American Horror Story Season 8 is Set 18 Months in the Future

The next and eighth season of American Horror Story will take place 18 months or so into the future, in approximately fall 2019, according to Ryan Murphy's talk at an Emmy FYC (For Your Consideration) panel discussion.

Murphy was joined on the panel to discuss the current season, Cult, by cast members Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Billy Eichner, Cheyenne Jackson, Adina Porter and Leslie Grossman--all of whom have been revealed to be returning for the anthology series' eighth installment. Additionally, it was explained that Paulson and Peters will both direct respective episodes in their directorial debuts.

The panel took place over the weekend, where Murphy unveiled the season would take place "18 months from today," which urges the question: is it tied to a specific moment already on the future calendar? What, specifically, could Murphy be thinking of centering his narrative around in October 2019?

Related | The First Trailer for AHS: Cult is Here

The newest iteration of the show will also take on a more surreal tone, as opposed to the realistic (ish) air of Cult.

"It's not necessarily as real and grounded as the past season. We're sort of getting back to Asylum and Coven. It's that tone. That's the tone of it," Murphy said, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It was also unveiled that legendary actress Joan Collins will join the cast as someone's grandmother, and that Kathy Bates will return to the show after some time away. THRalso reports that Murphy is in talks with Anjelica Huston about an as-yet-unspecifed role.