Ryan Murphy clarifies there will be TWO seasons of American Horror Story this year

Creator of American Horror Story Ryan Murphy has revealed there will be two seasons of the hit show this year – after the COVID-19 pandemic stalled production in 2020. 

The TV powerhouse took to social media on Friday to announce the title of the 10th season – which switches themes every year.

Via a teaser video of a creepy-looking beach, Murphy revealed the series would be titled American Horror Story: Double Feature.

Reaction to this was mixed among the fans; past seasons have been titled using traditional horror tropes such as AHS: Cult, AHS: Coven and AHS: Freak Show.

Unsure about the confusing ‘Double Feature’ subtitle, Murphy’s followers pressed him in the comments under the announcement, begging for elaboration.

One fan got a reply, with Murphy explaining: ‘It means TWO SEASONS for the fans airing in one calendar year! So double the viewing pleasure. One set by the sea (this cast already announced). A second by the sand (that cast announcment coming).’

American Horror Story last aired in 2019, with its ninth season AHS: 1984. This was set at a summer camp and followed an 80s slasher theme.

The 10th season has dropped a few clues here and there over the past months, namely that it’s set on the coast, involves a creature with sharp teeth, and features a pair of strange-looking men who stalk the streets at night.

The cast list was also revealed, and includes Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Adina Porter, Lily Rabe, Finn Wittrock, Frances Conroy, Leslie Grossman, and Macaulay Culkin.

Murphy’s latest elaboration suggests a second, completely different, cast is about to be unveiled, and that they’ve been working on the show, in secret, already.

It’s unclear which cast is linked to the ‘sea’ theme and which is linked to the ‘sand’, and whether there will be any crossover.

AHS is known to merge characters and storylines from other seasons together now and again, suggesting this might happen.

Also ambiguous is whether one of these seasons will be classed as season 10, and the other season 11. The release date – typically September – was also withheld.

The teaser announcement ended with ‘more to come…’

Actress Lily Rabe – who has appeared in eight of the nine seasons to date – recently said of the 10th run: ‘I think the fact we get to have so many of the same people returning this season, there is this feeling of coming home.

‘You get to tell a new story, play a new part, but the backbone of the thing is solid. It is wonderful getting into the sandbox again and have Ryan at the helm.

‘I’m excited about this season, and I’m not alone in that. You can feel the energy on set. It’s just like it felt on season one.’

She added, of her new character: ‘I love this season. I’m really excited about this season. Sister Mary Eunice was my favorite [role], probably, until this current season.’

The cast typically rotate around the AHS universe, playing a new role each year. Sometimes characters crop up more than once, with Rabe’s nun, Sister Mary Eunice, appearing in AHS: Asylum and ASH: Freak Show.

The stars are currently in Provincetown, Massachusetts – chosen for its ocean-side setting.

While ‘Double Feature’ gives little away, fans have speculated for months what the nautical setting could mean. Many believe the ‘sea’ element could be a nod to mermaids or a more sinister sea creature; ‘sand’ has prompted theories that the story could centre around the Lady Of The Dunes, who was murdered in July 1974 in Provincetown.

Her body has been exhumed three times since – in 1980, 2000, and 2013 – in an attempt to ID her killer, but this has never been achieved.

Another of the show’s stars, Angelica Ross, teased fans with the following tweet: ‘This season of AHS is going to be too scary for me to watch. It’s easier to film but YIKES I know a lot of y’all are going to LOVE it, but it’s creepy AF!’

While Sarah Paulson told Entertainment Weekly last month: ‘The character I’m playing this year has some issues, let’s just put it that way. 

‘I have a hair color I’ve never had in life nor in the show. That’s what I can tell you. And I have a great name… which I can’t tell you!’

Finn Whitrock – who first appeared on the show in AHS: Freak Show and last appeared in AHS: 1984 – recently said: ‘I think this is okay to say – I think the suspense in this and the tight, constrained nature of the story is different than other seasons.

‘I was really interested in trying to mount the pressure in the right way, if that makes sense. [Season 10 is] different in tone than a lot of the [others]. What’s fun about this show is that no two things are ever the same. You just never know what you’re gonna get.’

The only glimpse of characters fans have seen have come in the form of Frances Conroy, Leslie Grossman, and Macaulay Culkin.

Conroy featured briefly in a FX teaser in a role no-one recognised, suggesting it could be her AHS 10 character; while Culkin and Grossman posed for an Instagram snap earlier this month in quirky garb on a beach, while filming the new season.