"American Horror Story" brought its first season to an end Wednesday night (Dec. 21) leaving the viewers wondering what is going to happen with the Harmon family and their supporting characters in Season 2. Executive producer Ryan Murphy spoke with the press Thursday and spilled all the details (without spoilers) for next season.
"The only thing I guess I will say about that is next year of the show, every season of the show, will be a different haunting," says Murphy. "What you saw in the finale was the end of the Harmon house and the second season of the show will be a brand new home or building to haunt, I guess is the proper way to put it. Just like this year, every season of the show will have a beginning, a middle and an end."
"That being said, what we're going to do with the actors is some of them will be coming back," Murphy continues. "and also new faces on the show, but [the returning actors] will be playing completely different characters. Completely different creatures and monsters, etc."
Murphy also says that this idea of an "anthology show" was the "design of the show from the beginning," which he thinks is a "cool, interesting way to tell a horror show."
Along with the new haunting, Murphy says there will be a new theme for the show.
"Every season also, along with being a new haunting, will also have a new overriding theme," says Murphy. "The theme of this year, as I've said many times, was 'infidelity.' Next year will have a different theme and a new cast of characters to go with it."
We won't have to wait to long to find out who makes up the new cast and what the new storyline will be. Murphy says the full cast and the storyline for Season 2 will probably be announced in February.
Don't worry - not all the faces from Season 1 will be gone, but mum's the word on which ones may return and in what capacity. But it won't be the same as the first season.
"Connie and Dylan will not be playing the leads on the show," says Murphy. "Their stories are done. People that will be coming back will be playing completely new characters."
"I love those characters and I mourn them, I will miss them," Murphy continues. "But I think the aspects of the show everyone loves, the mysteries and the love stories, will all be there in the second season, albeit with new actors and new characters ... I just hope that people who love the show, I can say with 100% optimism I think they will love the second season, perhaps moreso, based on what we have cooked up."
If you were a fan of the true crime aspect of the show - Mena Suvari as the Black Dahlia, for example - don't worry. That won't be going away.
"We will always have characters or real-life situations based on American true-horror crimes. I'm not interested in doing another house, just a house story. We're not going to move to Maine and do another haunted cottage," says Murphy. "There are all different types of American horror stories to tell."
"I'm really interested in serial killing stories or true crime stories or prison stories, so that's the thing. You can see as long as we all do our good work and people are continually interested, that every year on the show is almost a little miniseries in itself and can be a completely radically different type of show," he continues.
But there is one topic that is off limits.
"I wouldn't do a season about vampires," Murphy laughs. "But everything else is fair game. What we're planning now is very different from the California house approach."
We can hardly wait to find out.
