While FX’s American Horror Story has always had a passionate fan following, the series has also always had a good amount of detractors. Whereas many fans revel in just how creatively bonkers AHS seasons often get, many detractors find the show to be tonally all over the place, and sometimes downright hard to follow.
Perhaps the most divisive AHS season to date was last year’s season 6, which some viewers found to be a refreshingly original change of pace from previous seasons, and others found to be a confusing experience where character motivations sometimes seemed to flip on a dime. Still, Roanoke performed quite well in the ratings, enough to recently earn AHS a huge 3-season pick-up from FX, a deal which guarantees fans new blood-drenched episodes through at least 2019.
While last year’s Roanoke theme was infamously kept under wraps until the very last second, it now appears that no such long-term secrecy will be applied to this fall’s season 7. During an appearance Wednesday night on the Bravo talk show Watch What Happens Live (hat tip THR), AHS co-creator Ryan Murphy revealed that season 7 will be set during the contentious 2016 U.S. presidential election between Hillary Clinton and eventual winner Donald Trump. When asked by host Andy Cohen if there will be a character in season 7 directly based on Trump, Murphy responded with a simple “maybe.”
And with that announcement, Murphy may have already established season 7 - which he also revealed will begin filming in June - as the single most divisive entry in AHS history, many months before it will ever make air. It’s really not too surprising that Murphy would choose to adapt such a current political setting, as he’s never been shy about making his personal views known. Still, it’s quite possible that many regular AHS viewers might find themselves turned off by the focus on such a recent event that many Americans were more than happy to try and put behind them as soon as the votes were cast.
That aside, it’ll be interesting to see just how grounded in the real world American Horror Story season 7 ends up being. The series has always clearly taken place in a realm outside conventional reality, full of supernatural monsters and seemingly unchecked serial murderers. To that end, one does wonder whether direct Trump and Clinton counterpart characters will be featured, or whether Murphy and company will create their own pair of candidates that ran for president within their fictional universe.
American Horror Story season 7 premieres this fall on FX.
Source: THR
