After almost complete radio silence since the finale of season 9, 1984, Ryan Murphy surprised fans everywhere yesterday when he posted an update on American Horror Story, his anthology series on FX, to his Instagram account. This wasn't just normal advertising, however; Murphy revealed the entire (we assume) main cast lineup for the upcoming 10th season.
His post, simply captioned #AHSSeason10, opens with a dark screen, quickly changing to an ominous video of a cloudy beach. The song "Dead of Night" by Orville Peck plays as text in the classic AHS font appears: actress and AHS constant Kathy Bates's name appears, quickly followed by a surprise to many fans: Macaulay Culkin.
For those who didn't immediately recognize the name, Culkin played the main character, Kevin McCallister, in the 1990 Christmas classic Home Alone, catapulting him to fame at a young age. Many viewers associate the actor with this film and the family-friendly genre, so it came as a surprise for many to see him listed as a cast member in American Horror Story.
Other surprising additions to the cast come in the form of Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson, AHS veterans who did not appear in the previous season. However, other than Culkin, there are no completely new names in the upcoming season's cast (so far). Returning cast members include Billie Lourd, Leslie Grossman, Lily Rabe, Adina Porter, Finn Wittrock, and Angelica Ross.
For any readers who are unfamiliar, American Horror Story features entirely new characters, stories, and locations each season, ranging from a haunted house to an insane asylum to a coven of witches and beyond. Actors who have been on the show for several years have played as many as half a dozen characters throughout the seasons, always extremely different from the last. In some cases, members of the cast of AHS may end up even playing several characters within a season. Since the show's first season in 2011, it has been experienced wide success, having been nominated for 95 Emmys over the past 9 years and winning 16.
There have been no official statements about the show's theme for this season, although there are dozens of theories circulating around the internet. With yesterday's post featuring a gloomy-looking beach, many fans are speculating that season 10 of AHS will have water as a main element of the story, potentially taking place in a coastal town or even underwater. Other theorists are reminded of ABC's 2004 drama LOST, and are guessing that the show will take place on a deserted island. Although nothing else about this season has been confirmed by Murphy, this initial cast trailer means that more clues will undoubtedly begin appearing in the following months, since the show's director has always been famously cryptic in the lead-up to the premiere of an American Horror Story season.
American Horror Story season 10 is expected to begin airing this fall on FX.
