Senior Year Bites as ‘Teen Wolf’ Returns for Season 5

There’s a bad moon rising over Beacon Hills. And even the start of senior year won’t be enough to keep things from biting for Scott McCall (Tyler Posey) and his pack of pals. “It is really dark and gory,” says Posey of Teen Wolf’s Season 5, which launches with a fast-paced hour loaded with “a lot of despair and foreshadowing. There’s so much story, it almost feels like a finale episode.”

Expect a shocking reveal about banshee Lydia (Holland Roden), and for things to go quickly from mind-bending to worse thanks to a crazy new breed of werewolves on the hunt and under the sway of three gas-masked, medically torturous maniacs known as the Dread Doctors. “The new werewolves are rule changers,” warns Posey. “And the Doctors are badass. They show no remorse.”

In addition to the nightmarish baddies heading to town, there will be some mysterious developments surrounding BHPD’s Deputy Parrish (Ryan Kelley) and the sudden arrival of Theo (Cody Christian), a former classmate who shares more than just a childhood history with Scott. And, of course, because this is Teen Wolf, angsty emotional issues are on the horizon for the gang as well. While his romance with the sword-wielding, supernaturally gifted Kira (Arden Cho) is “happy and heartfelt,” Posey reveals that Scott will be forced to reassess his life—including his role as an Alpha—after realizing that his grades are woefully unacceptable for the college he wants to attend.

Scott’s human BFF, Stiles (Dylan O’Brien), although happily boyfriended-up with werecoyote Malia (Shelley Hennig), will be plagued with postgraduation insecurities that could seriously damage one of his oldest friendships. But it’s sweet Lydia whom fans should be most concerned about: Not only is she bound for a place no one in Beacon Hills wants to visit, but she’s also set to have a traumatic final-moments flashback sequence that Posey predicts will send fans into a frenzy. “People are going to be like, ‘What the f—!’”

Teen Wolf, Season premiere, 10/9c, MTV