Here’s everything we know about American Horror Story season 10

10th June 2020

American Horror Story season 10 is approaching.

As the world’s favourite horror anthology series prepares to return for another season, we’ve scoured the internet for every juicy bit of information on the horrific scenes creator Ryan Murphy will be bringing to our small screens.

From the ever-elusive theme, to which famous faces will be returning, to the expected premiere date, you can find out everything you need to know about American Horror Story season 10 below.

When is it airing?

There’s no official premiere date for American Horror Story season 10 yet, but it always begins in the Autumn.

The four most recent seasons (Roanoke, Cult, Apocalypse, 1984) have all premiered in September, so we’re going to assume the same will happen next year.

Next year? Yes, unfortunately it’s been confirmed that due to the coronavirus pandemic, there will be no American Horror Story this year. We’ll have to wait until 2021 for our fix.

American Horror Story airs in the US on FX, with episodes broadcasting in the UK the following day on FOX.

Who will be starring in it?

One of the biggest questions American Horror Story fans have each year is: Will my favourite actors be returning? It’s not surprising, given the amount of talent (and high-profile stars) the show consistently brings to our screens.

First of all, let’s get to the names you’ve been waiting for. Yes, fan favourite and Emmy-winning American Horror Story veteran Sarah Paulson is coming back to our screens after taking a hiatus last year.

Sarah didn’t have information on which character she will be playing or what the theme of season 10 will be, but when asked if she will be a series regular she replied, “I should hope so,” and said “God willing” she will be back for more seasons too.

Another announcement that surprised fans is that Evan Peters, who took a step back from the show after opening up about how it negatively affected his mental health, will be making his comeback for season 10.

A third fan favourite who’s returning is Kathy Bates, who’s played some of the show’s most memorable characters including Ethel Darling in Freak Show, Iris in Hotel, The Butcher in Roanoke, and of course the vile Delphine LaLaurie in Coven.

A newcomer to American Horror Story this season is Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin. This will be his first series regular role on television.

Completing the cast are Billie Lourd (Montana in 1984), Finn Wittrock (Dandy in Freak Show), Lily Rabe (Misty in Coven), Adina Porter (Beverly in Cult), Leslie Grossman (Coco in Apocalypse) and Angelica Ross (Nurse Rita in 1984).

Fans are typically drip-fed news of cast members throughout the year leading up to the season premiere in Autumn, so we’ll keep you updated if more stars are announced – although this feels like a pretty complete cast for now.

In the meantime, here are 12 iconic stars that we need to see return for American Horror Story season 10.

Who’s not returning?

You never know who will make a surprise appearance in American Horror Story, but what we can say is that it’s unlikely that OG fan favourite Jessica Lange will be returning for another season.

The legendary actress was the lifeblood of the first four seasons of the hit FX series, playing some of the show’s most iconic characters: Constance Langdon in Murder House, Sister Jude in Asylum, Fiona Goode in Coven, and Elsa Mars in Freak Show.

But when she was recently asked if she would return to the show in a regular capacity, she said, “I don’t think so… I don’t think I would want to start from scratch and create a character.”

She continued: “I think a lot of the actors that I was working with, people that I really love working with, like Sarah [Paulson] or Frances [Conroy] or Kathy [Bates] – I don’t know who’s in this new season, but I don’t think it would be the same.

“We were like the old-fashioned troupe of actors, just moving from one part to the other. That was part of what I really loved about doing it was you’d come back with a whole different story, different characters, but the same actors year after year.”

Maybe Ryan Murphy’s plan to bring back the original stars of the show could convince Jessica to return? We’re keeping our fingers crossed.

What’s the theme for season 10?

Ah, the ever-elusive theme. Each year, fans spend months trying to decipher what the theme of a new American Horror Story season could be. It’s usually made a little easier when teasers begin to surface, but that hasn’t happened yet.

Fans have already come up with a theory, though, that the penultimate episode of American Horror Story: 1984 might’ve revealed the theme for season 10.

After creator Ryan Murphy teased that the eighth episode of 1984 would include “a big” clue as to what fans can expect next year, viewers picked up on several references to aliens and space, including Mr Jingles saying he feels like he’s “floating in space”.

Longtime fans will remember this is a concept that was briefly explored in the show’s second season, Asylum, when Kit (Evan Peters) was abducted and lifted into a spaceship. Are aliens about to make a comeback? Will we finally find out what happened to Kit?

All teasers so far have pointed towards a beach/seaside setting, and Ryan previously said the theme needed to be filmed during warmer months – something that’s not going to happen this year due to lockdown caused by the global coronavirus pandemic.

Could this be a hint at the theme of season 10? Perhaps a deserted island, mermaids, or even a cruise ship horror? Who knows… we’re still keeping our fingers crossed for aliens.

Is there a trailer?

Not yet. American Horror Story’s cryptic teaser trailers usually begin to appear across social media two months ahead of a season premiere, with a full-length trailer showing actual footage from the season being released around a month before.

In the case of the most recent season, 1984, teaser trailers appeared in July and a full-length trailer dropped in August. We’d suggest checking back here around a similar time next year for updates.

Will this be the final season?

Following rumours that American Horror Story would end after its 10th season, FX thankfully announced that the hit anthology series would be returning for seasons 11, 12 and 13, much to the delight of longtime fans.

Considering the number 13 holds significance in the horror genre, FX networks chairman John Landgraf has teased that the show “could” potentially end after its 13th season – although he wouldn’t confirm anything.

“It will be poetic, won’t it, if it ends after 13 seasons?” he said. “It could be one of those weird things where we keep going, and it ends up being 20 seasons, I don’t know. I can just tell you that if it ends up being 13, that’s kind of awesome.”