Ryan Murphy says the next installment of the horror anthology series will be set in the future, something which he has never done with the show.
- Jan 6, 2018
AceShowbiz - "American Horror Story" will take you to the future when it returns for its eighth season sometime this year. Series co-creator Ryan Murphy revealed the surprising detail at the Television Critics Association's semi-annual press tour in Pasadena on late Friday, January 5.
Murphy leaves everyone more curious after revealing the setting as he refused to share other details. "All I'll say about it is I want to go to the future - still topical, but the future, which I've never done," he said. One thing for sure, it's not in outer space, he said.
Earlier that day at the cabler's presentation, FX chief John Landgraf said this regarding the next season of "AHS", "You'll have to ask Ryan Murphy." Apparently Landgraf just found out about the season 8 setting after the panel.
"I pitched it to John Landgraf today right after his TCA panel, and he loved it, but he's asked me not to say what it is," Murphy shared. "I told him and he fell out of his chair with joy. I think people will like it, it's different from what we've done before, but I always try and do the opposite of what I've done on that show."
Talking about the cast, Murphy was asked whether Evan Peters' role on Murphy's new FX drama "Pose" would prevent him from returning for the eighth season. "We haven't talked about that," he said. "I literally just pitched Landgraf what the next season was going to be about, and the writers' room on that show doesn't start until February. It's conceivable that they could overlap. I mean, Sarah Paulson has done two shows for me that were shooting at the same time. Usually, with the actors, I think of a role and then go to them and they either want to do it or not, so I haven't even talked to Evan about what the role might be, but I would hope so. I think so."
While there's not much he can share about season 8, Murphy said the ninth season which will be a crossover between "Murder House" (season 1) and "Coven" (season 3) had been further along in development. "We're working on it, but it's not going to be the next season," he stressed. "Next season is season 8, and it'll probably be the one after that. We've already met about it and outlined it, but it won't be next, because some of the people are not available."
As for the cast, he's optimistic many of the original stars, including Dylan McDermott, Connie Britton and Jessica Lange, will return for the crossover. "I want all of them," he said. "I want Dylan, and Connie and Jessica. They've all said - Kathy Bates, too - everybody who is involved in the show has always said, 'Yeah, that sounds like fun, let's get the band back together again.' So that is one of the reasons why the writing process of that season is taking longer because it's literally 25 people's schedules. But I'm hopeful they will all be back."
Meanwhile, talking about the Disney buyout of Fox, Murphy admitted he still had no idea how it would affect his shows. "I was not very prepared for what happened," he said at the TCA panel for his new FOX series "9-1-1". He added though, "I'm hopeful."
"The stuff that I do isn't specifically Disney," Murphy went on sharing, before jokingly contemplating, "I was concerned: Do I have to start putting Mickey Mouse in 'American Horror Story'?"
