Every so often, even an entertainment connoisseur like myself will be hit by a piece of industry news like a smack to the face. I didn’t expect when I woke up this morning, to the sun shining and the spring leaves starting to bud on the trees, that my jaw would soon drop so hard it would break through the three floors of solid concrete below me. But that was before Kim Kardashian announced that she would be starring in Season 12 of American Horror Story. I was a different person then than I am now.
The casting news landed like a bomb when Kardashian posted the announcement teaser to her combined 424 million followers across Twitter and Instagram. Against the sounds of a plucked harp, seven words changed the face of the world: “Emma Roberts and Kim Kardashian are delicate.” A voice whispers the same words before the teaser concludes, confirming that the twelfth season of Ryan Murphy’s iconic franchise will debut sometime this summer.
“Kim is among the biggest and brightest television stars in the world, and we are thrilled to welcome her to the AHS family,” Murphy said in a statement to the Hollywood Reporter. “Halley Feiffer has written a fun, stylish, and ultimately terrifying role especially for Kim, and this season is ambitious and unlike anything we’ve ever done.”
Murphy has become known for his casting stunts. This is, after all, the same person who got Ariana Grande to grace the premiere of Scream Queens, in which she was killed off, only to return in a handful of brief flashbacks. Murphy has even pulled shocking surprises from under his hat with American Horror Story in the past. After Jessica Lange left the franchise following Season 4, Murphy kept viewers hooked with an unexpected feat: getting Lady Gaga to make her acting debut, as the lead in Season 5.
While this won’t be Kardashian’s first scripted gig—who can forget the likes of Disaster Movie and four episodes of Drop Dead Diva—it’ll certainly be her most high profile. Though the anthology has had a couple of tepid installments over the last few years, fans are often reeled back into American Horror Story by an interesting premise, the return of their favorite series regular, or a startling guest star, And who could be more unexpected than Kim Kardashian?
Roberts, who hasn’t been seen as a regular on the show since Season 9, is beloved by series loyalists for her unforgettably catty characters, who instantly make indelible memes. Combining Roberts’ franchise comeback with a must-see star like Kardashian could be an inspired way to bring American Horror Story back to the peak of the zeitgeist.
At this point, Season 12’s plot is still being kept under wraps, but the Hollywood Reporter confirms that it is loosely based on Danielle Valentine’s upcoming novel, Delicate Condition, out in August. The novel is described as being about a woman convinced that a mysterious figure is doing whatever it can to make sure her pregnancy never happens.
We also know that this season was reportedly filmed under the working title “Hamptons.” That means that we could be in store for more thematic fare that will instantly light Twitter on fire with its next hit meme. Think about it: Few things scream “bait” more than Kim Kardashian and Emma Roberts walking around the posh Long Island neighborhood, demanding attention before being scared out of their wits. That alone is enough to keep gay Twitter satiated until the next election year.
Whether the season will actually take place in the Hamptons, or the code name was simply a red herring to throw fans off the scent, is something that we’ll have to find out when American Horror Story airs later this year. But keep your Jitney ticket and sunblock handy, just in case—this is going to be appointment television.
