2009 with the first season of the show. He shared that he wanted to rip off The Lost Boys (the now infamous Kiefer Sutherland-led cult vampire movie from 1987). He continued with “I wanted (the show to have) a sense of humor, I didn’t (want it to be) a soap opera, but I wanted to do romance and horror.” He finished with “it is incredible to (know) the show (has) 60 episodes (as of right now) and will reach 80 episodes in season five.”

The discussion then shifted over to the casts reactions to the pilot and their characters with Tyler saying he “fell in love immediately with the script” and the fact the show was going to be on MTV was even better since he was a huge fan of the network. Crystal then chimed in that her character – the late Allison Argent – “was not a typical female teen, (that was) not the function she served. She was grounded in realism and at the time (there weren’t) many characters like Allison on TV.”

Jeff then shared that Crystal was the first actress to audition for Allison; and he remembered commenting after every audition that came after hers: “that just wasn’t as good as Crystal.” He just knew that Crystal was the right fit. And then when it came to the chemistry read between Tyler and Crystal – they did the animal clinic scene from the pilot – and Jeff shared he vividly recalled watching them do that scene and he just “knew” it was right.

Dylan O’Brien then shared that he was originally supposed to audition for the role of Scott, but as he read (and re-read) the pilot script, he just felt drawn to the character of Stiles; in fact, he shared that he called his manager saying that “he wanted Stiles.” The same can be said for Holland, who auditioned for the role of Allison and didn’t even think about the role of Lydia.

They all talked about the affect Allison’s death had on all of them and they all shared that it was a rewarding acting experience them – especially for Tyler and Crystal – but also a big challenge and emotionally difficult because it is hard to see a beloved character die on screen.

While Jeff Davis is known for not sharing a lot of spoilers, he did make an announcement that caused a bit of a stir. It was revealed that Tyler Hoechlin, who plays older werewolf Derek Hale, will not be returning to the show as a series regular (he also could not appear on the panel because he was in North Carolina participating in the Wizard World Convention). But Jeff did preface that statement with the fact that Tyler will not be leaving the show, he just won’t be a series regular anymore. The reason behind this departure (so to speak) is that Tyler had the chance to work on an independent film during a break in filming of Teen Wolf, and while the experience scared him because it was something he hadn’t done before, he wanted the opportunity “to do other things”. Jeff reassured the audience “that we have not seen the last of Derek, though.” Jeff also shared briefly that season five will focus on senior year for the characters with new mysteries to solve and lots of action or more horror.

Then new cast members – Shelley Hennig, Arden Cho and Dylan Sprayberry – were then asked what it was like coming on to a show that’s already established and they all agreed that they were welcomed into “the family” and while Arden confessed she “was really intimidated and felt a little scared” she enjoys her role and grows every day.

The cast were then asked various questions submitted via Twitter, including their favorite moments and lines of dialogue from the show as well as what crossover they would love to do with any show. It was at this precise moment when Tyler and Dylan O’Brien said simultaneously “Friends”, evoking a lot of laughter from the audience. And the original cast all agreed their favorite episode was the pilot.

Much of the audience Q&A, sadly, consisted of overly-excited teenagers who tended to have a difficult time forming a complete sentence or not being able to talk clearly enough to be understood or making requests that were not permitted (such as getting a hug from one of the cast members). The only reasonable question from the audience was if it would ever be revealed what Stiles’ real first name is with Jeff sharing that the writers’ room knows the first initial and that maybe when the show comes to an end they’ll show his name written somewhere.

Teen Wolf has not been given an official return date yet for season five, but it is expected to air on MTV sometime in June.

Photo Credit: Michael Bulbenko for Paley Center for Media