Surprise, bitch: A new season of American Horror Story is on the horizon. Yes, Ryan Murphy's annual fright fest is coming back sometime this fall, and as usual we don't know much about what's ahead. Murphy is notoriously secretive about the AHS seasons; we often don't know the theme or the full cast or anything until roughly a month before the show's premiere.
That being said, there are some tidbits about the ninth installation that are trickling out. A few cast members have already confirmed their return, while others have announced they're sitting this season out. Murphy, who isn't that active on social media, has teased a few things on Instagram as well, including an official camera test featuring his main actors in costume. We may still be pretty much in the dark when it comes to American Horror Story season nine, but there's enough info out there to get fans excited.
So let's dig in, shall we? Here's everything we know about the latest season of AHS.
The first official trailer: FX released it on Monday, August 26. From the looks of it, we're in for a campy, Scream Queens-esque thrill ride.
The theme: Ryan Murphy unveiled the theme for AHS season nine on Wednesday, April 10. It's titled "1984" and appears to take place at a summer camp in—you guessed it—the 1980s. Based on this teaser, below, the season appears to be a riff on Friday the 13th.
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The premiere date: September 18, 2019, according to a tweeted posted June 24.
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The cast: The first confirmed cast members were Emma Roberts and Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy, who will play girlfriend and boyfriend, according to Murphy. Unfortunately, though, Evan Peters, who's been a staple on AHS since its inception, is not appearing on this season. He confirmed the news in April, telling Extra, "No, I'm going to sit this season out."
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It's been reported by Variety that Sarah Paulson, an AHS mainstay, will not be taking on a starring role in 1984. Paulson has been a key player in every AHS cycle since season two. (In the first season, she appeared in only three episodes.) However, it's still possible she might make a cameo appearance—Paulson hinted during an interview with Entertainment Tonight at the Toronto Film Festival that could be the case. "I may pop up," she teased. She also shared that she's been getting a little bit of FOMO hearing from the cast about the season.
"It's a little bittersweet because I have a lot of friends who are still on the show," she said. "So I'm getting updates about how it's all going and what they're doing, and I'm like, 'Wait, what? You worked until two? Oh, I remember working until two on that show." Still, there are a few parts she doesn't miss: "And then I'm also very glad that I can wake up at a decent hour because I'm not cross-eyed from having worked insane nights."
On July 11, Murphy made another AHS casting announcement on Instagram: We now know that Pose’s Angelica Ross and Glee's Matthew Morrison are joining the group. Zach Villa, DeRon Horton, John Carroll Lynch, Billie Lourd, Cody Fern, and Leslie Grossman are also going to play major roles in the upcoming episodes.
"To celebrate the first day of filming the NINTH Season of AMERICAN HORROR STORY, here's the official 1984 cast announcement along with some amazing 80s lewks. Enjoy!" Murphy wrote in the caption.
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The characters: "Apocalypse" saw the return of the "Coven" witches—including the true Supreme, Madison Montgomery—but they won't be hanging around for season nine. Fan-favorite characters have been known to make cameo appearances, but my prediction is we're looking at a slate of new narratives this time around.
The next season: AHS has been renewed for a 10th season, so we'll at have at least one more round of scares after season nine ends.
Of course, we'll update this post with more AHS information as it comes in.
Christopher Rosa is the entertainment staff writer at Glamour. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisrosa92.
