Details about season ten of the FX anthology series American Horror Story have been coming out since November 2019, when creator Ryan Murphy (The Prom, Ratched) suggested that it might be the show’s final season prior to the announcement that FX had picked the show up for three additional installments, according to TV Line. A huge reveal arrived on March 19, when Murphy posted teaser to his Instagram that identified season ten’s title at last– American Horror Story: Double Feature.
The tagline in the teaser indicates the presence of a split story structure: “Two horrifying stories… One season. One by the sea… One by the sand.” Leslie Grossman (What I Like About You, The Good Place) described Double Feature as being comprised of two short stories on her Twitter.
American Horror Story‘s online fan community was quick to point out that it would not be out of the ordinary for the series to tell two narratives back-to-back over the course of one season. The show’s sixth iteration, Roanoke, did something similar structurally where the first half of the season was dressed up as mockumentary titled My Roanoke Nightmare and the second half chronicled the troubled production of the fictional documentary’s sequel in a found footage style, according to Collider.
The teaser’s references to sand and surf will not come as a surprise to people who have kept up with the hints Murphy has been leaving on social media since that season ten confirmation announcement. In the last week of May 2020, Murphy posted a snapshot of beach to his Instagram and called it a “clue” in the caption.
A couple of months before that fateful beachside photograph was posted, location scout Tiffany Kinder (Monk, Little Women) was seen meeting with the Cemetery Commission in Provincetown, Massachusetts, as reported by The Cape Cod Times. Provincetown’s Tourism Director Anthony Fuccillo confirmed that American Horror Story had permission to film in multiple locations throughout the seaside town: “They seek to film… at various spots, including dunes, beaches, streets and private properties in town,” via The Cape Cod Times.
The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic postponed filming for months, which forced FX to reschedule the series’ season ten premiere for 2021. The amended production schedule allegedly meant that filming on Double Feature would take place starting in October 2020. During the first week of March 2021, Provincetown locals took note of show personnel at work, including actor Finn Wittrock (American Crime Story, The Big Short), WHDH reports.
With regard to the stories Murphy’s team intends to tell in Double Feature, all fans have to go off of are the coastal vistas, numerous references to fangs and teeth in Murphy’s social media posts, the potential return of certain latex-clad ghost, and finally, a single widescreen still Murphy posted on his Instagram on March 11 depicting a pair of bald, broad-shouldered figures stalking the streets of Cape Cod at night. Where Double Feature falls in the American Horror Story timeline remains unknown at present.