A Clown Cult “Want[s] You” In Teaser for ‘American Horror Story’ Season 7

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Two of many things we know about American Horror Story‘s upcoming seventh season: 1. There will be tie-ins to (all time AHS low-point) Freak Show, with Ryan Murphy having said, “Next year, we will be going back to some Freak Show characters, deeper histories and mythologies. So we’re sort of still exploring Season 4 in Season 7.” (One of those characters being revisited, per TV Guide, is good old Twisty the Clown.) 2. This season is somehow about the 2016 election. A just-released teaser for the upcoming season certainly depicts a direct link to the the Season 4 tie-in (so many clowns! A sea of Twisties!) but may lead you down a rabbit holes of metaphorical theories about the election-oriented piece of knowledge. (All of which, no matter the angle of approach, end up sounding pretty on-the-nose, as this AHS treatment of the subject I fear will be.) Obviously, it’s a thesis on how juggalo culture and Trumpism feel related, right?

We know, based on announcement at San Diego Comic Con yesterday, that the title is Cult. This is echoed in the teaser, with scary didgeridoo-accompanied clown voiceover intoning, “Does it seem like no one really understands you? Do some people just make you sick? Are you afraid? We can set you free. We will make you strong. We want you.”

The thing is, given what we also already know about marketing for American Horror Story seasons, this could ultimately only tie into everything stylistically, in the ways the opening credits of each AHS season are kind of a more-exciting/dynamic Pinterest board version of the turgid thing the season actually is. (And recall that they withheld announcements of the theme of last season, and instead released a series of teaser trailers, only one of which was actually related.)

Cult will premiere on FX on September 5. Watch the teaser: