When it was announced earlier this month that this year’s season of FX series “American Horror Story” would be drawing inspiration from the 2016 presidential election, it just seemed to make perfect sense. Horror and politics have always gone hand in hand, and I’m not sure how you can have a show titled “American Horror Story” and NOT explore what’s going on right now.
But just how much inspiration will the upcoming seventh season draw from last year’s election? And what inspired co-creator Ryan Murphy to head down this particular path? Speaking with THR today, Murphy answered some of those questions. He told the outlet that making “The People vs. O.J. Simpson” lit within himself a fire to put social causes at the center stage of his art.
Murphy teased:
American Horror Story is going to be about the election that we just went through. And what I’m interested in doing is not just the obvious, single-minded point of view but rather express all sides of that equation. What needs to happen in our country now is for people to listen to each other – we may not always agree with each other and we may be horrified by what the other side is doing but we have to move toward understanding. So that’s one example of what I’m going to do.
And then all of the stuff that I’m developing now is going to be about illuminating and highlighting people who don’t have a voice in our culture — people who are ignored by the current administration and who are afraid and feel terrorized that their lives are going to be taken away. I’m interested not just in writing about those people but also in using my financial means to give back to them as well.
Season 7 begins filming in June. Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters will return.