American Horror Stories: UK release date, cast, trailer for spin-off series

On the plus side this delay means we'll have a weekly dose of horror to take us all the way through Halloween - with original show American Horror Story season 10 set to be released as soon as this spin-off has finished.

The show will feature a brand new horror story every week as opposed to every season, with a rotating cast of characters - including many returning faces from American Horror Story.

It sounds like it will be one scary spin-off - here's everything we know about American Horror Stories.

American Horror Stories UK release date

American Horror Stories will premiere in the UK on Disney Plus Star on Wednesday 8th September 2021.

The remaining six episodes will then be released weekly on Wednesdays.

Sister show American Horror Story will also be released on Star in the UK from now on, after moving to the streaming service from FOX along with other shows such as The Walking Dead - making Disney Plus the unlikely home of horror.

American Horror Stories' first season has already ended in the US, after launching on streaming service Hulu on 15th July.

Creator Ryan Murphy also released a new poster with the release date news, which teased the return of Murder House all the way back from from the first season of American Horror Story.

American Horror Stories cast

American Horror Story is well known for its frequent use of regular collaborators, with numerous actors appearing in multiple seasons of the show.

A number of those familiar faces also star in the spin-off, and quite a large number - with Matt Bomer, Billie Lourd, Celia Finkelstein, Naomi Grossman, John Carroll Lynch, Chad James Buchanan, Cody Fern, Dylan McDermott and Jamie Brewer all returning.

They are among the 21 stars lined up for the series, along with new blood Paris Jackson, Naomi Grossman, Amy Grabow, Madison Bailey, Rhenzy Feliz, Ronen Rubinstein, Virginia Gardner and Dane Diliegro.

Many of the cast were announced during a suitably creepy roll call creator Murphy shared on social media:

Meanwhile star Sarah Paulson has said that she 'hopes to direct’ part of the series. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, she said: “I can’t say anything about it except for that I hope to be directing the new [series], I hope that will in fact come to fruition.”

Paulson did not end up directing an episode of season one, but she may well be lined up for the now-confirmed season two.

American Horror Stories has cast several alumni from Ryan Murphy's many, many other projects, including Glee's Kevin McHale, Pose‘s Dyllón Burnside, American Horror Story: Hotel‘s Charles Melton and The Prom‘s Nico Greetham.

The news was announced via Ryan Murphy's Instagram, where he dubbed them "The Fantastic Four" of American Horror Stories.

Given the weekly anthology nature of the spin-off, it is likely these four actors will only be appearing together in a single one-off episode.

Melton was later seen filming for the spin-off series in California with Denny Trejo, for what appears to be a Christmas-themed episode set in a shopping centre. In leaked photos, Trejo can be seen dressed up as a store Santa Claus, which has prompted speculation the episode will be a follow-up to American Horror Story: Asylum episode 'Unholy Night', when a patient dressed as Santa went on a killing spree.

How is American Horror Stories different to American Horror Story?

American Horror Story has always been an anthology series - with each individual season telling a self-contained story based on a different theme and setting, and the reset button hit at the end of each run.

Where American Horror Stories differs is that each episode is self-contained, with a different horror story being told each week - in the vein of popular series such as Black Mirror and Inside No 9.

Obviously this means that the possibilities are pretty much endless - it will certainly be exciting to see the variety of spooky tales that are told...

In November 2020 Murphy released a new poster for the series, also stating that the spin-off would be made up of 16 hour-long episodes that would be "delving into horror myths, legends and lore" and would "feature AHS stars you know and love".

However, possibly due to COVID-19 precautions season one of American Horror Stories ended up consisting of only seven episodes - perhaps season two will bring the total episode count up to sixteen.

As shown heavily in promotional material, the Rubber Man and the Murder House setting will return in the two-part premiere. Along with Danny Trejo reportedly reprising his role from American Horror Story, this suggests that American Horror Stories will directly tie into the mothership show as well as featuring original scary stories.

• 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.

American Horror Stories trailer

The trailer was released in July 2021 - including footage of the Murder House from all the way back in American Horror Story season one.

Will there be an American Horror Stories season 2?

Yes! American Horror Stories was renewed for season 2 in August 2021, shortly before the season one finale dropped in the US.

No other information has been released about the second season, but it is expected to be released in 2022.

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