Next series of American Horror Story to tackle Donald Trump's election race
The 24-hour news cycle might currently resemble its own seemingly unending scary movie, but that hasn't stopped TV super-producer Ryan Murphy from wishing to turn the Trump-conjuring presidential election into a season of American Horror Story.
Speaking on Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live talk show, Murphy revealed that the next season of his smash hit horror anthology series will revolve around last year's election. Coming on the heels of seasons following Nazis, racism, mental illness, and reality TV, the tale of how Donald Trump steamrolled his way into the White House... the subject matter honestly doesn't seem like an enormous departure for the series.
"I think it will be interesting for a lot of people," Murphy teased.
Asked by Cohen whether Donald Trump will be an actual character on the show, Murphy played it coy with a "Maybe".
The presidential election won't be the only real-life political firestorm in the upcoming Ryan Murphy TV calendar. He also revealed that the fourth season of true-crime anthology series American Crime Story, which debuted last year with The People vs. OJ Simpson, will revolve around the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal.
But Murphy assured that, while he hasn't thought about casting for the Clintons themselves, the season will revolve less around the two of them, and more about the culture Clinton's infidelity created.
"I think our take on it is interesting," he said. "I don't even think the Clintons need to be huge parts of that story, it's about the birth of a specific movement in our country, that's what we're interested in."
He did reveal that Sarah Paulson, who has appeared on all seasons of American Horror Story, won universal acclaim and multiple awards for her role as prosecutor Marcia Clark in The People vs. O.J. Simpson, and cameos on Murphy's upcoming Bette Davis/Joan Crawford bio-series Feud, is being earmarked to play Linda Tripp on the series.
Tripp was an important figure in the Clinton scandal, having secretly recorded Lewinsky's private phone calls about her affair with the President.
He also revealed that Lewinsky herself will likely be played by an unknown.
Among Murphy's other revelations during the talk show, the showrunner spoke about two further American Crime Story seasons. One, revolving around the 1997 murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace by serial killer Andrew Cuanan, is currently casting, Murphy confirming that Edgar Ramirez (star of films including Carlos, The Girl on the Train and Gold) will play Versace, while Glee actor Darren Criss will play Cuanan.
He said that he's also in negotiations with an unnamed "Oscar-winning actress" to play Versace's fashion designer sister Donatella, with Penélope Cruz, Marisa Tomei and Mira Sorvino among the names being speculated about so far.
The Versace season will screen after a season following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Annette Bening has recently been cast as Kathleen Blanco, the former governor of Louisiana, who faced criticism at the time for failing to sufficiently prepare the city for the storm, which killed over 1,000 people and flooded 80% of the city.
Both Crime Story seasons will screen in 2018, while it is believed the Trump-filled American Horror Story will air later this year.
