Teen Wolf Season 5 debuted on Monday June 29, 2015 at 10pm on MTV. Telling a single story over 20 episodes, Season 5 was the most ambitious effort by the series to date and featured a darker, more violent tone with a focus on body horror.
While the season covered just one storyline, its non-linear nature and the month's-long hiatus between episodes 10 and 11 left some viewers confused as to what was happening when. Contemporary reviews suggest the season works better and is easier to follow as a streaming binge.
Production
MTV ordered a 20 episode Season 5 and announced the show's renewal during San Diego Comic Con in July 2014.[1]
Tyler Posey said in July that production on Season 5 was set to begin "in December" but their hiatus was extended.
On December 27, 2014, Davis released an image of the script for episode #501 showing the title Creatures of the Night with the caption "Back at it."
In January, Teen Wolf Writer/Producer Eric Wallace reported that season will begin airing in June of 2015.
Filming officially began on February 9, 2015 with studio shots at Teen Wolf Headquarters in Northridge, California.
The production officially wrapped Episode 10 on May 29 with actors and crew on a short hiatus. Writers returned on June 15 to begin work on the second half of the season.
Production began on the second half of Season 5 on August 24, 2015 at Teen Wolf Headquarters in Northridge, California. Principal photography wrapped on December 18th. New episodes began airing on Tuesdays at 9 PM EST starting on January 5, 2016.
Locations
- During the first week of filming Season 5, cast and crew shot several days at Palisades Charter High School in Pacific Palisades, California. PCHS provides exteriors for Beacon Hills High School.
- Production moved to the woods near Malibu Creek on February 18, 2015. This area is used mainly for exteriors in the Beacon Hills Preserve.
- The following week found several cast members in a drained swimming pool/skate park called the "humpbowl" in a quiet neighborhood in Winnetka, California.
- They returned to Woodley Park on March 3, 2015. The athletic fields at the park serve as the Beacon Hills High School lacrosse fields.
- Later that week, they shot a chase scene along the Los Angeles River near the 6th Street Viaduct.
- March 24 saw a return to the Mary Andrews Clark Memorial Home near downtown Los Angeles. The building serves as the exterior of Eichen House in the Teen Wolf Universe.
- On April 23, the production moved into the Terminal Island Water Reclamation Plant in San Pedro, California.
- In September, Teen Wolf took over the historic Municipal Warehouse No.1 on Signal Street inside the Port of LA.
- December took the production to Griffith Park where fake snow transformed the Los Angeles landmark into 18th Century France for Maid of Gevaudan.
Funding
Just like Seasons 3 and 4, Season 5 was partially funded by the State of California through tax credits available to television productions.[2]
The funding required that Teen Wolf be filmed within the state of California and production on Season 5 had to begin during the state's fiscal year 2015.
Teen Wolf was alloted $11,579,373.00 from the state to offset "Qualified Spending."
According to their application to the state, producers expect to spend $46,317,491.00 over the 20 episodes. They will film during a 183 day period, employ 5160 stand-ins and extras and 130 crew members. 20 actors are considered "cast." This includes the regular characters, guest stars, and minor speaking roles.
That puts the Teen Wolf Season 5 cost-per-episode qualified spending estimate at $2.3 million.
Season 5 Behind the Scenes
Visit the Teen Wolf News Season 5 Behind the Scenes page for bts images an video from set.
Plot
Season 5 is shown as a series of flashbacks revealed during an interview between Dr. Valack and Lydia Martin as he struggles to help her remember what happened leading up to a final confrontation between her friends and the The Dread Doctors.
Season 5 takes place during Scott McCall's senior year at Beacon Hills High School.
Network Synopsis
On Monday April 13 MTV updated the official Teen Wolf website with this synopsis -
- “On the eve of Senior Year, Scott and his friends find themselves facing the possibility of a future without each other, a next phase of their lives that might take them in different directions despite their best intentions. Little do they know that outside forces are already plotting to break the pack apart long before they ever see graduation. New villains that use a combination of science and the supernatural for a malevolent and mysterious purpose that will eventually pit Scott and his friends against their greatest enemy yet.”
