Here’s everything we know about American Horror Story: Double Feature before its premiere

Ahh, American Horror Story. A tumultuous show of chaos and varying quality that has dominated our screens for the last 10 years, with huge Emmy and Global Globe award winning highs and bad critical and fan reception rock bottom lows. The last season, AHS: 1984, was a new low for the franchise that barely even felt like the show Ryan Murphy created back in 2011. But it’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, and the trailer for American Horror Story: Double Feature is finally here. And it looks like a major return to form.

As usual with the lead up to an American Horror Story season, details on what horrors will be unfolding have been kept tightly under wraps. We’ve had the usual visually arresting, maximalist posters and some behind the scenes cast pics tweeted by Murphy, but it’s all stayed rather mysterious. With the American Horror Story: Double Feature trailer finally out, we’ve got our first terrifying glimpse of what’s in store this year – and it looks harrowing. Here’s everything we know so far.

For the first time ever, the season will be split into half with two themes

Two themes, one season. The first half of the season, which will be the initial six episodes, has the name Red Tide, and the final four episodes is titled Death Valley. Red Tide takes place by the sea, Death Valley by the sand. Coast and desert. Very exciting stuff.

So far, the trailer we have is only for Red Tide, and it looks the scariest American Horror Story has been in a long time. Gone is the camp and the whimsy, and in is the spooks, the foreboding and the menace. Red Tide takes place in Provincetown, and is centred on Harry, his pregnant wife Doris and their daughter, Alma moving to town and mingling with the locals. Harry is a writer struggling with writer’s block, and meets with other local writers to combat his writer’s block amidst a menacing threat that seems vampiric in nature. Murphy has previously implied the season’s creatures would be sirens, the alluring sea monsters that lure sailors to their deaths. The setting looks gorgeously eerie – gloomy, seaside coast in winter and the writer theme with the bad weather is giving major The Shining vibes. Horror by the sea is always so effective.

Death Valley we know next to nothing about, but we do know that it will centre around an alien plot and is highly rumoured to have the cast starring as real historical figures including John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe.

The cast is absolutely incredible and full of AHS legends

Lily Rabe is straight in with a main role as Doris, and it’s what she deserves for being such an American Horror Story icon over the years. Rabe has previously played Sister Mary Eunice in Asylum, Misty Day in Coven and Shelby Miller in Roanoke amongst other smaller roles. Finn Wittrock is back as Harry – in his first AHS lead role since his debut as Dandy Mott in Freak Show.

Frances Conroy plays mysterious writer Belle Noir, and it’s likely to be another amazing character to her list of classics like Moira in Murder House and Myrtle Snow in Coven and Apocalypse. Evan Peters is also back (thank GOD) with a main role, after being American Horror Story’s main man for Murder House, Asylum, Coven, Freak Show, Hotel, Roanoke and Cult. The show just isn’t right without him and Sarah Paulson, who’s also back in a role we know only as ‘TB Karen’, but from the trailer it seems like another manic entrance to her cast of characters.

Billie Lourd, Leslie Grossman, Angelica Ross, Denis O’Hare, Adina Porter and John Carroll Lynch are all also returning to American Horror Story with Double Feature, as well as newcomers Neal McDonough and MACAULEY CULKIN. Also randomly confirmed to have a part is RuPaul’s Drag Race icon Chad Michaels, which is perhaps the best thing I’ve ever heard.

Does it connect to other seasons?

We don’t know any details on this yet, but I’d hedge my bets on the answer being yes. American Horror Story has been world building for years now, with most seasons having crossovers and easter eggs. So it’s highly likely.

When is it starting and how can we watch in the UK?

American Horror Story: Double Feature is premiering on 25th August on FX in the US, but it’s still unconfirmed what channel will be its UK home. However, UK viewers can watch the episode directly after if they have the streaming service Hulu – of which there is a free trial if you haven’t made the most of that already. The new spin off mini anthology show American Horror Stories is on Hulu too, so you can get the most of your spooky fix.

Ryan Murphy has said previously that there is potential for American Horror Story: Double Feature to be the last in the series, but FX has renewed the show now through to season 13. It will be interesting to see how the two themes in one season works for the show, as a frequent criticism of American Horror Story is how the seasons start strong then drift off into chaos and bad plotting. Perhaps with the double theme, the plots will resolve swiftly and more efficiently. Time will tell.

Watch the trailer for American Horror Story: Double Feature here:

Seasons one to eight of American Horror Story are streaming now on Netflix. For all the latest Netflix news, drops and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.

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