American Horror Story: Double Feature

The tenth season of the American horror anthology television series American Horror Story, subtitled Double Feature (stylised in the opening credits with the alternate subtitle Chapter 10), is composed of two stories, each taking up half the season. The first story, Red Tide, focuses on a family in Provincetown, Massachusetts, who meet the town's mysterious true inhabitants. The second story, Death Valley, follows a group of camping students who find themselves in the midst of a conspiracy involving extraterrestrials. The ensemble cast includes veterans Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Lily Rabe, Finn Wittrock, Frances Conroy, Billie Lourd, Leslie Grossman, Adina Porter, and Angelica Ross, as well as newcomers Macaulay Culkin, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Neal McDonough, Kaia Gerber, Nico Greetham, Isaac Powell, Rachel Hilson, and Rebecca Dayan.

Created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for cable network FX, the series is produced by 20th Television. Double Feature was broadcast from August 25 to October 20, 2021, consisting of 10 episodes. Originally scheduled to premiere in late 2020, its production was delayed as result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Main

 * Sarah Paulson as Tuberculosis Karen
 * Evan Peters as Austin Sommers
 * Lily Rabe as Doris Gardner
 * Finn Wittrock as Harry Gardner
 * Frances Conroy as Sarah 'Belle Noir' Cunningham
 * Billie Lourd as Dr. Leslie 'Lark' Feldman
 * Leslie Grossman as Ursula Khan
 * Adina Porter as Chief Burleson
 * Angelica Ross as the Chemist
 * Macaulay Culkin as Mickey
 * Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Alma Gardner

Recurring

 * Denis O'Hare as Holden Vaughn
 * Robin Weigert as Martha Edwards
 * Spencer Novich as Vlad

Guest

 * Blake Shields as Tony
 * Jim Ortlieb as Ray Cunningham
 * Eureka O'Hara as Crystal DeCanter
 * Dot-Marie Jones as Trooper Jan Remy

Main

 * Sarah Paulson as Mamie Eisenhower
 * Lily Rabe as Amelia Earhart
 * Leslie Grossman as Calico
 * Angelica Ross as Theta
 * Neal McDonough as Dwight Eisenhower
 * Kaia Gerber as Kendall Carr
 * Nico Greetham as Cal Cambon
 * Isaac Powell as Troy Lord
 * Rachel Hilson as Jamie Howard
 * Rebecca Dayan as Maria Wycoff

Recurring

 * Cody Fern as Valiant Thor
 * Craig Sheffer as Richard Nixon
 * Christopher Stanley as Sherman Adams
 * Mike Vogel as John F. Kennedy
 * Alisha Soper as Marilyn Monroe

Guest

 * Bryce Johnson as Neil Armstrong
 * Vincent Foster as Henry Kissinger

Development
On August 3, 2018, the series was renewed for a 10th season, set to air in 2020. On May 26, 2020, it was announced that season 10 would be pushed back to 2021 due to production being stalled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the interruption, series co-creator Ryan Murphy told in an interview with TheWrap that the delay could potentially change the season's theme, since his initial idea needed to be filmed during the warmer months of the year. The following month, Murphy unveiled a promotional poster for the season via his Instagram account; the image features a wide-open mouth with razor-sharp teeth while a hand is tattooing "AHS 10" on the tongue. The tenth season has received an estimated amount of $48 million in tax credits under the California Film Association's "Program 2.0" initiative. On March 19, 2021, Murphy revealed the seasons's title to be Double Feature; it will encompass two different stories, "one by the sea, one by the sand." Later, on Instagram, Murphy referred to "Double Feature" as "Two seasons for the fans airing in one calendar year[...] So double the viewing pleasure. One set by the sea (this cast has already been announced). A second by the sand (that cast announcement coming)." On June 24, 2021, FX released the first promotional poster for the season, depicting a female humanoid creature french kissing an alien with a black pill resting on her tongue. On July 6, 2021, FX unveiled a promotional video, disclosing new footage from their upcoming slate of television. The promotional video unveiled footage of the characters portrayed by Sarah Paulson, Leslie Grossman, Lily Rabe, Finn Wittrock, Frances Conroy, and Evan Peters, respectively. On July 27, 2021, the first official teaser was released on social media, confirming the titles of the two parts as Red Tide and Death Valley, respectively. Red Tide spanned over the first six episodes and Death Valley over the last four episodes. On August 13, 2021, the official trailer for Red Tide was released.

