“American Horror Story” Announces the Addition of Its First Two Female Directors
Per an article by ENStarz, Angela Bassett and Jennifer Lynch (The Walking Dead, Teen Wolf, Damien) have joined the sixth season of American Horror Story, the anthology horror television series created and produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, as directors.
Series regular Angela Bassett recently confirmed her return to the series this season during an interview with The Chew. She’ll be returning again as a performer, but she also confirmed she’ll be directing an episode of the season (you can watch the full segment below, but skip to about 9:15 to hear her talk about American Horror Story).
“[I’ll direct] at least one [episode],” says Bassett. “We usually have male directors but I’ll be the first female director”. The actress then continued on to reveal she still does not know what the new theme will be until production starts. But judging from an Instagram post by fellow director on the project, Jennifer Lynch, production HAS already started…at least somewhat anyway! Stay tuned for the highly anticipated [AHS] theme announcement.
Just to reiterate, joining Bassett will be Jennifer Lynch, known for her excellent directing work on AMC’s The Walking Dead, MTV’s Teen Wolf and A&E’s Damien. The announcement of her joining comes after a series of Instagram post featuring her director’s chair and an additional one featuring the entrance to the AHS production office. Lynch is the daughter of famed auteur director David Lynch and is the second female director to be added to the show [AHS].
Four months after the announcement of Angela Bassett’s directorial debut, and about two months before the hiring of Jennifer Lynch, Sarah Paulson revealed in a THR Roundtable discussion that American Horror Story NEVER had a female director in the 5-6 years she’s been on the show. This is actually a pretty startling fact given the show’s history as a showcase for exceptional female performances and Murphy’s penchant for writing strong female characters.
“I mean, I haven’t had a female director on ‘American Horror Story’ in the five-six years that I’ve been on the show.” Paulson then continued on discussing Ryan Murphy’s decision to bring on more female directors “I think Ryan [Murphy] has taken the initiative, it’s been awhile, to have a female director.” Paulson then half-joked that ‘American Crime Story’ director Regina King should direct. King’s answer to that comment was that she loves the show and thinks it’s beautiful. But, other than that, she didn’t really elaborate and/or humor Paulson’s comment [if she would or has been asked to direct AHS].
The hiring of Lynch and Bassett as reported by ENStarz comes after Ryan Murphy’s pledge to make it a priority to have at least half of his cast on his future projects to be either part of the LGBT community, a female or a person of color.
As exciting as this news is, I’m especially interested in what this season is going to be about! And I’m certainly not alone in my curiosity and speculation. Guessing the theme each season is part of what makes the ever-changing series so much fun. EVERYBODY is currently busy trying to decipher Ryan Murphy’s famous hidden clues, especially after the recent posting of the season 6 teaser logo.
The black and red logo is simply a design of the number “6” and a question mark, which was just revealed on FX’s social media accounts. The number 6 was posted three times, fueling speculation that the next season will possibly focus on the antichrist (666 being widely recognized as the sign of the devil). Fans of the series can definitely find several possible hints to justify this being the new theme. But Murphy is a man of mystery, and this could all just be misdirection. So…
Keep on the look out here for further announcements.
American Horror Story season 6 will premiere Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on FX.
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sources/AHS Facebook, ENStarz, THR, The Chew
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