American Horror Story Cult

Last season, FX and the creators of ‘American Horror Story’ including creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuck kept everything under wraps to an unprecedented degree, not even revealing the theme/subtitle of the show before it actually premiered.  There wasn’t even a preview for the second episode aired on the East Coast or made available online until after the first episode aired on the West Coast.

This year, they aren’t being as secretive.  We already know that this seventh season is called ‘Cult’.  But we don’t know a lot of specifics yet.  And the just released opening credits sequence don’t offer much enlightenment.  What it does offer is a lot of ‘AHS’s signature mixture of creepiness and grossness.  There is a lot of blood, insects, frightening clowns, funeral references and carnival imagery ( a throwback to ‘Freak Show’?  Twisty the clown HAS been revealed as returning!) and interestingly, a lot of political symbolism.  There’s a bloody American flag and perhaps even more intriguingly, figures donning Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton rubber masks.

The theme music of each season retools the basic theme song from the first season, but in this edition, the classic elements are barely discernible, drowned out by a more bombastic arrangement, reminiscent of the Presidential march music.

This season seems to feature fewer series regulars than usual.  Only Sarah Paulson, Cheyenne Jackson, Evan Peters, and newcomers Billie Lourd (‘Scream Queens’, ‘Star Wars’) and Alison Pill (‘Hail Caesar!’).  Though the names don’t tell us a lot, we know that Paulson is playing Ally Mayfair-Richards, Jackson plays Dr. Rudy Vincent, Peters plays Kai Anderson, Lourd plays Winter Anderson and Pill plays Ivy Mayfair-Richards.  Paulson already revealed that she and Pill play a married lesbian couple.  And Peters and Lourde’s characters are also related, possibly brother/sister or even husband/wife.  It was also previously revealed that Paulson and Peters’ characters are connected romantically, possibly in a supernatural way.  (Paulson and Peters played co-stars turned married couple in ‘Roanoke’.)

Check out the credit sequence below:

Former regular and guest cast members Adina Porter, Frances Conroy, Emma Roberts and Chaz Bono are returning.  (Only Porter’s character’s name has been revealed as Beverly Hope.)  They are joined by newcomers Colton Haynes (‘Arrow’) as Detective Samuels, Billy Eichner (‘Billy On The Street’, ‘Difficult People’) as Harrison Wilton, Leslie Grossman as Meadow Wilton as well as Lena Dunham (‘Girls’) and Mare Winningham in undisclosed roles.

The first episode of ‘American Horror Story: Cult’ premieres on Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 10/9c on FX.