Next week’s episode of “American Horror Story: Cult” features a harrowing mass shooting in which at least five people are gunned down in a public space.
It’s unclear if the network, run by CEO John Landgraf, will delay airing or edit the potentially-triggering scenes in light of this week’s Las Vegas massacre. FX and the show’s production studio, 20th Century Fox Television, declined to comment on the matter.
Power producer Ryan Murphy, who fathered the series with Brad Falchuk and continues to executive produce alongisde other projects, had no comment. Reps for Falchuk did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
The shooting sequences open and close the episode, titled “Mid-Western Assassin,” and take place at a political rally. A lone shooter targets random people in the crowd before being contained by police.
The stylized, slow-motion depiction of the assault is set to air this Tuesday, Oct. 10 — just nine days after the tragic mass massacre that occurred Sunday in Las Vegas — now called the deadliest in modern American history.
Scenes of the shooting are not included in the for the episode that FX posted to YouTube on Wednesday.
The shooting content is obviously a case of unlucky timing, given the 11-episode series wrapped production last month. It’s certainly not the first time that the scripted events of television bump up against real life tragedies.
The 2015 season finale of “Mr. Robot” postponed its airing after events on the Rami Malek show mimicked the real-life shooting of a TV news reporter and a cameraman on air. Coincidences like these go back to national tragedies like 9/11 (Fox’s “24” was impacted) and the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings (“Hannibal,” “Castle”).
This also is not the first time “Horror Story’ has skirted real-life tragedy. The first season, “American Horror Story; Murder House,” featured a meticulous and chilling depiction of a high school shooting that drew ire for its proximity to real life events like the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.
“It’s more than a little tasteless,” wrote The Atlantic at the time. “This particular set piece seemed so deliberately exact. There was a particular event, or events, that they were trying to directly evoke and that’s just cruel.”
“American Horror Story: Cult” stars repertory players Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Adina Porter, Cheyenne Jackson and Billie Lord. Guest stars include Mare Winningham, Emma Roberts, Billy Eichner and Leslie Grossman.
“Mid-Western Assassin” was written by Todd Kurbak and directed by Bradley Buecker.
Every 'American Horror Story: Cult' Character, Ranked by How Likely It Is That They're a Murderous Clown (Photos)
When "American Horror Story: Cult," kicked off on Sept. 5, fans immediately started speculating that some of the weirdness between the show's characters could be a clown cult conspiracy. After eight episodes most of their suspicions have been confirmed, but now members are turning against each other, and people who were in are trying to find way s to take the cult down. Warning: Spoilers!
FX
Oz Mayfair-Richards (Cooper Dodson)
Seeing as Oz is a kid, we can be pretty sure he’s not a member of the clown murder cult. But we now know he's an integral part of at least some of the cult's plans. Could little Oz be on the recruitment list? And how is he going to react when he starts to learn the truth? Maybe he'll gather a clown-fighting posse of local kids, a la the movie "It."
FX
Dr. Rudy Vincent (Cheyenne Jackson)
Poor Vincent. Despite being Kai and Winter's brother, it turns out he really didn't know anything about the clown cult -- until it was too late. Vincent really should have listened to Ally all this time, instead of disbelieving her while never realizing that the guy responsible for her torment was his brother all along.
FX
RJ (James Morosini)
Beverly Hope's cameraman was revealed to be a part of the cult when "American Horror Story: Cult" finally took all the masks off, but he's one member who hasn't been fully on board with all the murders. He might have wanted to keep his mouth shut, though, since Kai and Beverly made an example out of him to prove everyone else's loyalty. It seems likely that'll create some more dissension in the ranks, and soon fans will be guessing who's about to try to leave the cult, rather than who's joining up.
FX
Beverly Hope (Adina Porter)
After Kai got his spot on the city council, he immediately started sidelining the women in the group. Beverly isn't happy about it -- she previously was Kai's favorite cultist and his second-in-command, but now she's thinking about betrayal, and helped get rid of Harrison to start it. It seems she underestimated how much she could trust Winter, though, but Kai hasn't killed her yet. There might yet be time for Beverly to get free and start a cult of her own.
