As a meta slasher, the Scream series is aware of the filmmaking process in many respects, with consistently self-referential dialogue. Thus, it’s less of a horror movie meant to scare you, and more of an experience or piece of art whose sole focus is to entertain. There are tense moments, no doubt about it — almost all the featured deaths throughout the films are some of the most gruesome you’re likely to see on screen. But for the most part, every character is more comedically inclined than anything else.
Most of these will be supporting characters, as the leads like Sidney, Sam, and Tara tend to have more serious demeanors with cheesy one-liners to boot. They have their moments, sure, but nowhere near as many compared to the laughs brought about by the characters on this list. So, with all of that said, here are the ten funniest characters to ever appear in the Scream franchise.
10 Mickey Altieri
As one of two killers on the list, Mickey Altieri mirrors the other in more ways than just their homicidal tendencies. He’s not nearly as funny, but he’s obviously among the more sidesplitting characters the franchise has to offer. And that was in large part due to an early, charismatic performance from Timothy Olyphant.
He’s only featured in Scream 2 (1997), and Mickey arguably stole the entire show. He was funny here and there leading up to the film’s climax where he mocked Sidney on Derek’s behalf, but that scene is when he hit some memorable one-liners that are sure to make you laugh upon a rewatch even all these years later. Ultimately, Mickey lands here at number ten.
9 Deputy Judy Hicks
Although Deputy Judy Hicks has a sort of creepy, uncomfortable style of humor compared to the more upfront nature of everyone else on this list, there’s no doubt that she remains a highlight of a couple more recent titles in the Scream franchise. She was in both Scream 4 (2011) and Scream (2022), but ultimately perished toward the beginning of the latter.
She as a character shares a great rapport with Dewey, with whom she seems to have a crush on. That dynamic adds a whole new meaning to Judy’s “creepy” nature. Of course, the intention there was to suggest to audiences that she may have been the Ghostface killer in Scream 4, but she was eventually revealed innocent, and a fellow victim. Her awkward dialogue was a hilarious inclusion for her featured films.
8 Chad Meeks-Martin
Although he definitely fits this archetype in many respects, Chad Meeks-Martin isn’t just a regular, dumb jock like his physique (and his name) might suggest. He’s rather quick-witted, actually, and provides an undertone of humor to the two most recent Scream movies that remains a highlight of both entries from start to finish.
And frankly, actor Mason Gooding shares a tremendous dynamic with all of his many costars. If you’ve seen the most recent entry, Scream 6 (2023), not much needs to be said other than “core four”. He has a couple of death scares, too. Audiences should be glad he made it out alive.
7 Tatum Riley
The younger sister of Dewey, she fulfilled for the first entry of the franchise a particularly fan-favorite archetype in the “dumb blonde”. Her consistent sarcasm and back-and-forth banters with her brother and other characters like her boyfriend Stu Macher made for sidesplitting dialogue up until her iconic death scene within her own garage.
It’s unfortunate that Tatum Riley didn’t last longer in the world of Scream, as she would have made for a great addition to the cast of the original’s many sequels. But ultimately, her funny one-liners and biting attitude in tandem with her memorable death sequence made Tatum one of the best reasons to revisit the original film. Her, among many others.
6 Dewey Riley
The Scream franchise was famously directed by Wes Craven, but the story and scripts were actually conceptualized by a man named Kevin Williamson. He’s the man who crafted all of these memorable characters from the original Scream (1996) — and that includes Deputy Dewey Riley, the love interest of Courtney Cox’s character Gale Weathers and a sort of protector, older brother figure to the franchise’s main character, Sidney Prescott.
He has a sort accidental humor to him by dint of his status as a bit of a lovable idiot. And frankly, that key personality trait is what has made Dewey one of the most fan-favorite characters the franchise has ever produced. His death in the fifth entry was perhaps the most heart-wrenching one yet.
5 Kirby Reid
Portrayed by Hayden Panettiere, she’s one of the franchise’s most avid fanatics of horror films, and thus sort of breaks the “dumb blonde” archetype whose precedents were set three films prior. So, in other words: Kirby Reid is perhaps the freshest new, featured characters offered in Scream 4. She’s a friend of Jill Roberts (seemingly the new “final girl” until she’s revealed to be the killer) and Olivia Morris.
But she was also the love interest of Charlie Walker, a fellow film nerd. This made Kirby even more of a specialized, rule-breaking character. Unfortunately for her, Charlie was revealed to also be one of the two Ghostface killers from their respective film — talk about keeping your enemies close, right? But despite apparently dying, Kirby returned to the franchise with Scream 6 — and fans should be rejoicing, as she’s just as funny and charismatic as ever. It’s good to have her back.
4 Gale Weathers
As a reporter, Gale Weathers obviously has the gift of gab. It’s almost in the job title of those who wish to appear in front of a camera with a microphone to their mouth delivering news to their community. But Gale’s wit can often be borderline vitriolic, which makes for some hilariously biting moments within back-and-forth exchanges of dialogue. All throughout the series, really.
She’s portrayed wonderfully by Courtney Cox — and, if this list were ranking the overall best characters in the franchise, she would come out on top. That has a lot to do with how funny she is by nature. There’s a sort of subtle humor carefully placed by Williamson (or, any of the other screenwriters) within every line of Gale’s dialogue. She doesn’t know she’s rude to others for the most part, and it makes for an accidental hilarity each time. For as self-aware as these films are, Gale Weathers is anything but. And the products are much better off for it.
3 Randy Meeks
The original funny guy of the series, Randy’s dialogue is replete with iconic one-liners. He’s of course obsessed with horror movies and even works at a local video rental store. Thus, he’s constantly referencing projects like Jaws (1975), Halloween (1978) and Fright Night (1985), among dozens of others. Randy Meeks is thus deemed a bit of a nerd by his friends, and that opens room for his unforgettable, self-deprecating style of comedy.
His run was short-lived, as he died to Ghostface in the franchise’s second entry. And his death is still a relevant topic among the community of Scream fanatics more than twenty-five years thereafter. Plus, with multiple of his family members acting as primary characters in later entries, Randy is constantly referenced within the films themselves. May he and his rule book forever live on.
2 Mindy Meeks-Martin
So, if you can’t remember names too well and haven’t figured it out already, Chad and Mindy Meeks-Martin are the aforementioned relatives of Randy. And they’re both perhaps the most special and memorable additions of any kind to the series thanks to the two most recent entries — Scream and Scream 6 (2023).
This may be a hot pick for plenty of fans, with Mindy coming in just over her uncle. But nearly every line of hers features a degree of comedic value. Even after being stabbed in the sixth entry, she’s still an absolute riot. She’s enraged by incorrectly guessing the killer, and despite bleeding out and eventually going to the hospital for her injuries, Mindy remained a hilarious highlight until the final frame rolled around.
1 Stu Macher
A primary character and one of two Ghostface killers in the original Scream, Stu Macher is fondly looked back on for his inherently hilarious tendencies. Just look at the final act: when he’s been stabbed and is bleeding out on the phone with Sidney while she stalks him at his own game, Stu is still hilarious. After murdering (or, at least being an accomplice) a couple of his friends and even some adults, the primary concern of his is being caught by his parents.
He remains a fan-favorite all these years down the line, with audiences pining for a “surprise” return from the character for decades now. This is entirely due to his comedic value, which was manifested by the brilliance of Williamson’s script in tandem with the indelible performance from Matthew Lillard. He’s undoubtedly the funniest character the Scream franchise has ever produced.