Casting
I'm excited for him to be in my world because I think... I'm gonna want to do a lot of things with him if he wants to work, because I think he's fascinating and interesting, and I think he has a soul. There's both a lightness and a darkness with Macaulay Culkin that I'm attracted to. Murphy on Macaulay Culkin's casting In November 2019, Murphy announced that some cast members from the first three seasons may return for the upcoming tenth season, saying, "[T]he people who helped build this show into what it is, who believed in it from the beginning, have been contacted and are interested. So, if you look at the iconography of the first three seasons, you can figure who I've gone to and who might be coming back." He also said that the tenth season would be "about reuniting fan-favorite actors to come back." Later that day, Paulson confirmed that she would be returning to the series for its 10th season in a lead role. On February 26, 2020, Murphy published a video in his Instagram account revealing that Grossman, Peters, Rabe, Wittrock, along with Kathy Bates, Billie Lourd, Adina Porter, Angelica Ross, and series newcomer Macaulay Culkin were cast in the 10th season. In a May 2020 interview with E! Online, Murphy revealed that Culkin accepted his role after Murphy told him the character's personality over the phone. He affirmed, "I told him he has crazy, erotic sex with Kathy Bates and does other things. And he paused and he goes, 'This sounds like the role I was born to play.' So, he signed up right then and there." On November 18, 2020, Murphy announced the casting of Spencer Novich. On February 5, 2021, Conroy was confirmed to return in season 10, replacing the role Bates was to play. On March 20, 2021, Murphy confirmed via Instagram that former series regular Denis O'Hare would return for the first time since Roanoke. On June 15, 2021, Neal McDonough joined the cast as a series regular.

Filming
It was initially reported that production was scheduled to resume filming in October 2020; however, Rabe confirmed to Digital Spy that filming for the season would start on December 2, 2020. On July 20, 2021, it was reported that production had been temporarily halted due to a positive COVID-19 case and potential exposure to the illness. Filming resumed a week later and concluded on September 27, 2021.

Release
The season was released in consecutive installments: Red Tide premiered on August 25, 2021, and Death Valley premiered on September 29, 2021, one week after the finale of Red Tide.

Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports an 80% approval rating, based on 61 reviews for the season, with an average rating of 9.00/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Though its second tale is still a mystery, the first half of Double Feature proves a spine-tingling good time with terrific performances."

Liz Shannon Miller of Collider stated Double Feature manages to be one of the best American Horror Story seasons ever created, writing, "For 10 seasons now, American Horror Story has represented the wildest excesses of the Ryan Murphy brand — incredible casts, deliberately outlandish premises and plots, and experiments in form which explode the ideas of what's possible on television." Riley Runnells of The Post praised the performances of the actors and complimented the writing, claiming, "The vibe of the show is almost more of a movie style and more professional-seeming than any other season so far. Not only are there incredible acting and technical moments, but the writing seems more polished and original than the more recent seasons of the show – especially the fresh take on a vampire plot."

Andy Swift of TVLine applauded the performances of the cast members and stated the season succeeds to be terrifying, saying, "Chilling, compelling and wonderfully acted, Double Feature already feels like a return to form for the long-running franchise." Kayla Cobb of Decider said Double Feature succeeds to be frightening across its jumpscares and characters, while praising the performances of the actors, stating, "If you're into American Horror Story for the horror, you're going to have a blast. If not, then Double Feature has some killer performances from your favorites that you won't want to miss."

Matt Fowler of IGN rated the season 7 out of 10, stating, "The first two episodes of the first half of American Horror Story: Double Feature start slow, but then amplify the intrigue with an interesting spin on vampires." Ron Hogan of Den of Geek rated the season 3 out of 5 stars, saying, "There are some very clever transitions between scenes, and the episode has good flow without getting slowed down during exposition dumps. The effects are used as appropriate punchlines, and American Horror Story is never shy about blood and gore when necessary. It (the half-season, not the episode) just felt a little too rushed, with too many ideas and not quite enough development."