In a surprise announcement, American Horror Story co-creator Ryan Murphy confirms that season 8 will be a crossover between Murder House and Coven. While American Horror Story has always been a show that thrived on chaos and confusion - usually in a good way - that sense of craziness extended out into the real world beginning with 2016’s season 6, eventually subtitled Roanoke. Murphy and company spent months teasing fans about the season’s subject matter, including dropping multiple fake promos intended to give a false idea of what was to come. The real theme of season 6 wasn’t even revealed until the first episode aired, an extreme level of secrecy for TV.
Last year’s AHS season 7 - subtitled Cult, and sporting a political bent - wasn’t quite as secretive, but still revealed very little about the plot or characters prior to the season premiere airing. Now, with the fall premiere of season 8 mere months away, fans find themselves in a state of confusion once again. Reports beginning in March suggested that season 8 would be subtitled Radioactive, and concern a nuclear apocalypse. These same reports also said that the setting would be the not too distant future of 2032.
Yet, just when fans may have started to look forward to that scenario, Ryan Murphy has swept the rug out from under their expectations yet again. This afternoon, Murphy tweeted the shocking declaration that the previously announced, hotly anticipated crossover season involving characters from both Murder House (season 1) and Coven (season 3) won’t be 2019’s season 9, as he’s said before. Instead, it’ll be happening this year, as American Horror Story season 8.
As one might imagine, many diehard American Horror Story devotees are currently reeling from this news, and now have all the more reason to look forward to this fall. That said, one wonders what this means for the Radioactive scenario mentioned above. Many fans had been intrigued by the idea, and it now seems like the whole thing might have been a ruse to throw fans off the scent of what was really taking place. Will season 8 still involve a nuclear apocalypse, or was that all just a smokescreen? As usual with Ryan Murphy, his reveals just lead to more questions.
Another big question going into the Murder House/Coven crossover story is whether this will be the season that finally gets former AHS leading lady Jessica Lange out of her self-imposed exile from the show and back playing within Murphy and company’s blood and sex-filled world. She left AHS after 2014’s Freak Show (season 4), and has said repeatedly that she has no plans to return. Yet, she was a huge part of both Murder House and Coven, albeit as two different characters. It’s hard to imagine revisiting those seasons without her. The same could be said about Connie Britton, who played a lead role in Murder House, then never came back. Confirmed cast members so far include Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates, Evan Peters, Joan Collins, Billy Eichner, Leslie Grossman, Adina Porter, Cheyenne Jackson, and Billie Lourd.
More: Should American Horror Story Be Canceled?
American Horror Story season 8 premieres this September on FX.
Source: Ryan Murphy