FX
Ivy Mayfair-Richards (Alison Pill)
Fans immediately started to believe Ivy might be in on the clown cult after the first episode, when clowns repeatedly tormented her wife, Ally, but Ivy saw nothing. Now we know Ivy was using the clowns to try to get out of her marriage and grab custody of her son. After Kai started cutting out the women, though, it seems that Ivy is rethinking her choices. It might be too little, too late though, since Ally is now part of the cult, much to Ivy's shock.
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Winter Anderson (Billie Lourd)
It turns out Kai's sister is among his biggest supporters, which isn't totally shocking. But now that he seems to have replaced her and the other women in the cult's power structure, Winter's loyalties seem to be fluctuating -- starting with taking out Harrison and Samuels. But she was still loyal enough to pick Kai over Vincent and Beverly.
FX
Ally Mayfair-Richards (Sarah Paulson)
Ally was the cult's target for the longest time, but as she said in Episode 8, Kai's torment might have actually cured her of all her phobias. She's definitely got a plan, and she's executing it -- by joining the cult. Ally turned on Vincent without much trouble, but is she really backing Kai, or does she mean to dismantle the whole thing from the inside?
FX
Detective Samuels (Colton Haynes)
There have been hints all along that Detective Samuels might be in on the cult. He showed up conveniently at key points in several investigations, and when it turned out he was dating Harrison, there seemed to be no way he wasn't helping the clowns out. We finally found out how Kai brought him aboard, only to watch him bite a bullet for being a sexist Neo-Nazi.
FX
Bebe Babbit (Frances Conroy)
Appearing out of nowhere to warn the women of Kai's cult against him, it turned out that Zodiac killer Bebe is actually working with Kai. She might not be a full murder member of the clown cult, but she's definitely helping the leader execute his master plans -- which seem to involve literally cutting some people out.
FX
Gary Longstreet (Chaz Bono)
When the clown masks came off, finding Gary underneath one was about pretty unsurprising. After all, this was the guy who cut off his own hand so he could make sure to vote. He also was clearly involved in one of the first clown cult appearances to torment Ally. Gary's a true believer, that much is obvious.
FX
Harrison Wilton (Billy Eichner)
Harrison became one of Kai's most committed acolytes. He clearly saw Kai as having saved, and salvaged, his failing life. Harrison was fully on board with all kinds of murder and mayhem, without hesitation. It wasn't enough to stop Beverly, Ivy and Winter from slicing him up, though.
FX
Meadow Wilton (Leslie Grossman)
The big twist in the sixth episode of "American Horror Story: Cult" revealed that there's nobody more fanatically dedicated to Kai than Meadow. She played double agent beautifully, and went all-in for Kai in a way that probably no one else in the cult would.
FX
Kai Anderson (Evan Peters)
Kai has a plan for world domination in the wake of Donald Trump’s election, and his clown murder cult is helping him do it. As things begin to pick up speed with Kai's faked assassination attempt, though, it's becoming clear there's more to his strategy than even his followers know. That, or he's completely lost it.
FX
Twisty the Clown (John Carroll Lynch)
There’s no denying that Twisty the Clown is literally a murderous clown. So far, though, he doesn’t seem to be a real murderous clown, but a fictional one. He’s only appeared in Oz’s comic books and dreams, so he might just be a tormenting, gross-faced monster showing up to confuse the other characters about what’s real and what’s in their heads.
FX
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Alliances are fraying in the murder cult
When "American Horror Story: Cult," kicked off on Sept. 5, fans immediately started speculating that some of the weirdness between the show's characters could be a clown cult conspiracy. After eight episodes most of their suspicions have been confirmed, but now members are turning against each other, and people who were in are trying to find way s to take the cult down. Warning: Spoilers!
FX
FX
