American Horror Story: Apocalypse

The eighth season of the American horror anthology television series American Horror Story, subtitled Apocalypse, features the witches from the New Orleans coven as they battle the Antichrist and attempt to prevent the world from ending. The season is presented as a crossover between Murder House, Coven, and Hotel. The ensemble cast includes Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Adina Porter, Billie Lourd, Leslie Grossman, Cody Fern, Emma Roberts, Cheyenne Jackson, and Kathy Bates, with all returning from previous seasons, except newcomer Fern.

Created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for cable network FX, the series is produced by 20th Century Fox Television. Apocalypse set in 2026 was broadcast between September 12 and November 14, 2018, consisting of 10 episodes. The season was announced in January 2017 and received positive reviews from critics. In April 2019, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which presents the Primetime Emmy Awards, announced that, for the first time in the series' history, a season would not qualify for the Limited Series categories, and would instead be moved to Drama. Apocalypse was ultimately nominated to five categories, including Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for Jessica Lange.

Main

 * Sarah Paulson as
 * Wilhemina Venable
 * Cordelia Goode
 * Billie Dean Howard
 * Evan Peters as
 * Malcolm Gallant
 * James Patrick March
 * Tate Langdon
 * Jeff Pfister
 * Adina Porter as Dinah Stevens
 * Billie Lourd as Mallory
 * Leslie Grossman as Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt
 * Cody Fern as Michael Langdon
 * Emma Roberts as Madison Montgomery
 * Cheyenne Jackson as John Henry Moore
 * Kathy Bates as
 * Miriam Mead
 * Delphine LaLaurie

Special guest stars

 * Joan Collins as
 * Evie Gallant
 * Bubbles McGee
 * Frances Conroy as
 * Myrtle Snow
 * Moira O'Hara
 * Lily Rabe as Misty Day
 * Stevie Nicks as herself
 * Jessica Lange as Constance Langdon
 * Dylan McDermott as Dr. Ben Harmon
 * Connie Britton as Vivien Harmon
 * Angela Bassett as Marie Laveau

Recurring

 * Billy Eichner as
 * Brock
 * Mutt Nutter
 * Kyle Allen as Timothy Campbell
 * Ash Santos as Emily Campbell
 * Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman as Andre Stevens
 * Erika Ervin as the Fist
 * Gabourey Sidibe as Queenie
 * Taissa Farmiga as
 * Zoe Benson
 * Violet Harmon
 * Jamie Brewer as Nan
 * Naomi Grossman as Samantha Crowe
 * Billy Porter as Behold Chablis
 * Jon Jon Briones as Ariel Augustus
 * BD Wong as Baldwin Pennypacker
 * Carlo Rota as Anton LaVey

Guest stars

 * Dina Meyer as Nora Campbell
 * Travis Schuldt as Mr. Campbell
 * John Getz as Mr. St. Pierre Vanderbilt
 * Chad James Buchanan as Stu
 * Wayne Pére as Mr. Kingery
 * Mena Suvari as Elizabeth Short
 * Sam Kinsey as Beau Langdon
 * Celia Finkelstein as Gladys
 * Lance Reddick as Papa Legba
 * Sandra Bernhard as Hannah
 * Harriet Sansom Harris as Madelyn
 * Dominic Burgess as Phil
 * Yevgeniy Kartashov as Yakov Yurovsky
 * Mark Ivanir as Nicholas II of Russia
 * Emilia Ares as Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia

Development
On January 12, 2017, the series was renewed for an eighth season, which premiered on September 12, 2018. In October 2016, series co-creator Ryan Murphy announced a "crossover" season between previous cycles Murder House and Coven. In January 2018, he stated that the ninth season would most likely feature the crossover; however, in June 2018, he announced that the eighth season was chosen instead. Murphy has also stated that the eighth season would be set 18 months in the future and would feature an Asylum and Coven tone. In July 2018, it was announced at the San Diego Comic-Con that the title of the season would be Apocalypse.

In April 2018, it was revealed that series veteran Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters would make their directorial debut in an episode. It was later revealed that Paulson would direct the sixth episode. Peters, in the end, did not direct an episode.

As with previous seasons, several teasers were released. On September 4, 2018, a short trailer was released, followed by a longer trailer the next day.

Casting
In October 2017, it was announced that series mainstay Sarah Paulson would return for the season. In March 2018, it was announced that Kathy Bates and Evan Peters would also return, leading the season with Paulson. In April 2018, Joan Collins joined the cast as the grandmother of Peters' character. In April and May 2018, Cult actors Adina Porter, Cheyenne Jackson, Billy Eichner, Leslie Grossman, and Billie Lourd were also confirmed to return.

In June 2018, Emma Roberts revealed that she would return for Apocalypse, reprising her role as Madison Montgomery from Coven. That same month, Murphy revealed that other witches from Coven had all been invited to return, and also stated that he had asked Anjelica Huston to join the cast, while Paulson confirmed that she would reprise her Coven role, Cordelia Goode. In July 2018, it was reported that Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman and Kyle Allen would guest star in the season. Later that month, Murphy revealed via Twitter that American Crime Story actor Cody Fern joined the cast as a grown-up Michael Langdon, the Antichrist born during the events of Murder House.

In August 2018, Pose actor Billy Porter announced via Instagram that he would appear in the season. Later, during the Television Critics Association press tour, it was announced that Jessica Lange would appear in the season's sixth episode as her Murder House character, Constance Langdon. After FX released the season's first teaser, actress Lesley Fera revealed via Twitter that she would appear in the season premiere. Later, Ryan Murphy confirmed via Twitter that Taissa Farmiga, Gabourey Sidibe, Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy, and Stevie Nicks would all appear during the season, and that they would all reprise the roles they played in Coven. In the same month, Angela Bassett, who appeared in four previous seasons, confirmed that she would not appear in the season; however, Bassett appeared in the last episode of the season, playing Marie Laveau, the role she played in Coven. Later, Finn Wittrock, who appeared in three past seasons, confirmed that he would not appear in Apocalypse. The same day, it was announced that original cast members Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott would be returning for the season, and Ryan Murphy later confirmed that they would reprise their Murder House roles, Vivien and Ben Harmon, respectively. Later, Murphy revealed that Evan Peters and Taissa Farmiga would be reprising their Murder House roles, Tate Langdon and Violet Harmon, respectively.

In September 2018, it was revealed that Erika Ervin would be returning for Apocalypse after having a recurring role in Freak Show. It was also reported that actress Ash Santos would appear in the season.

Filming
In April 2018, Murphy revealed that filming for the season would begin in June 2018.

Critical response
American Horror Story: Apocalypse received positive reviews, with many considering it as an improvement over the recent seasons. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the season a 79% approval rating, with an average rating of 6.95/10, based on 8 reviews. The critical consensus reads, "Ryan Murphy and his murderers' row of witchy performers literally save the world -- and franchise -- in Apocalypse, the series' most ambitious crossover swing yet." On Metacritic, the season was given a score of 63 out of 100 based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Awards and nominations
In its eighth season, the series has been nominated for 20 awards. Five of them were won.