American Horror Story fans spent most of 2016 wondering what in the hell we could expect from the mysterious sixth season, and it turns out whoever guessed "pigmen, colonial ghouls and paranormal cable TV" was right on the money. Surprisingly, co-creator Ryan Murphy is already letting details slip about the recently ordered Season 7, and it will unsurprisingly have major and specific ties back to a previous season. Here's how Murphy put it.
Next year, we will be going back to some Freak Show characters, deeper histories and mythologies. So we're sort of still exploring Season 4 in Season 7.
Ryan Murphy is apparently quite fond of the Freak Show universe, as last week's episode of American Horror Story: Roanoke introduced Evan Peters' Edward Philippe Mott, the ancestor to Dandy and Gloria Mott from Season 4. So we've already got a solid connection to that season, with possibly more to follow. (We want to see all of these characters return, for what it's worth.) And now it sounds like a sizable part of Season 7 will also dig into the main ensemble from Freak Show, understandable given how many distinct personalities were involved.
We could hopefully revisit Twisty the Clown's past, or perhaps get a "what's he up to now?" return. And who wouldn't want to meet up with Bette and Dot Tattler again in some capacity, or to watch the slimy Stanley screwing people over in the years before turning into a Chicken Man? It's too bad Jessica Lange has no interest in returning to the show, or we might get another look at her sordid past in Nazi Germany, or more show-stopping stage performances. Of course, Murphy also said on the conference call (via EW) that some of the characters and mythology from American Horror Story: Roanoke will live on in later seasons, so we might even get more of those wacky Motts. UPN should become a network again to air Those Wacky Motts.
Perhaps most importantly, Season 7 won't present fans with another months-long period of complete ignorance on themes and story. Ryan Murphy claims (via TVLine) the pre-release campaign will look more like it used to.
We're going to announce [the premise] in the spring. We're not doing a secrecy thing, but [next season] does have a big hook behind it.
Lady Gaga's character in Roanoke was confirmed to be the First Supreme for the coven of witches at the center of Season 3, and Murphy did say that a future season will go deeper into that mythology again. Perhaps we'll get to see some witches in Season 7 as well. Maybe a version of Queenie before she went to that damned Hotel Cortez.
But before we start obsessing over the future, there are still many things left to see in the second half of American Horror Story: Roanoke, including that world-shifting twist that upends everything we thought we knew about everything. Or something along those lines. It airs Wednesday nights on FX. To see what else is scaring up viewers for the rest of the year, check out our fall premiere guide.
