The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
FX SHOW’S SCARY NEW PLOT STILL A SECRET.
The sixth season of “American Horror Story” is nearly upon us, so why don’t we know anything about where the show is headed? Each season of the anthology series revolves around a different, chilling story — a haunted house, a mental institution, a coven of witches — but the theme for the new installment remains tightly under wraps.
“All I can say is there is a theme,” FX’s John Landgraf said this month during the Television Critics Association press tour. “But we’re not going to reveal it because we think it would be fun for the audience.”
Fun? That’s debatable. But it’s definitely kept people talking, which means it could provide a road map for how other anthology series can stay relevant during the offseason — and get viewers coming back for more.
Needless to say, fans have been hard at work coming up with theories leading up to the Sept. 14 premiere. Show creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk will certainly be focusing on a cult, some are convinced. Others are betting on extraterrestrials. The only certainty: How smart it was to keep the next saga a secret.
With a traditional series, a cliffhanger season-ender is a surefire way to boost season premiere ratings; it also keeps chatter going long after the finale has aired. Just look at the insanity that ensued when “Game of Thrones” fans weren’t sure whether Jon Snow was dead or alive. Even actor Kit Harington’s hairstyles were cause for speculation. “The Walking Dead’s” Andrew Lincoln, meanwhile, says he can’t leave his house without someone quizzing him about which mystery person was murdered during the last scene of Season 6.
But anthology series can’t use that tactic, because each season is a self-contained story. Actors on “American Horror Story” might return, but they play a new character each time (or, in the case of Sarah Paulson, conjoined twins for “American Horror Story: Freak Show”).
Actors are one element of the show that has been confirmed, at least. Lady Gaga, who won a Golden Globe this year for her performance in “American Horror Story: Hotel,” will be back for Season 6. So will Paulson, Angela Bassett, Evan Peters, Denis O’Hare and Matt Bomer, among others.
Landgraf and Murphy have revealed only the tiniest bits of information. There’s a forest involved, two different time periods and some kids. That’s not much to go on, but it’s enough for the fans who make speculation a sport.
The showrunners have also deliberately confused fans. More than a dozen teasers have been released so far, but there doesn’t seem to be a common thread, except for the logo: a question mark next to the number 6. (Very cheeky, FX.) In one, a tarantula crawls out of a woman’s mouth; in another, a nurse, walking around a floor covered in human teeth, cuts down a wind chime. There are also aliens, creepy scarecrow people and a campy swamp thing.
Whatever you do, don’t read too much into any of the videos.
“They went out and made many more trailers than you’ve actually seen for hypothetical seasons of ‘American Horror Story,’” Landgraf said. “One of them is accurate.”