American Horror Story season 10: Release date, cast, trailer and what we know so far

However the anthology horror series is finally about to creep back onto UK shores just in time for Halloween - and somewhat surprisingly the scary series has a new home on Disney Plus.

Somewhat making up for the delay is the news that we'll have a second helping of freaks and shrieks, with season 10 titled Double Feature and featuring two distinct tales.

The first six episodes will make up Part 1: Red Tide and feature seaside scares, while the final four episodes will cover alien abductions in Part 2: Death Valley.

However faint-hearted fans may be dismayed to hear that the show's signature tongue-in-cheek comedy is absent this year, with Double Feature looks set to lean firmly on the side of scares and seriousness.

American Horror Story star Adina Porter revealed in an interview with The Wrap that this was not always the case, explaining that the initial drafts she was given contained more humour.

“There’s what I’ve read in the original script that was given to me, and then there was what I performed," she said. "And then the editor created things. And I was surprised at what has made the show and what hasn’t made the show."

Porter continued: "When we were filming it, there was a lot more — a little bit more over the top, line-wise and character-wise – than what’s in the finished product.

"And as an actor, I saw it and I went, ‘Oh, OK.’ They filmed like the raw materials. And then they kind of put things together to see which was the best way they wanted to make this particular dish this year."

So, as AHS gets even more experimental than usual, here's what we know about season ten of Ryan Murphy's delightfully disturbing anthology series.

American Horror Story season 10 UK release date

CONFIRMED: For the first time ever, American Horror Story will debut on Star on Disney Plus, arriving on Wednesday 20th October 2021.

However this Halloween-friendly date is a few months behind the US release, where the series premiered on 25th August, so fans should be wary that spoilers are already floating around online.

It seems the delay may be due to American Horror Story's move to Disney Plus – the show originally aired the day after their US transmission on FOX in the UK.

However, despite the move to a streaming service, episodes will still be released on a weekly basis on Wednesdays much like spin-off show American Horror Stories.

The upcoming season of American Horror Story was originally set to air on US broadcaster FX in 2020, with a premiere date in mid-September having been expected, but that was pushed back by the coronavirus pandemic.

In May 2020 it was revealed by FX that the American Horror Story season 10 had officially been delayed until 2021. Filming eventually began in December 2020, though production was paused in July 2021 due to a positive COVID-19 case.

American Horror Story season 10 cast

American Horror Story has developed a reputation for its repertory company of actors that it continues to employ, with a big line-up of familiar faces occasionally bolstered by exciting new additions.

Season 10 will be no different - with Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin set to join the established AHS cast members this time out, appearing in a video Murphy posted on his Instagram confirming who would appear in the 10th season.

Also announced to be part of the line up for the new run is model Kaia Gerber. Aside from two small roles, this is Gerber's first major acting role, and she'll star in Part 2: Death Valley as student Kendall Carr.

Ryan Kiera Armstrong (The Tomorrow War) will also become the youngest actress to join the main cast of American Horror Story at eleven years old, playing child prodigy Alma Gardner.

A frequent star in the FX anthology horror series, Sarah Paulson, was missing from the most recent season, titled American Horror Story 1984, but has revealed that she will be returning in the upcoming season. And she's not alone, with other veteran cast members confirmed to be returning including Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy, Leslie Grossman, Billie Lourd, Evan Peters, Adina Porter, Angelica Ross, Finn Wittrock, Rt and Denis O'Hare.

A returning Denis O'Hare has teased a very different character to his previous roles in the long-running horror anthology.

"He is pretty different," O'Hare told Digital Spy. "He's not a main driver of action – because I came in late. And he's definitely got some comic relief aspect, which I love. He's very funny, I think. I have great costumes. I have wonderful costumes. I'm really excited about that."

Many of the cast will be returning for part two in completely different roles, including Sarah Paulson as a fictionalised version of Mamie Eisenhower. Yes that's right, the same Mamie Eisenhower who was First Lady in the 1950s - with Band of Brothers star Neal McDonough joining the cast as President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Lily Rabe will appear in Death Valley also as Amelia Earhart of all people, which will also see the addition of The Prom's Nico Greetham and French actress Rebecca Dayan.

