American Horror Story season 10: Theme, cast, release date and spoilers

16 August 2021, 12:33

Watch the trailer for American Horror Story: Double Feature

By Katie Louise Smith

American Horror Story: Double Feature is coming! Here's everything we know about season 10 so far, including the cast and the theme.

American Horror Story season 10 is now just days away from returning to our screens with a brand new, never-been-done-before two-part season. AHS: Double Feature will be split into two parts, with two different casts.

Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson will return, alongside Finn Wittrock, Lily Rabe, Billie Lourd, Leslie Grossman, Adina Porter, Frances Conroy and Angelica Ross. Macaulay Culkin also joins the cast. A whole new cast list is set to be announced for the second part of the season.

READ MORE: Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson return in American Horror Story Double Feature trailer

The latest news? The first trailer has been released, teasing the first half of the season. Finn Wittrock and Lily Rabe take the lead on this season, as a married couple who move to an isolated (and very creepy) beach town with their young daughter. Sarah Paulson also looks unrecognisable as her new character for the first part of the season.

Elsewhere, it's now been confirmed that the second half of the season will focus on aliens and possibly conspiracy theories.

American Horror Story season 10 began filming in Provincetown, Massachusetts, with Finn Wittrock pictured shooting on location. AHS was set to start filming in Provincetown in April 2020 but was shut down due to coronavirus. Ryan Murphy explained that the season was "weather-dependent". Lily Rabe previously confirmed that filming in Los Angeles began in December 2020.

Here's everything we know about AHS season 10, including the themes, release date and the cast:

AHS season 10: Theme hinted at in new poster from Ryan Murphy
AHS season 10: Theme hinted at in new poster from Ryan Murphy. Picture: FX

AHS season 10 theme: What will American Horror Story season 10 theme be?

The theme for American Horror Story season 10 is 'Double Feature'. The season will be split into two parts; one focusing on terrifying sea creatures and the other focusing on aliens.

Part 1 will be called 'Red Tide' and will be set 'by the sea' in an isolated seaside location. The official synopsis reads: “A struggling writer, his pregnant wife, and their daughter move to an isolated beach town for the winter. Once they're settled in, the town’s true residents begin to make themselves known.”

Part 2 will be called 'Death Valley' and will be set 'by the sand', presumably in California's actual Death Valley. No official synopsis has been released for part 2 just yet.

Both parts will air in 2021.

How many episodes will American Horror Story: Double Feature have?

It's been confirmed that AHS: Double Feature will have 10 episodes. The first six will be part of Part 1 - 'Red Tide', with the remaining four being part of Part 2 - 'Death Valley'.

The episode titles for 'Red Tide' have been released:

  • Episode 1: 'Cape Fear'
  • Episode 2: 'Pale'
  • Episode 3: 'Thirst'
  • Episode 4: 'Blood Buffet'
  • Episode 5: 'Gaslight'
  • Episode 6: 'Winter Kills'

The episode titles for 'Death Valley' that have been released so far:

  • Episode 7: 'Take Me To Your Leader'
  • Episode 8: TBA
  • Episode 9: TBA
  • Episode 10: TBA

AHS season 10 release date: When will it air?

American Horror Story: Double Feature will premiere on FX on August 25th 2021.

Due to coronavirus shut downs, plans to film in April were put on hold with Murphy explaining that the season was "weather-dependent". However, in August 2020, it was confirmed that production was set to begin on season 10 in October.

Production officially began on season 10 in Los Angeles in December 2020, with the cast beginning to film on location in Provincetown, MA in March 2021. Some spoiler-y set photos and videos have already been shared on social media by residents.

AHS season 10 cast: Who will return for American Horror Story: Double Feature?

American Horror Story: Double Feature will feature two different casts, with some actors appearing in both halves of the season as different characters.

The cast for 'Red Tide' was revealed by Murphy in February 2020. Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters will return alongside Finn Wittrock, Lily Rabe, Leslie Grossman, Macaulay Culkin, Frances Conroy (reportedly replacing Kathy Bates), Billie Lourd, Adina Porter, Angelica Ross and Ryan Kiera Armstrong. Denis O'Hare also returns for the first time since Roanoke.

Murphy has also revealed that another cast list will be revealed soon for the 'Death Valley' half of the season.

So far, Sarah Paulson, Neal McDonough and John Carroll Lynch are confirmed to appear in Part 2. Lily Rabe is also rumoured to return for Part 2 in a different role.

AHS: Double Feature will consist of two seasons with two casts
AHS: Double Feature will consist of two seasons with two casts. Picture: via Instagram

Will Evan Peters be in AHS season 10?

Yes! Evan will return to AHS for the tenth season after taking some time away from the show.

Evan decided to sit AHS: 1984 out for personal reasons but he did say that he would be open to return for future seasons. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Murphy confirmed that he and Evan had discussed his return to the series and by the looks of things, that chat has paid off!

In an interview with Gold Derby, Evan described his character, and the season in general, as "fun, silly and scary".

Is American Horror Story season 10 the final season?

Essentially, American Horror Story is an anthology so there's really no end date. It all depends on whether or not Ryan Murphy and his collaborators have more madness up their sleeves – and it sounds like they have plenty...

On Jan 9, it was confirmed that American Horror Story would return for 3 more seasons, keeping the show on air until 2023 at least. So, in answer to our own question, no. Season 10 will not be the final season.

In an interview with EW, Murphy said that Roanoke was the season that made him think “Ok, this show can go for 20 years.”

"Because we can keep playing with the format, the form. It proved to me we didn’t have to have every season be a grand spectacle. We could be raw and rough and verité," he explained.

Speaking to Variety, Murphy previously said: "John [Landgraf, President of FX] and I said around Season 5, this is something that is so beloved that maybe it could keep on going.”

"And now in its ninth season, in terms of worldwide…it’s one of the most popular shows in the world, so I will continue to have an appetite to do it as long as John wants to do it. So, we have been talking about should we end it? Or should we keep moving forward? But I hope we can move forward.”

Murphy also just signed a multi-million dollar deal with Netflix but it's been said that that will not affect his work with the series at FX.