Teen Wolf

Teen Wolf is an MTV television show based on the Michael J. Fox's film Teen Wolf from 1985. While there is no continuity as such between the film and the TV series, there are references and allusions to the film. While containing comedic elements, like the film, the series is a drama, with darker themes and elements. 
The series follows main character, Scott McCall, and how his life in the fictional town of Beacon Hills, changes after he is bitten by a werewolf and pulled into a supernatural world that he previously had no idea existed. 
The series ran from June 2011 to September 2017, then was followed up by a 2023 Paramount+ film which saw some, but not all of the original main cast return. 
==Canon Overview==
===Character Cast===
Main Characters:
*Tyler Posey as Scott McCall
*Crystal Reed as Allison Argent
*Dylan O'Brien as Stiles Stilinski
*Tyler Hoechlin as Derek Hale
*Holland Roden as Lydia Martin
*Dylan Sprayberry as Liam Dunbar
*Colton Haynes as Jackson Whittemore
*Daniel Sharman as Isaac Lahey
*Arden Cho as Kira Yukimura
*Shelley Hennig as Malia Tate
*Ian Bohen as Peter Hale
*Cody Christian as Theo Raeken
*Linden Ashby as Sheriff Noah Stilinski
*JR Bourne as Chris Argent
*Melissa Ponzio as Melissa McCall
*Seth Gilliam as Dr. Alan Deaton
*Orny Adams as Coach Bobby Finstock
*Khylin Rhambo as Mason Hewitt
*Michael Johnston as Corey Bryant
*Victoria Moroles as Hayden Romero
Recurring characters include: Sinqua Walls as Vernon Boyd, Gage Golightly as Erica Reyes, Keahu Kahuanui as Danny Mahealani, Jill Wagner as Kate Argent, Adelaide Kane as Cora Hale, Bianca Lawson as Marin Morrell, Meagan Tandy as Braeden and Ryan Kelley as Jordan Parrish
Characters that are mostly fanon are Laura Hale, Talia Hale, and Claudia Stilinski.
Another rather popular character is one who has never really been seen. Many theories surround the character Greenberg, who is only really referenced by Coach Finstock. Many believe he is Jared and had a single scene, where he throws up on the lacrosse bus in season two.
=== Overview of Canon ===
Originally the series focuses on Scott's transformation into a werewolf and how he copes with being exposed to the supernatural world while learning to cope with his new reality, as well as how he navigates falling in love with new student, Allison, who comes from a lineage of werewolf hunters. Within each season, it was typical for a new main antagonist to brought in along with new supernatural challenges for Scott and his friends to deal with — similar to Buffy the Vampire Slayer's seasonal "big bads". As the series developed, the show did not shy away from violence, gore, or main character deaths: perhaps the most surprising being Allison's death in season three. By the end of the show's run, a new generation of cast had been introducted, in a way representing the next era of Teen Wolf.
=== Teen Wolf: The Movie ===
While many of the main characters from the TV series returned for the film, Dylan O'Brien, who played Scott's best friend, Stiles Stilinski, was a notable absence. This prompted a lot of discourse within the fandom, as did the film itself, particularly the scene near the end of the movie where Derek Hale was killed by being burned, in a parallel to the death of the majority of his family. The film also found a means of bringing back Allison, another storyline which was much discussed by the fandom. 
During early discussions and promotion of the film, it was also brought up that Teen Wolf creator, Jeff Davis, would be working on another werewolf TV series, Wolf Pack (based on a novel by Edo van Belkom). Other than elements typical of werewolf media, the series were unrelated, but the hope was the appeal of Teen Wolf and renewed interest in the film would bring an audience to Wolf Pack. However, Wolf Pack was cancelled after the first season.
==Fandom==
Teen Wolf fandom is very active on Tumblr. Many fans of the show like to reblog gifs that say "This show is a gift." Because of tumblr's inability to search terms using a "/", portmanteaus are very commonly used. See List of Teen Wolf Ship Names for many common ship names.
Many fans who had joined the fandom during seasons one or two were disappointed with the later seasons.For example, see this tumblr post by feferi with 294 notes: i can’t believe teen wolf got cancelled after the second season In particular, fans who were excited or at least optimistic about any aspect of the show's politics being progressive in early seasons became disillusioned.undated addendum to a tumblr post by lierdumoa: NOTE: This post was written prior to the end of season 2 Teen Wolf. I more than anyone know that show devolved into a misogynist, racist, abuse apologist rape promoting piece of infected shit, so obviously anything good I might have said about the show in this post was from a place of innocence, not realizing how truly terrible the show would grow to become. 