Episode Guide
| Image | # | Title | Writer(s) | Director(s) | Airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
#501 | Creatures of the Night | Jeff Davis | Russell Mulcahy | June 29, 2015 |
| The Season 5 premiere opens on the eve of senior year: Scott and his pack deal with the arrival of a new enemy and the return of an old friend. | |||||
  |
#502 | Parasomnia | Jeff Davis | Tim Andrew | June 30, 2015 |
| Stiles is suspicious of a new classmate; and Lydia helps a student with night terrors. | |||||
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#503 | Dreamcatchers | Talia Gonzalez & Bisanne Masoud | Russell Mulcahy | July 6, 2015 |
| Scott tracks a new shapeshifter that's threatening Stilinski; and Malia receives information about her mother. | |||||
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#504 | Condition Terminal | Jeff Davis & Ian Stokes | Bronwen Hughes | July 13, 2015 |
| Stiles tracks a fugitive and Liam plays wingman for Mason at a nightclub. | |||||
  |
#505 | A Novel Approach | Angela Harvey | Tim Andrew | July 20, 2015 |
| The pack enters Eichen House in order to learn more about the Dread Doctors. | |||||
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#506 | Required Reading | Jeff Davis & Ian Stokes | Alice Troughton | July 27, 2015 |
| Scott and his friends follow Dr. Valack's advice; and experience strange effects as a result. | |||||
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#507 | Strange Frequencies | Angela Harvey | Russell Mulcahy | Aug 3, 2015 |
| An attack by the Dread Doctors complicates Scott's plan to protect the latest victim. | |||||
  |
#508 | Ouroboros | Will Wallace | David Daniel | Aug 10, 2015 |
| Scott and Malia set out to rescue their captured friends; and Deaton makes a horrific discovery about the Dread Doctors. | |||||
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#509 | Lies of Omission | Eric Wallace | Tim Andrew | Aug 17, 2015 |
| Scott turns to an unlikely ally for help; and Stiles and Lydia seek the truth about Parrish. | |||||
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#510 | Status Asthmaticus | Jeff Davis & Ian Stokes | Russell Mulcahy | Aug 24, 2015 |
| Scott and the pack face what may be their biggest threat yet. | |||||
  |
#511 | The Last Chimera | Jeff Davis | Russell Mulcahy | Jan 5, 2016 |
| In spite of the deep rift in their friendship, Scott and Stiles must strive to figure out what’s behind the mysterious infection that’s killing Sheriff Stilinski. | |||||
  |
#512 | Damnatio Memoriae | Brian Sieve | Tim Andrew | Jan 12, 2016 |
| Without the support of his pack, Scott confronts what the Dread Doctors’ deadly success means for Beacon Hills. | |||||
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#513 | Codominance | Will Wallace | Jennifer Lynch | Jan 19, 2016 |
| Noshiko Yukimura and her daughter travel to New Mexico and take extreme measures to help Kira deal with her dark side. Lydia is surprised at Eichen House. | |||||
  |
#514 | The Sword and the Spirit | Angela L. Harvey | Kate Eastridge | Jan 26, 2016 |
| As Scott tries to put his pack back together, Malia and a new ally set out to rescue Deaton from The Desert Wolf. | |||||
  |
#515 | Amplification | Lindsay Jewett Sturman | Russell Mulcahy | Feb 2, 2016 |
| Upon learning that Lydia is in danger, Stiles makes a plan to break her out of Eichen House; Theo has his own plans. | |||||
  |
#516 | Lie Ability | Eric Wallace | Russell Mulcahy | Feb 9, 2016 |
| Trapped in Eichen House with Theo and his Chimera Pack, Scott must try to rescue Lydia before it’s too late. | |||||
