‘American Horror Story’ Season 11: What Fans Need to Know
After the mixed reactions to American Horror Story: Double Feature, we’re ready for American Horror Story Season 11 to blow us away like the first 9 seasons did.
FX chairman John Landgraf praised Ryan Murphy and Brad Fulchuk as “the undisputed masters of horror TV, having created the anthological limited series with American Horror Story and sustaining its success for nearly a decade as FX’s highest-rated series.” We’re hoping Season 11 reinforces this high standard they’ve set for themselves.
Here is everything we know so far on what is to come on this season of American Horror Story.
American Horror Story Season 10 Recap
American Horror Story generally receives almost unquestioned acclaim among fans and critics alike. However, American Horror Story Season 10 premiered to mixed reviews.
Season 10 was called “Double Feature” because instead of focusing on one self-contained story, the season was split into two unconnected vignettes. The first half was called Red Tide and was episodes 1 through 6.
Red Tide follows a family that heads to Provincetown, Massachusetts to get a fresh start. The husband, Henry, is a writer that needs to finish his latest pilot and the mother, Doris, is processing a recent miscarriage.
Henry discovers that in this town, there’s a Chemist that creates black pills called “The Muse” that magnify your talent.
Just as long as you feed the Muse with human blood.
Season 10: Part 2 was called Death Valley and was episodes 7 through 10.
Death Valley switches back and forth from the years of President Eisenhower’s presidency to the modern-day. You discover that in exchange for technological advances, the United States government has a contract with aliens that they can abduct 5,000 people per year to experiment on in exchange for giving the government technological advances.
In the modern-day, three students go out to the same desert to go camping. They become impregnated by the aliens and will soon uncover the nasty truth about the aliens’ plot.
American Horror Story Season 11 Plot
Ryan Murphy, the creative mind behind American Horror Story, is well known for keeping the subject of each season under wraps. However, he posted a poll on Twitter in April 2021 asking the fans what they hoped to see in future seasons.
The poll is now deleted, so we never knew what choice definitively won out, but the choices were:
- Aliens
- Christmas Horror
- Bloody Mary
- Piggy Man
- Sirens
- Plague
Sirens and Bloody Mary were the most popular before the poll was removed from social media. Aliens played a large role in the previous season, so it’s unlikely we’ll see them back again so soon.
But Murphy never specified what this topic was for; was it for American Horror Story Season 11, or for the spin-off, American Horror Stories?
Is there an additional spinoff or a feature film in the works? Is he even planning on using the results of the poll at all?
We’re just going to have to wait to find out.
American Horror Story Season 11 Cast
American Horror Story uses anthology storytelling and generally keeps the same cast members from season to season. While some of the actors stay the same, they play completely different characters every time a new season rolls around.
Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, and Lily Rabe have appeared in almost all 10 seasons to date. However, we may have seen the last of Sarah Paulson in regards to her involvement in the series.
During an interview with Andy Cohen, she admitted, “It’s the first time in about three years where I don’t know. I think this is my last season of Horror Story, probably. I mean, I don’t know. Every time he comes to me with some whack-a-doodle-stoodle character I tend to be like, ‘Yes! Let’s do it!’ But I don’t know.”
While she says she may not return, there’s always the possibility of at least some level of involvement. Since Season 1, she’s been a fan favorite, but the show has opened up other opportunities for her, such as starring in the Hulu original Run and playing Nurse Mildred Ratched in Ratched. It wouldn’t be surprising if she left the show in order to pursue more opportunities.
Frances Conroy follows close behind the top three, appearing in 8 seasons. Denis O’Hare appears in 6, and Jessica Lange, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Adina Porter, Emma Robers, Jamie Brewer, and Finn Wittrock appear in 5. Newcomers to American Horror Story Season 11 like Macaulay Culkin could potentially return, as his character was well-liked among fans.
We could also see actors from the spinoff American Horror Stories join the main show. Maybe stars like Billie Lourd, who were only in a few seasons, will come back for more.
American Horror Story Season 11 Release Date
2020 messed with a lot of films and TV show release dates, even ones that had maintained their release schedule for nearly a decade. Since the first season in 2011, American Horror Story has premiered every year without fail in either September or October on FX with the finale premiering before Christmas.
2020 was the first year no new American Horror Story season appeared. Double Feature premiered in August 2021.
With that being said, we’re hoping that American Horror Story Season 11 will return to the original release schedule of early fall in 2022 and we won’t have to miss another year. And we won’t have to worry that AHS Season 11 is the end; FX renewed the show for three more seasons, taking us to Season 13!
Are you excited for the next American Horror Story? What is your favorite season of the series? Sound off in our comment section below!
I will watch AHS Season 11, but I’m a little apprehensive because I was not a fan last season. “Red Tide” had some promise, but I found “Death Valley” strangely both boring and too bizarre.