===Relationships===
:See also: List of Teen Wolf Ship Names
Canon pairs: 
* Allison/Scott 
* Kira/Scott
* Malia/Scott
* Malia/Stiles 
* Lydia/Stiles
* Allison/Isaac
* Jackson/Lydia
* Danny/Ethan
* Chris/Melissa
Non-canon pairs: 
* Derek/Stiles
* Kira/Malia 
* Melissa/Sheriff
* Isaac/Scott
* Boyd/Erica
* Scott/Stiles
* Peter/Stiles
* Chris/Peter
* Derek/Scott
* Allison/Lydia
Threesomes: 
* Allison/Isaac/Scott
* Derek/Scott/Stiles
Gen Relationships: 
* Sheriff & Stiles Stilinski, often tagged Stilinski Family Feels.
===Homophobia in Teen Wolf===
One of the more interesting aspects of Teen Wolf is that the universe created by Jeff Davis is notably free of homophobiaAfterElton interview with Jeff Davis, last acessed on January 10th, 2013. This translated to a world where Danny, was the only openly gay character on the show, he was met with no backlash from the sports team he's on, the student body or anyone in the town. Aiden, Mason and Corey were the next main gay characters, all suffering no acts of homophobia and each having happy relationships.
Fans embraced this concept, and many Sterek shippers see it as one of the reasons why Teen Wolf could be the first show to successfully introduce a male/male relationship between previously-assumed-to-be-straight characters.For example, see Saucery's meta essay on why she thinks Sterek could become canon: Fanon to Canon: A Journey, posted 15 July 2012.
By the start of season 4, however, many fans had become disillusioned and instead began to argue that TPTB were simply engaging in queerbaiting.For example, see this tumblr conversation between colethewolf, von-gelmini, and your-lobster, last accessed 28 June 2014.
===Challenges===
:For the full list of challenges on Fanlore, see :Category:Teen Wolf Challenges, see also List of Teen Wolf Challenges
*Dream A Little Dream: A Sterek Free Ficathon
*Spice Up Your Life: A Teen Wolf Ficathon - Rare pair ficathon (every pairing that isn't Sterek)
*Teen Wolf Appreciation Week
*Teen Wolf Fall Harvest
*Teen Wolf Femslash Week
*Teen Wolf Full Moon Challenge‎
*Teen Wolf Heat Wave Fest
*Teen Wolf Kink
*Teen Wolf Kink Meme
*Teen Wolf Reverse Bang
:See also List of Teen Wolf Challenges
==TPTB Interactions with Fandom==
===Twitter===
Many of the cast as well as the creator/executive producer Jeff Davis is on Twitter and answer questions from fans. Some, like Colton Haynes who plays Jackson on the show, like to have fun with fandom.
:Last nights episode was gold for all you #sterek fans! What was your favorite part?
Tyler Posey and Tyler Hoechlin refer to themselves as "T Twice."Comic Con 2011 cast interview
*Jeff Davis
*Colton Haynes
*Tyler Hoechlin
*Stephen Lunsford (plays Matt Daehler)
*Dylan O'Brien
*Holland Roden
*Sinqua Walls
Fans appreciate commentary from actors and Jeff Davis that acknowledges Sterek and/or slash interpretationsFor example, this July 1, 2013 tweet posted by Keahu Kahuanui, the actor who plays Danny, was retweeted 900+ times and screencapped and reblogged over 3000 times on Tumblr, all within a week., but there have also been arguments over whether some of these remarks constitute queer baiting.See a rebuttal at mylittlewerewolf's tumblr, On “Queer Baiting" and Sterek, posted June 10, 2013. "Jeff Davis and co. not queer baiting Sterek fans when they say they like the ship, appreciate the dedication of Sterek fans, or tell fans who ask about their scenes together that they’ll have a scene in X episode. All canon evidence for 3 seasons has pointed to the two characters barely being allies, much less lovers. If it doesn’t affect or influence the actual canon of the show, it’s not queer baiting, it’s the cast and crew having some fun with a segment of the fanbase."
===Fanfiction Contest===
:See the Teen Wolf Fanfiction Contest
On August 24, 2012, Teen Wolf announced that it would host a fanfiction contest. Most submissions were Sterek, but the winner was a Stiles gen fic called "Side Effects," by lokiloo.
