The American Horror Story season 11 plot will reportedly span the course of multiple "different timelines," which is likely going to prove to be a rehash of Death Valley's mistakes. Split into two, the latter half of American Horror Story: Double Feature, subtitled Death Valley, was divisive, to say the least. AHS season 11 looks likely to follow suit.
John Landgraf recently confirmed (via The Wrap) that the FX anthology series will continue to deviate from traditional forms of storytelling as American Horror Story season 11 is set to take place during "different timelines." This is not a first for the anthology series. Multiple past seasons have also featured a split narrative. Most recently, Death Valley showcased two parallel stories alongside each other; one set in the 1960s and the other in the present day, with both timelines eventually intertwining entirely during the season finale.
"Different timelines" for American Horror Story season 11 could, however, prove to be bad news for the franchise. At the very least, it is not a wise move on co-showrunner Ryan Murphy's part to repeat the same split narrative mistake of the previous season. Audiences hated Death Valley not only because of the bad writing, dialogue, and two-dimensional characters but also because the present-day narrative was executed especially poorly when compared to its 1960s-set counterpart. This led to most zoning out or even switching off when past transitioned into present and they were forced to deal with crude SNL-worthy dialogue and performances, minus the irony and self-awareness.
In a case of history repeating itself, it's likely that viewers will gravitate towards one particular timeline featured in the next season of American Horror Story and simply discard the other as they did with Death Valley. For example, if the theme of AHS season 11 is "Plague" (which wouldn't work) and one timeline deals with a disease outbreak of the past, and the other an outbreak of the present, it's more than plausible to imagine that the majority of viewers will once again settle for the former and reject the latter. Even if the execution is bad, a mere period setting alone automatically provides more escapism for viewers than a present-day setting does.
All things considered, American Horror Story season 11 is going to have to deliver an exceptional theme in order to keep viewers engaged. Historically, seasons with split narratives and different timelines, most notably Apocalypse and Death Valley, have not fared well when compared to seasons with simpler structures such as Murder House (though the ending was ruined) and Asylum. Granted, Asylum's timeline was partially split but mostly only during the pre-credits sequence; its primary setting was the 1960s, unlike Death Valley. Either way, the jury is out on whether American Horror Story season 11 will disappoint or deliver.