American Horror Story just started its seventh season. If you haven’t watched the show before, each season has completely different theme and story, though actors often are recurring, and some characters are referenced as they are in the same universe.
AHS is not for the faint of heart, as the show focuses on supernatural as well as more realistic horrors. One of the most famous and popular quotes from the show is “all monsters are human,” which I think describes the topics the show covers very well. The show can also be triggering and just plain disturbing at times, as it includes lots of violence, which is sometimes sexual.
Season 7 is called Cult, and so far the theme appears to be current events. The first episode began with the election night, highlighting the various characters watching the election unfold. The two main characters are Ally Mayfair-Richards, a lesbian plagued by multiple phobias played by Sarah Paulson, and Kai Anderson, a white supremacist played by Evan Peters. Both of the actors have been in prior seasons of American Horror Story.
AHS: Cult is not the first time the series has tried to address real-world issues, as they have had themes surrounding 1950s asylums and American serial killers, but this is the first time they have used a theme that was straight from the very recent news.
It will be interesting to see the response to the show, and where the story goes. Though AHS is not an overtly political show, the show definitely shows more liberal and progressive tendencies as they frequently feature queer characters in a normalized fashion. The show runner, Ryan Murphy, ultimately hopes the show can help start productive conversations surrounding the election.
American Horror Story: Cult airs Tuesday nights at 10:00 pm on FX.