AHS News & Updates

Chairman of FX Networks John Landgraf confirmed the news to press yesterday, ahead of the Disney upfront presentation, Deadline reports: "Coming in July, exclusively for FX on Hulu is American Horror Stories, a spin-off of our long-running, award-winning hit series American Horror Story.”

The first season of the American Horror Story sister show consists of eight standalone episodes, each ‘delving into horror myths, legends, and lore’, according to show co-creator Ryan Murphy. 

Opening with a Halloween-themed two-parter set at the infamous Murder House, fans will see the return of several fan favorite characters (or ghosts), as well as the introduction of brand-new characters played by the likes of acting newcomer Kaia Gerber, as well as Paris Jackson, Sierra McCormick, Matt Bomer, Merrin Dungey, and more.

While an exact premiere date has not yet been announced, the series is expected to debut on Wednesday, July 7 on FX on Hulu in the United States, as well as on Disney+ Star internationally. 

Having portrayed six characters on the show so far, Lily revealed that she’d always been adamant that Asylum’s Sister Mary Eunice was her favorite of the bunch. That is, until she began playing her latest role: 

“I can’t tell you anything [about Season 10], but I can tell you that we were just filming in Provincetown, I was just there, it’s very beautiful, that’s all I can tell you. I love this season, I’m really excited about this season... Sister Mary Eunice was my favorite [character] probably, until this current season.” 

Based on recent filming reports, we know that Lily is playing the mother of Ryan Kiera Armstrong’s character, with Finn Wittrock playing the father. She was also pictured wearing a prosthetic baby bump (see picture below).

American Horror Story season ten is likely to debut on FX in early September, although nothing official has been announced regarding a specific air date.

Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! How did your involvement with American Horror Story begin? Were you a fan of the show beforehand?

Thanks, it's one of my favorite projects to have been a part of, so happy to talk about AHS!

I've loved the genre of horror my whole life, to me it's the one genre that you can push all emotions to their limits, and explore the human experience on a much deeper level than other genres. I think this accounts for some of the greatest stories being so horrific in nature: because it's innately human. This also accounts for the genre having the most lame movies too, haha, because it prompts storytellers to try to push boundaries, and oftentimes there's no reason to push a boundary if there's nothing substantive behind it. I think with American Horror Story though, that's not the case. It's deep, it's intricate, and it's very culturally significant.

I had seen the first season on television, and I remember thinking beforehand, 'this is going to be lame, you can't go as deep with TV as you can with an R rated film...' man was I wrong. It pushed boundaries and asked dark, human questions, all while staying relevant and mysterious. I never once thought that they were holding back due to it being on television.

As for the beginnings of my involvement with the franchise, that actually starts with my parent's love of genre films. When I was a kid they would take me to conventions, like Comic-Con, to learn more about film making and meet the cast and crews of various films. That's where my love of design came from. When I was in college, my Dad met Heather Langenkamp at a horror convention, and told her about my pursuit of concept art when I was going to school in Los Angeles. Heather was really kind, and said that when I graduate, I should send her my portfolio; her and her husband, David Anderson, own the legendary special FX studio, AFX. When I graduated in 2014 I did exactly that, they loved my work, and they hired me to work on American Horror Story: Hotel which would come out later that year. Since then, they've hired me to work on the next 3 seasons, I've also been hired by 20th Century Fox on 2 seasons, and by legendary Costume Designer Lou Eyrich for 2 seasons. I'm very fortunate and always have a blast working with the diverse teams that bring AHS to life.

Starting with American Horror Story: Hotel, you were part of the design process for the Addiction Demon [see above]. Can you talk about that? It was such an obscene being, but at the same time so true to form for the show.

Ah yes, the lovely Addiction Demon. That's one hell of a design to have worked on, ha.

