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American Horror Story Season 7 Will Be About the Election

Will there be a Trump character?

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Sadie Gennis

Brace yourselves. Ryan Murphy has announced the theme of American Horror Story Season 7, and it's a doozy.

On Wednesday's Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Murphy revealed to host Andy Cohen that the as-yet-untitled season will cover the 2016 presidential election. "I think that will be interesting for a lot of people," Murphy noted.

Cohen, clearly baffled by the news, began to cut to a caller's question before interrupting himself to ask whether that means there will be a Donald Trump character. "Uh, maybe," Murphy demurred.

The theme of American Horror Story's seventh season is completely unexpected, and yet makes perfect sense. The most recent season Roanoke was all about how fame and social media can lead to disastrous and deadly ends, which seems like a perfect set-up to tackle Trump's political rise. It's even possible Murphy has been mulling this notion over for a while. When discussing how Roanoke sets up future seasons of American Horror Story, he teased: "You'll really see it after this season. We lay a lot of pipe, and you'll see it explode in Seasons 7 and 8."

Everything we know about American Horror Story Season 7, and beyond

American Horror Story has always been a show centered around strong, and typically older, female characters, showcasing their resilience as they fight to survive monsters and ghouls, but also as they deal with various aspects of patriarchal culture, such as sexual assault and ageism. In that light, a Hillary Clinton-inspired character makes perfect sense as an anchor for a season of AHS.

This will also mark the first of two television projects Murphy has planned to center around a Clinton -- the third season of American Crime Story will take on the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

As of now, Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters are the only two actors confirmed to appear in American Horror Story's seventh season, which begins shooting in June. And although we know Paulson won't be playing Clinton in American Crime Story, we wouldn't be surprised if she played the embattled heroine in American Horror Story's election season.