‘American Horror Story: Cult’ Uses 2016 Election as a ‘Launch Point’

With the announcement that “American Horror Story’s” seventh season was going to have the “Cult” subtitle, people wondered if showrunner Ryan Murphy’s comments about it being about the 2016 election would still be correct.

The answer? Yes and no.

Producer Alexis Martin Woodall didn’t say much to reporters at the Television Critics Association’s press tour about the franchise’s upcoming season, but dropped some hints about how the show uses the 2016 election.

“I would say honestly that when Ryan had made the announcement originally that the season would deal with Trump, it’s more about what’s going on in the world around us,” she explained. “We talk about the streak of paranoia, and a lot of it launches from that.”

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She added that it’s not “what you think it is” — namely that it isn’t a straight adaptation of the campaign between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump (probably) — but that it was used as a jumping off point for the rest of the season. According to IMDb, the first episode is called “Election Night,” although IMDb’s accuracy is always debatable.

“I’m not trying to be cagey,” Woodall added to the reporters, who learned little about the upcoming season. “Knowing less is actually more.”

But what we now know about “Cult,” according to Woodall: there will be “bloody tension,” “a well-cooked meal,” and an “exciting trip to a grocery store.”

Murphy revealed back in February on “Watch What Happens Live!” that this season of “American Horror Story” would be about the 2016 election.

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“I don’t have a title but the season when we begin shooting it is going to be about the election that we just went through,” Murphy said at the time. “So I think that will be interesting for a lot of people.”

He was even coy about if there would be a Trump-like character.

Host Andy Cohen asked, “Wow, oh wow … will there be a Trump in it?”

“Maybe,” Murphy responded.

“American Horror Story: Cult” will premiere on FX on Sept. 5.