I read that part of the script with David Anderson at AFX Studio, as they would be building the prosthetics, and the infamous 'drilldo'. He looked at me and just, 'alright, do your thing, make it horrific.' And that's what I did. I've seen people in the throes of addiction, and actually lost a good friend in my teen years to drug addiction, so when designing the Demon, I wanted it to be really visceral, painful to even look at. In the script, the Demon rapes a character, and as horrific of a concept as that is, I knew that it's one of those concepts that fits with AHS; pushing the limits, but for a good reason. That's exactly what addiction is: you think it's going to be like great consensual sex when it starts, but quickly the Addiction Demon materializes and it has its way with you whether you like it or not. Truly disgusting, but that's what I thought the design should encompass. So I sketched about 20 different versions, and 1 of those versions stuck, and we decided to take that one further. I sculpted the final design in Zbrush, and that's the concept that Ryan Murphy picked. The brilliant team at AFX brought it to life, and that's the demon you see in the show.

You also produced fantastic concept artwork for Lady Gaga’s character’s chain mail glove [see above], alongside costume designer Lou Eyrich and designer Michael Schmidt. How did that design develop? Was it fun designing for Gaga?

Thanks! Yes that might actually be my favorite piece I worked on. Lou Eyrich and Michael Schmidt were awesome, I think we came up with an iconic piece that's uniquely elegant and fit for a horror queen. It was very motivating knowing that it would be worn by Gaga, so as I was translating Michael's sketch, I wanted to maintain a balance of stylishness and darkness, something that both Lady Gaga and American Horror Story is known for. It was incredible to see it in the posters. Definitely a highlight for me.

Moving on to American Horror Story: Roanoke, you produced terrifyingly good concept art for another one of the show’s iconic villains, the Piggyman entity [see above]. Since that same figure was also featured in the first season, did you look back for inspiration?

Great question, because for Piggyman I was back at AFX Studio, working on the design with David Anderson, and we certainly had a lot of the same inspiration and ideas on how to do the design justice for such a horrific piece. There was a lot of shocking content surrounding him, like pig fetuses and butchery, and we just went all out on letting the character bathe in so much debauchery. It was also really fascinating to be designing while their FX team was sculpting the prosthetics (the production schedule was very intense), and I got to see sculptor Glen Eisner working on the pig head and stomach pieces in clay, only a few days after I had worked on the concept art. Incredible process.

On the same season you collaborated quite closely with the makeup department to design concept art for some of the season’s makeup looks, including illustrations for Kathy Bates’ and Finn Wittrock’s characters [see above]. Wittrock played incestuous hillbilly Jether Polk and the final product was quite frightening. How did that process go?

Also a really fun process, I got to meet some of the actors as they came in for face castings, while I was deforming their faces in the concept art- I almost felt guilty! We pulled a lot of inspiration from medical journals relating to birth defects, and we stayed pretty close to reality, as we saw fit for the Roanoke season. I was also busy terrorizing Kathy Bates image while designing what the character's demise would look like. Since there are a lot of complicated practical effects involved in the gory scenes, we spent time illustrating what the wounds would look like ahead of time. By the end of it, I had like 2 full pages of various gory ways Kathy Bates could meet her end that we presented to production, and they chose one of the most horrific ways that fit with the script (of course). Hopefully Kathy is used to it after so many years as a horror icon!

Arguably your most prolific designs for the show were for season seven, Cult. You produced some stunning concept art for the clown masks and general appearance [see above], some of which weren’t seen in the show but absolutely should’ve been. They look slightly ‘mechanical’. What was Ryan Murphy’s pitch there?

Completely agree, I really love the final designs. Unfortunately, for as much art as I did for this season, none of my designs fit the script well enough, I just couldn't hit the mark, and so my work did not make it to production. It happens, and that's why there are many artists on a project! I appreciate you saying they should have been in the show though! I think I focussed too much on the clown/mask angle, and less on the political/cultish angle, which is where the magic of that script was. In true American Horror Story form, it is a cultural commentary on the times, and I feel I was not paying as much attention as I could have. That being said though, I had a blast working with the crew at AFX Studio again, and we worked on a lot of pieces that at least helped move production forward. Sometimes it's useful to see a design that's not quite right, just to move the production in the right direction.