===The Collective===
In July 2014, MTV announced it would create a subsite called The Collective specifically to house Teen Wolf fanworks.[mashable.com/2014/07/21/teen-wolf-mtv-collective/ 'Teen Wolf' Fans, You Can Stop Scouring Tumblr for Fan Art], posted July 21, 2014. Accessed July 23, 2014. Reactions were mixed, with most early ones focusing on MTV's Terms of Service.Hey, Teen Wolf fandom, Mtv has something for you!, posted July 21, 2014. Accessed July 23, 2014.A few highlights from their User Content Submission Agreement, posted July 21, 2014. Accessed July 23, 2014.
==Fanon and Fanwork Tropes==
: See individual character pages for character-specific fanon.
A majority of the fandom shifts the focus of their fanworks to Stiles or Derek, treating them as the main characters,A lot of fans who read the fanfic first or became aware of Teen Wolf through fannish osmosis circa 2012 have commented that they did not know that Scott was the main character of the show due to fandom's fascination with Derek and/or Stiles. For example, see the Teen Wolf slash report episode. even in non-Derek/Stiles pairing fanworks. Additionally, the show's protagonist Scott McCall is often assumed to be or is portrayed as an idiot.Circa 2011-2012, there was a period where Tumblr fans frequently repeated variations on the phrase "Scott is a potato", either as a way of saying that Scott was bland and not the sharpest stick or just because everyone else was doing it. Other fans began protesting this meme on the grounds that the origin of the meme was a slur against people with Down Syndrome. See Potato Wank on the Fail Fandomanon wiki. In this context, the revelation of Scott's secret plan to defeat Gerard at the end of season 2 was a surprise to many.
===Common Tropes===
* Backstories or pre-canon or canon AU fanfic featuring Derek's dead family.
* Derek and/or Stiles and/or Derek's pack rebuild/renovate the Hale house.
* Wolfsbane acts as a sex pollen.
* Future fic where Derek and/or Allison becomes a Deputy.
* Somebody adopts Isaac, usually Melissa or Derek.
* Deceased characters are alive, or are resurrected; most often Erica, Boyd, Allison, and sometimes even Laura.
* Someone who doesn't know finds out about werewolves, usually Danny or the Sheriff. (This trope is now jossed, because as of the end of season 3 all of the major characters know about werewolves.)
* Until season three, werewolves and the Kanima were the only supernatural elements on the show. However, since the fandom's beginning, all manner of fantasy creatures and human magic users have populated the fanfic, including kitsune, who were added to the show in season 3b.
* All Human AU with no supernatural elements.
* Crossovers. On the AO3 at least, Teen Wolf is most frequently combined with Supernatural, as well as other werewolf canons and The Avengers.The fandom filter on the Teen Wolf tag page lists Supernatural (176), Harry Potter (55), The Avengers (2012) (44), Vampire Diaries (TV) (31), Doctor Who (25), Sherlock (TV) (18), Suits (TV) (17), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (15), Doctor Who (2005) (13). (Accessed 1 April 2013)
===Werewolf-Specific Tropes & Fanon===
Although Teen Wolf has its own werewolf mythology, fans have either embellished or ignored parts of it in fanworks. A major difference between canon and fanon is werewolves' wolfed-out appearance. On the show, they have cosmetic and prosthetic enhancements, but are still humanoid; in a lot of fanfic and fanart, they can change completely into wolves and are sometimes mistakenly adopted as pets by a human character (usually Stiles). Frequently, in fanfic, the full shift is referred to as the "alpha shift" or is reserved for the alpha (usually Derek). In the show, only Talia Hale (and now Derek), in a flashback, has been shown to appear as a wolf, and they are the exception that proves the rule.
Fanfic often dwells on werewolf instincts and the differences between werewolf and human psychology beyond the full-moon killing instinct that is referenced on the show.
====Pack====
Fanfic rules for werewolf pack dynamics are often far removed from canon: requiring an Anchor, sensing if other pack members are in pain, sensing where they are, touching a pack member to take away their pain or help them heal faster, etc. On the show, "anchors" are mentioned a few times to mean anything that helps a werewolf keep in control, but in fanfic, the use of anchors can verge on the Sentinel and Guide trope. Meanwhile, taking away pain is a canon werewolf ability (introduced in the second season), but works on anyone, pack or no; pack fanon is generally far more developed than pack rules in canon. The proximity healing factor is complete fanon invention, though interestingly, something similar appeared on the show after the fanon--Derek successfully heals his sister Cora Hale, but drains all his alpha power in the process.
A lot of fanart depicts pack snuggles or the pack as a family. No snuggling happens on the show.