Kathy Bates was originally set to make a return here too but she sadly had to drop out due to health reasons - fingers crossed she is well enough to come back for whatever season 11 ends up being called.

Will American Horror Story season 10 be on Netflix?

Netflix has traditionally begun streaming each season of American Horror Story a little over a year after its US airing, but with the series moving from FOX UK to Disney Plus it is unclear whether this will still be the case.

American Horror Story season 10 theme

In November 2019, Murphy confirmed that he "flirted with aliens" and "flirted with [setting the season in] space", but appeared to suggest that ultimately American Horror Story would not be going intergalactic next season - until the release of the poster...

This year's double-feature theme of two stories in one season looks set to be beach related with Murphy teasing "one by the sea… and one by the sand”.

We now have names for both stories - Part 1: Red Tide will span six episodes and be set "by the sea", while Part 2: Death Valley will take place "by the sand" and be made up of four episodes.

A second poster suggested a double creature feature, with Red Tide featuring seaside vampires while the second story Death Valley focuses on aliens.

Filming took place in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and the Cape Cod location does fit with the beach settings that we have been hearing about. Interestingly, the filming was set under the name 'Pilgrim' though it seems this was just a code name for the shoot rather than a story hint.

The trailer for Part 1: Red Tide provided us with some plot clues, confirming the Provincetown seaside setting. Red Tide's premise seems to be a homage to The Shining, following Harry Gardner (Finn Whitrock) as he moves his pregnant wife Doris (Lily Rabe) and young daughter Alma (Ryan Kiera Gardner) to the coastal town in an attempt to cure his writer's block.

However, after getting some advice from Austin Sommers (Evan Peters) creepy things start happening around the house, suggesting that success comes at a price...

There are rumours that this story could feature the black flash, a sinister figure in New England folklore who terrorised Princetown in the 1930s - the very same town this story is set in.

Now that Death Valley has started airing in the US, we finally have some details about part two - and the show is going all-in tackling alien conspiracy theories. Death Valley will follow President Dwight D. Eisenhower (Neal McDonough) as he investigates a UFO in 1950s New Mexico, while also flash-forwarding to the present day following four students who get abducted by aliens.

With the 1950s scenes filmed in black-and-white and famous figures such as Amelia Earheart set to pop up, it certainly looks like Death Valley has fun with the time period.

It remains to be seen however whether these are the same aliens from season two - who left behind two children with extraterrestrial DNA who have not been featured since.

Veteran AHS star Sarah Paulson told EW that she will be playing a character with an interesting hair colour who "has some issues". That may not be the most telling piece of information but we'll take what we can get at this point.

What we do have though is an image - shared by Ryan Murphy on Instagram - of one of the creatures that will presumably be terrorising the characters in the show.

We don't know who or what they are yet, but judging by the look of them and the "Night Moves" caption that Murphy shared alongside the picture, it's possible at least one of the stories this year will be focused on vampires - of course, that could just be what Murphy wants us to think.

Actor Finn Wittrock has also said that we should be expecting a different tone this season to the one that we are used to while speaking to Entertainment Weekly - could we be seeing a more horror-comedy vibe this time around?

• For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 guides.

Is American Horror Story season 10 the last series?

Thankfully not! — in January it was announced that the anthology season had been renewed for a further three seasons, taking us up to season 13.

You can catch up on the previous seasons here:

• Watch season 1 - 6 on the American Horror Story boxset
• Watch season 8 on American Horror Story season 8 DVD
• Watch season 9 on Amazon Prime

American Horror Story season 10 trailer

With echoes of The Shining, the trailer for Red Tide features plenty of seaside scares, as well as our first look at Macaulay Culkin in action.

Bear in mind the trailer includes the US release date however - Double Feature will be available in the UK a little later in October.

Read more: John Carroll Lynch on a possible return to American Horror Story

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