“No need for rules anymore. The chaos has won,” Evan Peters’ character says in the most recent trailer for American Horror Story: Apocalypse, the eighth season of the FX horror anthology series.
Did shivers race down your spine thinking about a world where utter chaos reigns? Crazy stuff, right? Phew. I can’t wait for this season to start.
Plot, storylines: What we know
American Horror Story: Apocalypse is poised to take fans on a wild ride as doomsday havoc ensues. (As if last season’s Cult didn’t.) Apocalypse kicks off Wednesday on FX, and show creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk have been teasing fans all year about what’s to come.
Cult provocatively covered the post-2016 election world, with characters either rejoicing in the election of Donald Trump or fearing for their future. Seems natural Apocalypse would follow that madness.
Chemical warfare? Plane crashes? Witchcraft? An authoritarian regime? Judging by the teasers and trailers, these are just some of the potential themes that will pop up this season.
Apocalypse is set “some time” in the future and has connections to past AHS seasons Murder House and Coven. I’ll get into a recap of some of my favorite highlights from those seasons lower down.
Where to watch and how
The season premiere in the US is Wednesday, Sept. 12 at 10 p.m. local time on FX. To watch ad-free on your computer or mobile device, upgrade to FX+ (even though you’ll still need a cable TV log-in), otherwise watch it on FX, On Demand or FXNow on Wednesdays.
Ms. Meade (Kathy Bates) glares, a bone-chilling reminder that fear can consume anyone. Wonder if Kathy will divine inspiration from Stephen King’s Misery?
FX
New and returning cast
A long list of AHS alum will return this season. Back again are:
Coven got such hype it’s a no-brainer to bring back favorite characters from that season. Plus, in a doomsday situation, having a coven of witches on your side could come in handy.
Fern is playing a character named Michael Langdon.
Kurt Iswarienko/FX
New to the cast this season (meaning we have no idea who/what some of them will be playing):
Ahhh, the teasers!
I went to FX’s American Horror Story Instagram page to watch teasers. Here are my pick for top three:
Paulson appears to be raffling off entry into her newest doomsday experience. Attempt to survive at all costs.
What is Ms. Meade (Kathy Bates) stirring? Dare we ask?
Whispers of fear? Doubt?
Are AHS seasons connected?
Many fans have wondered whether the entire AHS franchise is connected via some master timeline. Look no further than this American Horror Story timeline from our sister site TV Guide to see how all the seasons link up.
Two seasons will intersect with Apocalypse. Here’s a look back:
Murder House
Remember season 1’s Murder House and the dysfunctional, Harmon family that barely stayed together?
Dr. Ben Harmon (Dylan McDermott), Vivien Harmon (Connie Britton) and Violet Harmon (Taissa Farmiga) moved from Boston to Los Angeles in an attempt to keep the family together after adultery poisoned Ben and Vivien’s marriage. But the move catapulted the family into disarray, heartache and betrayal. As if that wasn’t enough drama for one clan, the Harmons moved into a literal Murder House with a peculiar, unexplainable and downright creepy history.
I know, it sounds like this messed-up family just begged for bad things to happen to them. Like being haunted by a creepy, mysterious guy in an all-black rubber Halloween costume who turned sadistic. Or being haunted by a couple that hated each other, partly because the added financial stress of renovating the Murder House tore them apart. Ultimately, our deranged modern-day couple also gets trapped there, unable to sell the house, until they’re cursed to spend forever in misery in Murder House, as so many others do.
It’ll be interesting to see the Harmon family play out in the afterlife this season.
Coven
Oh my! Something wicca is returning in Apocalypse.
The season 3 storyline follows a coven of witches living at Miss Robichaux’s Academy (think: witch school) in New Orleans. The coven is comprised of alleged descendants of Salem witches and even some who escaped Salem and have survived till now.
Headmistress Cordelia Foxx (Sarah Paulson) runs the academy that’s filled with witches, but is often overshadowed by her mother, Fiona Goode (Jessica Lange).
Fiona is one wicca you don’t want to cross … unless you’re antagonist Marie Laveau (Angela Bassett), a voodoo magic high priestess. How could AHS fans forget the vindictive brawls that unfolded between these two megapowerhouse characters?
Remember the eclectic witch Misty Day (Lily Rabe), who has the power to bring things back to life and is obsessed with Stevie Nicks? This connection allows for an even deeper wicca correlation between Coven and the singer, whose fan base loves to associate with wiccan conspiracy theories.
I can’t wait to see how Murder House and Coven expand or develop in the upcoming apocalyptic world. After all, who wouldn’t want powerful women on their side? Or ghosts to defend them from harm? That is, if the ghosts are on their side.
American Horror Story definitive timeline: TV Guide lays out exactly how all the seasons are connected.
Apocalypse cast photos are basically sexy, creepy art: The new characters joining the AHS universe deserve your eyeballs.