====Alphas and Betas and Omegas, Oh My====
The terms "alpha", "beta", and "omega" are used on the show itself to describe certain categories of werewolf, with an emphasis on differences in powers/strength. Alphas can turn humans into werewolves, and their eyes glow red; betas are not as strong, and their eyes glow yellow. Omegas are werewolves without a pack. Until season three broke the rule by introducing an Alpha Pack, it was implied that the alpha was also by nature the leader of the pack and that there would be only one per pack. It is assumed in fanfic, but never? explained in canon, that Laura Hale somehow "inherited" the alpha powers after the rest of the pack died in the fire (including, presumably, the previous alpha). Canon shows Peter becoming alpha by killing Laura, but fanfic also addresses how the line of succession works in more peaceful circumstances.
Just to make things more confusing, the panfandom trope Alpha/Beta/Omega means something completely different from the show's use of the terms "alpha", "beta", and "omega". The trope Alpha/Beta/Omega predates Teen Wolf fandom, but is now very popular in this fandom.
====Mates====
The idea of mates as a variant of the soulmate trope predates Teen Wolf, but quickly became common in Teen Wolf fic.As of 23 August 2014, 1,612 of the 2,461 fics tagged "Mates" on the AO3 are for Teen Wolf. To compare to another large fandom with supernatural elements, only 233 fics tagged "Mates" are for Supernatural. Overall, there are 46,925 Teen Wolf fics and 79,679 Supernatural fics on the site, so 3.4% of Teen Wolf fics use the tag versus 0.29% of Supernatural fics. See the fandoms filter on the Mates page. It is often combined with other tropes like knotting, marking, and possessiveness.
====Knotting====
Knotting was already popular when Teen Wolf appeared on the scene, but the trope fit with the werewolves so well that there is a substantial body of knotting fanfic in this fandom.As of 31 March 2013, 334 of the 928 knotting fanworks on the AO3 are for Teen Wolf. (These numbers may be partially attributed to the overall popularity of Teen Wolf on the AO3. 2.2% (334 of 14884) of the works are tagged with Knotting vs. 2.8% (144 of 5177) of Supernatural RPF, the second most popular fandom for knotting. However, knotting is far more popular in Teen Wolf than in Supernatural (.3%) or Sherlock (.2%), both large active fandoms. See the fandoms filter on the Knotting page.
====NECKZ 'n THROATS====
The fandom has created a shared universe called NECKZ 'n THROATS which is a semi-Mundane AU (mundane in the sense that it does not engage with the canon concerns of monster-fighting) in which werewolves are known and the fanwork is focused to some extent on the characters interacting with or working for a genre of magazines that caters to the werewolf population.
==RPF==
Teen Wolf RPF represents a very small slice of the Teen Wolf fanwork pie; there are more than 100 times the number of FPF fanworks as RPF fanworks on the Archive of Our Own.On 28 October 2013, there were 246 Teen Wolf RPF fanworks and 27773 Teen Wolf fanworks on the AO3. 44 works were listed under both fandoms. 246/27975 or .9% of total Teen Wolf related fanworks on the AO3 are RPF. Teen Wolf RPF was a small enough fandom to be part of Yuletide 2012 (9 stories), 2013 (3 stories), and 2014 (4 stories).
The most popular RPF pairing is the real life counterpart to the most popular fictional pairing in the fandom: Tyler Hoechlin/Dylan O'Brien aka Hobrien.As of 28 October 2013, 161 fanworks or 65% of Teen Wolf RPF posted to the AO3 are Tyler Hoechlin/Dylan O'Brien. Other ships include Colton Haynes/Tyler Posey, Dylan O'Brien/Tyler Posey (RPF counterpart to Sciles), and Ian Bohen/JR Bourne.
==Fanworks==
:See individual character and relationship pages for more example fanworks.
===Fanfics===
:For a full listing of TW fanfiction on Fanlore, see :Category:Teen Wolf Fanfiction
* 9/10ths of the Law, by tsukinofaerii - Supernatural crossover, Derek/Stiles fic with demon!Stiles that predates the nogitsune reveal of season 3b.
* DILF, by twentysomething - Derek/Stiles kidfic AU that was the most kudosed story on the AO3 for some time.
* Play It Again, by metisket - Parallel universe canon AU written at the beginning of season 3, Derek/Stiles pre-slash with some failwolf!Derek elements. Side fic is a Melissa adopts Isaac story.
* A Shot In The Dark, by tsukinofaerii - A Sheriff finds out gen casefic, from the Sheriff's POV.
* (Scott McCall/Stiles Stilinski) by wangler
* (Stiles Stilinski/Jackson Whittemore) by Mandibles
* (Allison Argent/Lydia Martin) by kitausu
===Fan Art===
:See also :Category:Teen Wolf Art
File:Everyone%27s_Favorite_Co-Captain.png|Everyone's Favorite Co-Captain by Boa. Scott in his lacrosse gear.
