Although the two shows do not otherwise have a lot in common, both CSI and American Horror Stories utilized eerily similar villains. 2021 saw two long-running TV franchises branch off with a new spinoff, both of which promised they would go back to basics and offer a return to their respective show’s glory years. American Horror Stories, a spinoff of American Horror Story, seemed destined to provide an end to its parent show’s increasing reliance on labyrinthine lore with a simpler, single-episode anthology format.

CSI: Vegas season 1, meanwhile, brought back Jorja Fox’s Sara Sidle and William Petersen’s Gil Grissom to assure viewers that the new series would be a return to form for the franchise. Although the two stars departed before CSI: Vegas season 2 began shooting, the series still managed to earn a largely positive reaction from the franchise’s fandom. American Horror Stories had a harder time impressing fans and critics, although both franchises have more in common than their matching 2021 spinoffs.

Related: Why Catherine’s Return Is Perfect For CSI: Vegas Season 2

A rubber catsuit-clad serial killer appeared in one episode of each series, as unlikely as that coincidence may seem. CSI’s “Sqweegel” (season 11, episode 4) named the episode in question after the creepy culprit, who went uncaught by the outing’s ending. In contrast, the titular villain of American Horror Stories “Rubber (Wo)Man Part 1 and 2” (season 1, episodes 1 and 2) was revealed to be the episode’s protagonist, Sierra McCormick’s Scarlett. While the police procedural CSI focused on Marg Helgenberger’s Catherine and her team's crime-solving, American Horror Stories looked instead at what drove its anti-heroine to commit her brutal killing spree at the episode’s close.

American Horror Story Rubber woman ending explained

However, while their motives might be very different, there is no missing the startling similarity between Rubber Woman and  Sqweegel in visual terms. Both are masked murderers wearing an instantly recognizable rubber suit that encases their body and protects their identity, and both shows saw the protagonists discuss BDSM in an attempt to understand the psychology behind the killers. Although CSI never exposed Sqweegel’s identity, the show did reveal that the killer purchased their trademark suit at a sex shop. However, as CSI franchise hero Gil Grissom’s long-running affair with a dominatrix proves, the show is not quick to label anyone with unusual sexual fetishes as inherently dangerous or aberrant.

The campy American Horror Stories two-parter was a lot more shameless and sensationalist in its discussion of BDSM, but that’s par for the course for the franchise. As a Ryan Murphy production, American Horror Stories is cut from the same cloth as the producer’s earlier hits American Horror Story, Glee, and Scream Queens, so anyone expecting tact and a delicate approach to discussing sexuality was going to be disappointed. As such, Sqweegel and Rubber Woman did not have a lot in common outside of their appearances, but there is still no denying that the villains of both American Horror Stories and CSI were spookily similar in terms of their unnerving appearances

More: Why CSI: Vegas Can Be Better Without Jorja Fox’s Sara Sidle