A haunted “murder house” where ghosts kill people, a carnival nightmare full of terrifying clowns, a coven of scheming witches, the 2016 presidential election. Each of these scenarios is now, officially, an American horror story.
Last Wednesday on an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, American Horror Story producer Ryan Murphy revealed the show’s seventh season will be based around the recent presidential election.
Though he admits he doesn’t yet have a title, Murphy says the new installment will begin shooting in June. With fingers laced under his chin and the faintest hint of a grin, he states that the theme will be “interesting for a lot of people.” Well Mr. Murphy, that’s for sure.
American Horror Story has had a curious run. Quickly gaining a cultish following after its successful premiere season, the show has since released seasons that often prove polarizing. This is unsurprising as each theme is unique and presents an original storyline. Though there have been subtle connections between installments proving that many of the plots existed within the same universe, for the most part they remain their own individual entity. Any fan has a favorite and least-favorite season and there are countless listicles ranking the seasons from best to worst. Yet even though the seasons are so diverse, the show has managed to maintain high ratings throughout its six-year run. The program “has ranked among cable’s Top 5 scripted series for the year in which it aired, with [it’s most recent season] Roanoke ranking No. 3 among the 215 cable scripted series broadcast in 2016,” according to tvline.com.
With such a high rate of success, it’s unsurprising producers are hungry for a theme to ensure an excess of viewing numbers, and they’ve surely found one. Though an election-themed cycle runs a high risk of being in bad taste, it’s a surefire way to get people paying attention.
The obvious ploy for viewers immediately feels like a desperate plea for attention, Murphy being the boy who cried, “Trump.” It’s a stark contrast to seasons of the past, which have all revolved around a more traditionally spooky theme.
This bold, attention-grabbing decision making is not new for AHS. I mean, who could forget when star Jessica Lange left the show and producers decided to remedy the situation by throwing Lady Gaga in the mix to see what would happen. The result? It proved one of the show’s less favored seasons, but somehow secured a Golden Globe for Gaga.
Murphy does love turning his work into a spectacle; remember how many guest stars were in Glee? Extra points if you can recall those two seasons of Murphy’s strange competitive reality show, The Glee Project.
It’s unclear at this point whether this bold thematic choice will prove successful. A lot can happen politically between now and the season’s premiere, and it will be interesting to see how the producers handle changes in the political climate as time inches further and further from the actual election.
There have been a lot of amazing, multi-faceted villains throughout AHS‘s run. Infantata, Twisty the Clown, Delphine LaLaurie, and the Devil himself, just to name a few. It’s safe to assume the next villain won’t need a scary mask or special effects — an ill-fitting suit and an orange wig will probably do the trick.