The last season you worked on was of course the crossover season, Apocalypse, for which you designed the Outpost Three hazmat suits [see above]. The plague doctor influences in those designs was a stroke of genius. How was it blending dystopia with 17th century Europe? Also, were you aware that Apocalypse was the crossover season when you started work on it?

I think I got my mojo back on this season, since not only were my illustrations on those hazmat suits finalized for the script, but I was also able to do some of the 3D modeling for the Plague Doctor masks that were 3D printed and worn by the cast as props in the show. That was a really rewarding experience, and I was working under Lou Eyrich again who is the genius behind the blend of dystopia and 17th Century Europe that characterizes Apocalypse. We did probably about 50 different sketches of those suits, and explored such a wide variety of directions and blends of dated technologies, medieval influences, hazmat suits, and gas masks. When we had a solid direction, I did a tighter illustration of a generic suit that could be worn by any one of those characters (one of the keys to the design was that they could be worn by several different body types, as per the script), and then did a final piece that showed Kathy Bates wearing the mask. I'm really pleased to have come up with the idea of the 'plastic plague doctor' design, and thrilled to see it on screen.

I wasn't aware that it was the crossover season either, I wasn't given that part of the script, but that let me watch the revelation in real time with the rest of the world!

Lastly, would you like to design for American Horror Story again in the future? What is your “dream theme” that you’d like the show to explore?

Absolutely I would love to return some day and help flesh out some new designs. Some of the later seasons have been less concept-heavy, but I've also had to pass on the work as I've been involved in other projects, and of course have been busy helping found my current company, Aliza Technologies.

But you never know what the future holds!

As for a 'dream theme', that's such a good question because I feel there are so many interesting directions the show could take. They've built such a rich world where stories can take place across a range of time periods and genres, and that's a real gift to horror fans. One of the elements I really love about AHS is that when it delves into the supernatural, it does it in a really measured way. I've always found ghost stories to be a little bland and heavy-handed, but since AHS is so nuanced in its supernatural material, especially in season 1, I think it would be really interesting to see them go the heavy handed way, lead the audience down a super super-natural route for half a season, and then absolutely pull the rig from underneath them halfway through, and have a natural explanation for all the 'supernatural' elements. It would be a complete mind-f**k, like 'wait, there were no ghosts at all??' and have that realization be even more horrifying. I'm no writer, but I think a concept like that could be really interesting... Also set the mystery across several different generations so that the supernatural explanation is more appropriate for an older generation, and is busted open by the modern take. Image what the flashback reveals could look like, and imagine the types of 'ghosts' I could illustrate...

Thanks for the questions, now I'm off to do some script-writing myself...

(Also, special mention to Eryn Krueger Mekash and Mike Mekash who designed the makeup looks!)

Xander’s links:

Official Website: https://www.xandersmithdesign.com/

ArtStation: https://www.artstation.com/xandersmith

Behance: https://www.behance.net/XanderSmithDesign

Shooting for American Horror Story Season 10 (working title: Pilgrim) was originally scheduled to begin in Provincetown over March-April 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic caused major filming delays. 

Sources at Cape Cod Times have now confirmed that scenes for the upcoming season will be shot in P-Town between the months of February-March 2021:

Producer Ryan Murphy’s company is looking to film on the Cape’s tip early next year for what appears to be the 10th season of American Horror Story. 

The town received an application for a film permit from 20th Century Fox to film “Pilgrim,” a Ryan Murphy production, in February or March, according to Provincetown tourism director Anthony Fuccillo.

Little is known about how Provincetown — the original landing place of the pilgrims in 1920 — plays into the plot of the upcoming season, though hints from show creator Ryan Murphy seem to suggest a winter setting. 

