FX and Hulu have renewed American Horror Story for season 14, weeks after season 13’s premiere and before its finale on October 29. The season 13 premiere was the series’ biggest streaming premiere to date, TheWrap reports. The theme and cast for season 14 have not been announced.
That makes the renewal easy to understand as a business decision, though the sources do not say what drove it. Creatively, there is little to judge yet. The anthology’s promise is the chance to reset its world each season; the danger is that familiar faces and references can make a new installment feel like a reunion with a horror premise attached.
Season 13 brings back characters and storylines from earlier seasons, TVLine reports. Returning characters can give old history a new purpose, but nostalgia is a blunt instrument when it does the job of surprise. Season 14 needs a premise that can hold attention before a cast list starts trading on recognition.
The record streaming premiere gives FX and Hulu evidence of an audience for the current season. It does not tell viewers what the next one will be, or prove why the networks renewed it. UPI reports that no casting, setting, or premiere date for season 14 has been announced; TheWrap says the theme is also unannounced. The next season’s first useful reveal is the idea itself. Without that, another season is simply another slot in the anthology.
