New season, scares on ‘American Horror Story’
No spell could conjure more excitement for an upcoming season of FX’s “American Horror Story” than the piecemeal reveals of series co-creator Ryan Murphy.
After months of teasing audiences with speculation about the creepy eighth season, Murphy dropped the title and premise of the long-running anthology’s latest terror: the end of days.
Here’s what you should know about “American Horror Story: Apocalypse” ahead of its Sept. 12 premiere.
What is ‘Apocalypse’ about?
“Apocalypse” begins with a cataclysmic event in the not-too-distant future.
“The story begins with the end of the world, and then our world begins,” executive producer Alexis Martin Woo-
dall revealed at the Television Critics
Association.
It’s a crossover between the anthology series’ spooky inaugural season, retroactively dubbed “Murder House,” and its bewitching third season, “Coven.”
“Murder House” was about the ghosts and new residents of an L.A. Victorian mansion. “Coven” expanded the mythology by adding New Orleansbased witches (and Stevie Nicks) to an ever-growing universe.
Tonally, this season will return to the dramatic and whiplash-inducing turns that made the early series’ stakes even higher, Murphy said.
“It’s heightened,” he said about the eighth season. “It’s not necessarily as real and grounded as the past season (‘Cult’). We’re sort of getting back to ‘Asylum’ and ‘Coven.’ That’s the tone of it.”
But isn’t it an anthology?
The series has featured a roster of actors portraying different characters. The stories change with each season, with a few fleeting callbacks to previous iterations.
Ahead of Season Four in 2014, Murphy revealed that “they’re all connected,” binding the story lines to a shared universe. Since that admission, several characters have made appearances across seasons. The heroine of “Asylum,” Lana Winters, popped into “Roanoke’s” season finale, “Coven’s” human voodoo doll Queenie was unceremoniously
‘American Horror Story: Apocalypse’
Premieres 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12. killed off in “Hotel” and “Freak Show’s” frightening Twisty the Clown popped in as a comic book character in “Cult.” So it’s possible that characters from “Murder House” and “Coven” (and anything since) could pop up in Murphy’s spellbinding dimension.
Who’s definitely coming back?
Likely the biggest coup is scoring a guest spot from Jessica Lange, who hasn’t been featured in the series since she sang David Bowie bops in “Freak Show.” She’ll return as Constance Langon, the deadly neighbor from “Murder House,” who was last seen nurturing her grandson, Michael, revealed to be the Antichrist. A grown-up Michael will be played by Cody Fern.
The Hollywood Reporter announced Aug. 23 Lange’s fellow “Murder House” stars Dylan McDermott and Connie Britton would pop up. The pair played the beleaguered Harmons who set to make a new life for themselves in the haunted house with their daughter, played by Taissa Farmiga.
Britton hasn’t been a part of the series since “Murder House” after her character died giving birth to the Antichrist. McDermott, whose character also bit the dust in the inaugural cycle, recurred in the following season, “Asylum.” Both of their characters’ spirits were trapped within the confines of the Harmon mansion by the end of the season.
Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters, who have appeared in every season of the show, will appear and direct episodes for “Apocalypse.”
Paulson plays “Murder House” psychic Billie Dean Howard (last seen in “Hotel”) and Supreme witch Cordelia Goode from “Coven” in addition to a new character.
She’ll be joined by fellow witches last seen in Season Three. Farmiga, Lily Rabe, Emma Roberts, Gabourey Sidibe, Frances Conroy and even Stevie Nicks are reprising their roles. A beguiling wrinkle, considering Rabe, Roberts, Sidibe and Conroy’s characters were killed off in the “AHS” mythos.
Murphy posted a photo of the coven (and Nicks) to Twitter Sunday afternoon, adding it had been a “thrilling night” on set.
Peters will play a “comedic hair stylist” who is joined by his grandmother, played by “Dynasty” legend Joan Collins. He’ll also return to his original role as Tate Langdon, Murphy posted Aug. 28.
Other returning cast members include heavy hitters Kathy Bates, Adina Porter, Leslie Grossman, Billy Eichner, Cheyenne Jackson and Billie Lourd. Newbies like “Pose” cast member Billy Porter, “Unreal” regular Jeffrey BowyerChapman and “The Path’s” Kyle Allen are set to appear. Murphy is also courting Anjelica Huston for a guest spot.