It’s funny how different types of announcements can be important for different shows. With The Good Wife or Game of Thrones, fans get excited for new castings. For shows like Arrow or the upcoming The Flash, costumes are of paramount importance. However, for a series like American Horror Story all it takes is a title announcement to get fans pumped up about a new season. Luckily, on Monday, the Season 4 title arrived, and it’s pretty freaky. Ladies and gentlemen, American Horror Story Season 4 will be subtitled Freak Show.
Early rumors indicated that the new series might be planning a foray into the world of carnivals. A week ago, this tidbit of potential news was released thanks to an accidental slip on the Nerdist Writers Panel. At the time, the carnival setting was considered to be a very rough plan, although we already knew Jessica Lange would be back (with a German accent!) and that the show would be set in the 1950s. After a week of talking and planning, the official title for the new season was revealed by showrunner and creator Ryan Murphy via the man’s favorite forum, Twitter.
While a carnival setting might still be in the cards, the Freak Show subtitle opens plenty of doors and alleyways for the show to head into during Season 4. I also like that the program did not opt to choose carnival as the subtitle, as it should help to keep the new season from potentially drawing comparisons to HBO’s creepy, disparate series Carnivale. I’m hoping it has a little Geek Love in it, myself.
Honestly, combining a carnival setting with a period premise could be just the ticket American Horror Story needs to keep churning out relevant and fantastic storylines during the new season. The show has already explored different creepy settings, including a haunted home, a strange asylum and a city filled with witches, as well as different time periods in American history. Since American Horror Story employs a lot of the same actors and actresses to play very different characters each season, it's actually helpful that the show changes around the time periods and costumes.
We still have a while to wait for American Horror Story: Freak Show to air. FX has the show slated to hit the schedule in October. Regardless of its actual timeslot, hardcore fans will flock to it. During its first three seasons, the show has built up one of the most devoted fanbases on television, and there's no reason to think that love won't carry forward.
