Now that production has gotten underway on the second installment of FX's creepy anthology, American Horror Story, co-creator and executive producer Ryan Murphy has revealed the first of what will likely be many set photos and announced the series' subtitle.
So, when it premieres in October, the next installment (or miniseries, as Murphy and FX have taken to calling it), it will be known as American Horror Story: Asylum. Given the details that have been pouring in on the series, telling that the setting will be, in fact, an asylum, it's no surprise that they decided to take such a direct route. However, as Murphy is keen to point out, Asylum is not merely the description of the physical setting of season 2; it is also full of figurative goodness about loneliness and characters yearning for affection.
In his statement regarding the show's subtitle, Murphy discusses the notion that American Horror Story was always going to be an anthology, with each season having its own distinct end. Since it would have spoiled the fun of season 1, they decided to keep it under wraps, and not call it American Horror Story: Haunted House or American Horror Story: Rubber Man.
Murphy explains:
"When we launched the show last year, we kept quiet about the closed-ended nature of the show because we didn't want to tip off the audience that the characters were not going to survive. Now that it has been established that each year is a closed-ended story, the time seemed right to reveal what we're calling the new installment."
"We picked Asylum because it not only describes the setting - an insane asylum run by Jessica Lange's character, which was formerly a tuberculosis ward - but also signifies a place of haven for the unloved and the unwanted. This year's theme is about sanity and tackling real life horrors."
Those real life horrors mean the second season will test just how frightening the series can be without the benefit of a supernatural element. In addition to losing the various baby-crazy ghosts who populated the Murder House, the series has also lost stars Dylan McDermott and Connie Britton. Still, with the award-winning Jessica Lange coming back to essentially headline the series, there's little doubt audiences will be tuning in. Throw in returning cast members Evan Peters, Lily Rabe and, of course, Zachary Quinto, along with newcomers James Cromwell, Joseph Fiennes, Franka Potente Jenna Dewan, Chloë Sevigny, Lizzie Brocheré, Chris Zylka, Britne Oldford, Mark Consuelos, Clea Duvall and Adam Levine, and American Horror Story: Asylum stands a decent chance at topping the first series in the ratings department.
Since production only started on July 17, there's little footage to be shown, but that hasn't stopped Murphy from throwing a little morsel to the show's fans. Recently, he tweeted this picture of Adam Levine on set, shining a light on what appears to be some Asylum-related graffiti. It's never too soon to speculate – especially when the series in question loves to provide details and red herrings ahead of time – so let's all ponder just who or what the term "Bloody Face" is referring.
The natural inclination is to assume that Bloody Face is a person who will be filling the void of people-who-make-scenes-uncomfortable, left by the venerable Rubber Man from season 1. Then again, this is an insane asylum the show is dealing with, so it could just be a resident's way of expressing himself. At any rate, as questions will undoubtedly begin to pile up, fans thankfully won't have too long to wait for the answers.
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American Horror Story: Asylum will premiere this fall on FX.
Source: E!