An early report from Cape Cod Times earlier this year also provided some interesting details as to what the production team plan to shoot in P-Town:

They seek to film at the end of March and in April at various spots, including dunes, beaches, streets and private properties in town, Tourism Director Anthony Fuccillo said.

The list of locations has fluctuated — at times including more than 17 spots — but still has not been finalized, he said.

On Wednesday, location scout Tiffany Kinder went before the Cemetery Commission to talk about shooting in one of the town’s cemeteries.

The commission asked that the production be respectful to the deceased and follow cemetery rules.

“I’ve filmed in a lot of cemeteries over the years, so obviously we understand how sensitive it is and how one needs to be respectful,” Kinder said.

Kinder, who has signed a nondisclosure agreement, could not talk about specifics of the show but did give the commission some context on what 20th Century Fox wanted to do in a cemetery.

“We’re not zooming in on any stone or anyone’s resting place,” she said. “It’s a location, and people are literally walking through the cemetery and being followed and then we pop out on to the street and start walking up the street.”

Expected to air in Fall 2021, filming for American Horror Story Season 10 began on the FOX Studio Lot in Los Angeles, California on December 2. The story itself, however, is known to be set (at least partly) in Provincetown. 

Monét X Change (real name Kevin Bertin) confessed that she auditioned for AHS during a sit-down session with British drag queen Vinegar Strokes on her YouTube series The X Change Rate: “I just auditioned for a role!” 

It’s currently unknown whether the Drag Race star auditioned for a role on the tenth season of American Horror Story, or for the show’s upcoming spin-off series, American Horror Stories. Both are set to premiere next year.

Fellow Drag Race icon Trixie Mattel previously made a cameo as herself in the finale episode of 2016′s American Horror Story: Roanoke:

During an interview with Gay Times Magazine, Rannells did not hide his enthusiasm when asked if he would like to join the horror anthology series:

I would love to do that. I would love to do that. If only I wasn’t on another television show, I would jump on it. We have rules about that!  

Show co-creator Ryan Murphy recently enlisted Rannells to star in his upcoming musical comedy film The Prom, which will be available to stream on Netflix from December 11. 

The pair have also collaborated on a multitude of other projects, including Glee, The Normal Heart, and The Boys in the Band. It’s certainly within the realm of possibility that they will reteam for a season of American Horror Story in the future.

American Horror Story’s tenth season will premiere in 2021 on FX.

Thank you for agreeing to this interview! How does working on American Horror Story compare to working on other television shows? 

ERYN: I think there is a separate level of difficulty because one, it’s lots of blood gags and two, it’s mostly last minute. They know we can achieve super cool makeup effects gags so they write it in. Regardless of how difficult, we love it!

As head of the American Horror Story makeup department for all nine seasons, which has been your favorite to work on?

ERYN: I still think I loved Asylum best for many reasons. But each one is like a precious little baby.

On the flip side, which season of American Horror Story was the most challenging to work on?

ERYN:  I think it’s a toss up between Freak Show with the amount of prosthetics, weather, location, two units across the city, and any season with lots of nightshoots. [1984] will be the topper.

As a viewer and fan of American Horror Story, do you have a favorite season and character?

ERYN: I am a big fan of all Evan Peters’ characters and Sarah Paulson characters across the board. I do get to design all the looks for every character, so it’s really hard to choose. 

You are responsible for crafting countless iconic makeup looks and creature designs on American Horror Story, alongside your husband Mike Mekash and an incredible team of creatives. Which ‘look’ are you most proud of?

ERYN: I think the Cult season would be my favorite for creating different looks together. From the masks to cult leaders, it was a very fun ride.

Is there a specific look or creature design to feature on American Horror Story that you feel is underrated?

ERYN: The Infantata, for sure. It was so detailed and wonderfully acted by the late Ben Woolf.

