"American Horror Story" executive producer Ryan Murphy said that the season premiere of the show will feature an "eerie, macabre" event on election night within the first 10 minutes of the show.
Speaking with E! Online, Murphy said that the new season will be like "a horror story upon a horror story," although he did not divulge any details about this. He also said in the interview that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, who contended against each other during the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, will not be cast members of the show. However, they will serve as background characters, as actual footage of them from the campaign period will be used in "American Horror Story."
In another interview, this time with The Hollywood Reporter, Murphy said that the season will tackle divisiveness. He said, "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."
ScreenRant said that opting for a politically-charged season can put the show's ratings at risk. While Murphy and his team may be on-board to tackle sensitive issues on the screen, it does not necessarily mean that their viewers may agree with this treatment, and they can lose fans in the process.
Given that little detail has been revealed on how "American Horror Story" will tackle the 2016 presidential elections, it remains to be seen how politically loaded it will be. Nonetheless, given Hollywood's anti-Trump stance now, it is likely that the show will provide at least some commentary about the situation in the country. At the very least, the use of real footage of Clinton and Trump indicates that the show will have some semblance of reality, unlike its previous seasons.
Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters will return for the seventh season of the show. However, details regarding their roles have not yet been revealed so far. The premiere date of the seventh season of "American Horror Story" has also not been announced, although many fans are expecting the first episode to air by fall.
