Why Ryan Murphy Thinks ‘American Horror Story’ Could Continue Beyond Season 10

Ashley Hume

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FX’s hit horror anthology series “American Horror Story” celebrated its 100th episode milestone in true “AHS” style, hosting a lavish bash among the tombstones at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery — a location that had particular significance for series creator Ryan Murphy.

“One of my favorite memories of the show was here when we were shooting Season 5,” Murphy told Variety on Saturday night. “Lady Gaga and Matt Bomer and I between takes would walk around and take pictures with headstones at three in the morning. It’s meaningful to be back here because it never feels over, you never feel tired of it, you just feel like people really love it.”

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With the series’ ninth season — the campy slasher-flick ode “American Horror Story: 1984” — more than midway through its run, Murphy said he is currently wrestling with the theme and setting for the next installment.

“I always have the next season decided by Halloween, so I have a week. But now I’m sort of dealing with two ideas and I lean towards whichever is more in my brain right now,” Murphy said. “Every season has a runner-up idea, but the runner-ups have never made it on screen. I’ve never gone back to the second choice, although I should. Sometimes the choice just pops into my brain. I can’t explain it.”

Though “American Horror Story” has been predicted to end after the conclusion of its tenth season, Murphy teased that there could be much more “AHS” to come. “The tenth is the last season that’s ordered but John and I said around Season 5, this is something that is so beloved that maybe it could keep on going,” Murphy told Variety. “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.”

The series’ eighth season “AHS: Apocalypse” revisited Season 1’s “Murder House” dwellers, resolving loose threads and giving many characters happy endings, a change that was undone to many fans’ dismay later in the series. However, Murphy said he wouldn’t rule out another trip back to the show’s origin story. “I don’t know if I will ever do happy endings for some of them because I think the world is too dark for a lot of happy endings, but maybe,” Murphy teased. “We’ve talked about it. But we would only do that when it’s like ‘this is the end.’ If I have a final button, I will pop that cork.”

Series regular and fan favorite Kathy Bates — who arrived on the red carpet dressed in wolf costume — also reminisced about her favorite memory from the show. “I’d have to say it was Jessica [Lange]’s last season and she was singing the last song in the last season and my character introduced her,” Bates told Variety. “At one point, she looked over at me while I was behind the curtain and so much of that look was ‘Goodbye, it’s been great, I love you’ and it was just such a special moment. I love her so much and she’s why I got into this show in the first place. She put the word in for me.”

Perennial “AHS” star Sarah Paulson credited Murphy with introducing the anthology miniseries concept to American TV viewers. “I do think there is something extraordinary about what happened to audiences and how much what Ryan has done has changed the way we watch television,” Paulson told Variety. “There was a real resistance at first and I think audiences freaked out. They had become really attached to the characters that they loved, and they didn’t want to see those same actors playing different people. Then very quickly, they started to get into it, and I think they loved to see what their favorite actors were going to be doing next year and they started to respect the craft and what it meant to push yourself that way.”

While Paulson confirmed she would not be making an appearance in “AHS: 1984,” she told Variety that she would love to make a future return to the series. “I think the star of ‘American Horror Story’ is ‘American Horror Story’ itself. The show is the thing and I think you can get a whole different group of actors and people will still watch it. I think that’s the extraordinary thing that Ryan created, and I would love to be a part of it. One time, I said I’d like it be to vampires in space when I’m 99 and I hope the show is still going then.”

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