Ryan Murphy drops another hint for season ten of American Horror Story: What will the theme be?
After a longer than expected break due to the Coronavirus pandemic, American Horror Story is returning for its tenth season. Luckily, showrunner and creator Ryan Murphy has been keeping fans updated via Twitter. At the beginning of the month, he showed off the first poster for the season. It depicts a series of sharp, shark-like, teeth with a tattoo of ‘AHS 10’ on the tongue. This image could very well hint towards the eventual theme of the season, which has been unclear since the initial cast announcement in the beginning of the year.
This season is going to be exciting for more reasons than one. First of all, the cast is looking to be one of the best lineups yet. Despite the absence of fan favorites like Taissa Farmiga and Emma Roberts there will also be returning cast members like Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson. The latter two did not take part in the previous season, 1984, so fans are revved up to see them again. On another happy note, Angelica Ross, who played Donna Chambers (my personal favorite character) in 1984, will also come back. She is the first female transgender actress to secure two series regular roles. One of the most interesting newcomers to the series has to be Macaulay Culkin who has been extremely selective with roles since his child star days. His brother Kieren made a splash on the television scene as Roman Roy in the Emmy winning drama Succession. It’s only fitting that Culkin would also want to make the move to television.
Spencer Novich, a Cirque du Soleil performer, landed himself a role on the season with a creepy audition. Ryan Murphy was so impressed with the audition that he not only casted Spencer, but also posted the scene to Twitter. He encouraged fans to take a guess at who Spencer might be playing. In the video, Spencer does a series of contortions with his body before whispering a frightening line into the camera. It seems like Spencer will play a role akin to Twisty the Clown from Freakshow or Richard Ramirez from 1984.
This has been a great month for the American Horror Story franchise. Again on Twitter, Ryan Murphy revealed that we’ll get to see more of our favorite onscreen scary stories. American Horror Stories will consist of sixteen one hour stand alone episodes. Whereas American Horror Story focuses on one topic per season, American Horror Stories will delve into something different every episode. Murphy also said some of our favorite AHS stars will be making appearances on this show. Many have theorized that Jessica Lange will show up in this series as two seasons ago she reprised her role as Constance Langdon to massive fan approval. American Horror Stories is expected to be released on FX and Hulu in 2021.
American Horror Story was also named by the Guiness Book of World Records as, “the Most Popular Horror TV Show in the World.” Murphy promised that this win will make season ten even more of a blowout. Regardless of the limitations set by COVID-19, the cast and crew affirmed that this season will remain special.
As for the theme of the season, many have taken to social media to share their theories. The video announcing the new cast was set against a beach backdrop with waves lapping at the shore. Fans assumed this meant the new season would take place on water or that it would be a boat theme. The few places American Horror Story has never ventured are outer space and the sea. The idea of aliens was toyed with in Asylum, but we rarely saw them. It makes perfect sense that Ryan Murphy would want to take advantage of the mysteries of the ocean. Some even said that the Creature of the Black Lagoon would appear. However, Ryan Murphy sent theorists wild again when he revealed that the theme of the season might change due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
“A lot of what I was going to shoot was dependent on a very specific moment, it was a weather-dependent show,” Murphy said. “I don’t know if I’ll accelerate another season or wait till next year to shoot this one.”
What are your theories for the theme of season ten of American Horror Story? Do you think they’re sticking to the ocean or venturing into unknown territory by making the season pandemic themed? The new poster could indicate either decision or even a merge between the two.
