Weeks after COVID-19 shut down productions worldwide, Ryan Murphy admits that he has been contemplating between pushing production back by a year or changing theme.

• May 6, 2020

AceShowbiz - The coronavirus pandemic has forced TV guru Ryan Murphy to rethink the plot for the next season of "American Horror Story" because the shoot was "weather-dependent".

The writer/producer had been gearing up to start work on the 10th season of the hit drama show when the COVID-19 crisis hit in March, shutting down productions worldwide.

It's still unknown when filming will be able to resume, and as a result, Murphy has been debating whether to push production back by a year, or change the theme of season 10 completely so he and his cast and crew can begin shooting new episodes of the anthology series when U.S. authorities lift lockdown restrictions.

"A lot of what I was going to shoot was dependent on a very specific moment, it was a weather-dependent show," Murphy told TheWrap. "So now I don't know (what will happen with season 10)... I don't know if I'll accelerate another season or wait till next year to shoot this one."

He continued, "You know, nobody (from the FX network) so far has called me up and said, 'OK, we have a plan to move forward for shooting'. So until that day, everybody is kind of on pause."

"I honestly don't know (what we'll do). But it's a great season and I know all the actors are chomping at the bit to get into it, so that's all I know."

Murphy has been keeping details about the next "American Horror Story" run under wraps, although prior to the Hollywood shutdown, he did confirm the return of franchise regulars Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates, Evan Peters, Leslie Grossman, and Billie Lourd, as well as the involvement of special guest Macaulay Culkin.

He shared the casting news via Instagram back in February, when he appeared to hint at a beach theme by unveiling each name against a backdrop featuring waves crashing on the sand as Orville Peck's "Dead of Night" played over the footage.

Season 10 had been due to premiere later this year.