File:The_Boy_and_the_Beast_Illustration.jpg|The Boy and the Beast by kickingshoes. Stiles running with a fully wolfed-out Derek.
File:Banshees,_Humans,_Werewolves,_Hunters.jpg|Banshees, Humans, Werewolves, Hunters by otterpop. Lydia, Stiles, Scott, and Allison on the prowl.
File:A_hunter,_a_banshee,_a_werewolf_and_a_kitsune_all_walk_into_a_bar.png|A hunter, a banshee, a werewolf, and a kitsune all walk into a bar... they have a rad time and nobody dies, Lydia, Erica, Kira, and Allison, by beekayem.
===Fanvids===
* STEREK TRAILER Abominable Snowman - created by TheNerjaveika - Very popular Sterek Vid.
* Teen Wolf - MIX OF NONSENSE (Crack!) - created by 0o0Vanilla0o0 - A mishmash of scenes and music poking fun at characters, popular pairings, etc.
* Bad Things by niyalune
===Meta===
* , by Kriken and Suaine at Slashcast (December 2, 2012)
* by Saucery ("I’ve been in many fandoms, over the years. Many, many fandoms. And in many of them, I’ve been queer-baited, and in many others, my existence as a slash fan wasn’t acknowledged, at all. But this? Is the first time in my entire fannish life, in more than a decade, that I’ve actually felt my slash OTP might become canon. That it has a real shot at becoming canon.") (July 15, 2012)
* Fandom and the fourth wall by Jenna Kathryn Ballinger (2014)
* Why is Derek an anti-hero? ; archive link page 1; archive link page 2 by cupidsbow (November 25, 2012)
=== Podfic ===
* Might as well kiss the monster, laugh and fuck until you’re dead by multi-voice cast 
=== Zines ===
* Must Be Moonday
* Of Full Moons & Wolf’s Bane
==Resources==
===Communities===
*TeenWolfFans on DeviantArt
*Teen Wolf Community on Wattpad
====Livejournal Communities====
*twnewsletter
*teenwolf_daily
*teenwolffans
*teen_wolf_anon - anonymous discussion
*teenwolffinders - fic finding
*teenwolf_mtv
*teenwolfkink - kink meme (closed early 2013)
*tnw-kinkmeme - kink meme (active as of Feb 2014)
*teenwolfbbang - big bang
*teenwolffic
*teenwolfprompts
*travel_in_packs
*teenwolf_slash
*abiteoffcenter - rarepair fest
*jacksonscott
*stiles_derek
*sterek_recs
*jackson_stiles
*teenwolf_rpf
*fullmoon-ficlet - weekly prompt challenge
*Teen Wolf Ladies
====Dreamwidth Communities====
*teen_wolf
*teenwolfkink
*teenwolfpodfics
=== Challenges ===
*Teen Wolf Remix - Remix challenge
*Teen Wolf Big Bang - Big Bang challenge
*Scolia Secret Santa - Gift Exchange
*Teen Wolf Holidays - Gift Exchange
*Teen Wolf Spring Break - Gift Exchange
=== Archives ===
*Teen Wolf Fanfiction and search on Wattpad
*Teen Wolf fanworks tag at AO3
*Teen Wolf at FF.net
*Teen Wolf at Kink Bingo
*Teen Wolf prompts and fills at Fic Promptly
*Teen Wolf podfics at Audiofic Archive
=== Fannish Tumblrs ===
*Texts from the Last Full Moon - Teen Wolf's Texts From Last Night tumblr
*Teen Wolf Mythbusters - what's canon vs. what's fanon
*Teen Wolf Meta - reblogs meta
*Jen's Teen Wolf Art Recs and other rec lists by swingsetindecember 
*Where Did His Eyebrows Go? - A Teen Wolf Review, Fic Finder and Rec Blog. 
*The Official Sterek Library - The most comprehensive fic rec blog for strictly Sterek fics.
*Very Sterek Events - A series of events with a variety of seasonal prompts that happened until 2022
*tumblr tag teen wolf
===Other Resources===
*Fandom Overview: Teen Wolf at crack_van (November 2012)
*An overview/primer to the fandom, with pictures by brownbetty. (December 2011)
*Teen Wolf Recs on Twitter
*Teen Wolf Podfics on Twitter
*Teen Wolf wiki.
*Official Teen Wolf tumblr
==References==
Category:Teen Wolf
Category:Werewolf Fandoms