  |
#517 | A Credible Threat | Jeff Davis | Tim Andrew | Feb 16, 2016 |
| Scott and his pack use a charity lacrosse game in a deadly gambit to figure out the identity of the Beast. | |||||
  |
#518 | Maid of Gevaudan (Episode) | Jeff Davis | Joseph P. Genier | Feb 23, 2016 |
| Hoping to align with a familiar ally, the Argents reveal a key clue to the mystery of the Beast of Gevaudan. Meanwhile, Scott tries to take on the Beast himself. | |||||
  |
#519 | The Beast of Beacon Hills | Eric Wallace | Tim Andrew | Mar 1, 2016 |
| With the identity of the Beast finally revealed, Scott and his friends are in a race against time to stop the Dread Doctors from implementing their final plan. | |||||
  |
#520 | Apotheosis | Jeff Davis | Russell Mulcahy | Mar 8, 2016 |
| In the Season 5 finale, Scott and his friends try to stop the Beast before Beacon Hills is razed to the ground. | |||||
Cast
Returning
- Tyler Posey as Scott McCall
- Dylan O'Brien as Stiles Stilinski
- Holland Roden as Lydia Martin
- Crystal Reed as Marie-Jeanne Valet
- Arden Cho as Kira Yukimura
- Shelley Hennig as Malia Tate
- Dylan Sprayberry as Liam Dunbar
- Linden Ashby as Sheriff Stilinski
- Melissa Ponzio as Melissa McCall
- Ryan Kelley as Jordan Parrish
- Tom T. Choi as Ken Yukimura
- Tamlyn Tomita as Noshiko Yukimura
- Seth Gilliam as Dr. Deaton
- Susan Walters as Natalie Martin
- Khylin Rhambo as Mason Hewitt
- Todd Williams as Dr. Geyer
- Cody Saintgnue as Brett Talbot
- Meagan Tandy as Braeden
- Todd Stashwick as Mr. Tate
- Steven Brand as Dr. Valack
- Max Carver as Aiden
- JR Bourne as Chris Argent
- Michael Hogan as Gerard
- Maya Eshet as Meredith Walker
- Gideon Emery as Deucalion
- Orny Adams as Coach Bobby Finstock
New This Season
- Cody Christian as Theo Raeken
- Victoria Moroles as Hayden Romero
- Ashton Moio as Donovan
- Marti Matulis as "The Surgeon"
- Douglas Tait as "The Pathologist"
- Caitlin Dechelle and Elisabeth Carpenter as "The Geneticist"
- Kelsey Chow as Tracy Stewart
- Michael Johnston as Corey
- Henry Zaga as Josh Diaz
- Benita Robledo as Deputy Clark
- Marisol Nichols as The Desert Wolf
- Gilles Marini as Sebastien Valet
Other
- John Posey as Conrad Fenris
- Michelle Clunie as Mrs. Finch
- Joey Honsa as Claudia Stilinski
- Claire Bryétt Andrew as Sydney
- Eddie Ramos as Lucas
- Makenna James as Tara Raeken
- Micaela Wittman as Tara Raeken
- Clayton Froning as Schrader
- Mandy Levin as Nurse Cross
- Jordan Fisher as Noah Patrick
- Aaron Thornton as Deputy Strauss
- Lily Bleu Andrew as Lori
- Lachlan Buchanan as Henri Argent
- Daniel Bonjour as Marcel
Opening Credits
Promotion Part 1
On April 12, 2015 - MTV released the first tease/promo for Teen Wolf Season 5. It includes mention of a new group of villains known only as "The Doctors."
On May 21, 2015 - MTV released a trailer for Season 5 featuring most of the core cast and some newcomers.
On May 26, 2015 - MTV released a "high concept" tease.
On June 15, 2015 - MTV released the first six minutes of Creatures of the Night.
On June 19, 2015 - MTV released another trailer with footage from the upcoming season.
Promotion Part 2
On October 9, 2015, during the Teen Wolf panel at New York Comic Con, MTV released the first promo for Season 5 Part 2.
On November 23, 2015 MTV released the second promotional video for Season 5 Part 2.
On December 2, 2015 MTV released the third promotion video for Season 5 Part 2. It is entitled "Hope."
On December 30, 2015 MTV released a five minute scene. While it was widely reported to be the first five minutes of The Last Chimera, it was actually a scene from Damnatio Memoriae.