You've had so many iconic actors sat before you in the makeup chair whilst working on American Horror Story, including Jessica Lange, Angela Bassett, Frances Conroy, Kathy Bates, Patti LuPone, to name a few. Do you often find yourself starstruck? Is there an actor who you'd love to see guest star one day?

ERYN:  I’m just always excited with whomever comes in!

Is there a specific theme that you'd like to see a future season of American Horror Story tackle?

ERYN: I’ve always been a huge werewolf fan...

Will you also be returning to work on the Provincetown-set tenth season of American Horror Story? Is there anything you can tease about it? 

ERYN: Yes I will be there! I’m working on it now. All I can say is that it’s a season to sink your teeth into.

You also worked on the first season of Ratched last year. It has since gone on to become one of Netflix's biggest shows to date. What makes Sarah Paulson such a great leading lady?

ERYN: Obviously her brilliant acting. She’s intense, professional, has an exquisite attention to detail and is very funny and incredibly smart. She’s the whole package.

Eryn has also worked with Ryan Murphy on the majority of his other projects, including (but not limited to) Glee, American Crime Story, Hollywood. 

She also worked on Run with Sarah Paulson, and Hillbilly Elegy with Glenn Close, both of which are streaming online and showing in select theaters around the world, pandemic permitting. 

You can follow Eryn on Instagram here. 

American Horror Story will return for its tenth season in 2021.

The Home Alone actor teased that he will be sharing ‘ninety percent’ of his scenes (some of which will be sex scenes... plural) with Kathy Bates’ character, alongside the detail that he will appear ‘handsome’ and ‘well dressed’ for the role:

“Here’s what Ryan Murphy, um, when he called me up... he said, look, he goes, you’re going to be handsome and well dressed and ninety percent of your scenes are with Kathy Bates and you’re going to have some sex scenes with her.” 

Culkin also joked that it was disheartening to receive updates about his job via Instagram, referring to Ryan Murphy’s post in August revealing that filming for the tenth season was, at the time, set to commence in October. 

Production began on American Horror Story season ten yesterday, December 2.

Rumors are also circulating that Culkin’s original scene partner, Kathy Bates, will no longer be returning for the franchise’s landmark installment due to the Coronavirus pandemic. It’s unknown whether her character will be recast or written out of the script entirely. 

Franchise veteran Lily Rabe confirmed the exciting news during an interview with Digital Spy:

"We start tomorrow. So I'll be driving to work at 5.30, I think, tomorrow morning."

This update comes after almost ten months of waiting for filming to commence, after things were put on the back burner in March due to safety concerns regarding the Coronavirus pandemic. 

Although Rabe could not reveal new information to Digital Spy about the plot of the season itself, she commented: 

"I know there are things that have already been said that I can just say again, but you already know them. And there's nothing new that I can say. But I think it's going to be – I know it's going to be great. I'm really, really excited about it."

American Horror Story Season 10 is set to premiere next year. 

The video, which was seemingly captured by an on-set construction worker, begins with a look at a wooden, old fashioned door boasting a beautiful circular window with a brass frame, creating an almost pirate-like effect. It appears that the door, although it would not look out of place on a pirate ship, belongs to a modern establishment. Perhaps a beachside restaurant? 

The next chunk of the video certainly appears to suggest that a restaurant will be a main location in AHS10. Or perhaps an inn, diner, or lodge. Regardless, the design is beautiful. 

Towards the end of the video is a brief glimpse of the interior of what appears to be a bungalow with a mattress inside, followed by crew members with wooden paneling and another window frame that will no doubt be added to the set as it nears completion.

From what Ryan Murphy has teased via Instagram, alongside what location scouts revealed to Provincetown officials back in March, we know that the Cape Cod-set tenth season of American Horror Story will be centered around a beachside town - presumably Provincetown. The video appears to depict a restaurant that will perhaps be located along the coast, hence the wooden, ship-like design.

American Horror Story Season 10 will premiere in 2021.