American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy revealed earlier this month that he was basing the show's seventh season on the 2016 election. It certainly provides fodder for some interesting plot lines, but he hadn't given away much about how he'll do it — until Friday. While accepting a Television Showmanship of the Year award at the Publicists Guild Awards Luncheon, Murphy dropped a few hints.
The President himself won't be a character, according to People. "I said that American Horror Story’s season 7 was going to be about the election. Now did I mean this literally? No," Murphy said. "The themes of American Horror Story have always been allegory. We’ll not see Trump or Clinton as characters on the show."
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But Trump's Counselor Kellyanne Conway could find her way in there. "Now as I look over at Sarah Paulson, I think of Kellyanne Conway. I don’t know! I might be rewriting!" Murphy said, according to IndieWire.
Given that Trump and Clinton won't show up but Conway might, it's possible the show could be based on the cast of characters behind Trump's campaign. Conway's a pretty fascinating character in of herself, from her coinage of the term "alternative facts" to her habit of accusing the left of sexism while disavowing feminism.
But there's also a good chance he won't have any actors directly portray politicians since his comment about Paulson sounded like a joke.
However he'll do it, Murphy is passionate about addressing the current political climate on TV. His speech referenced a tweet implying that the show should stay away from current events, which he saw as a way of silencing marginalized groups.
"This idea of infantilizing, of 'stay in your box,' of not expressing yourself or what you’re interested in," Murphy said in his speech, "is something that gay people and women and people of color have to endure all the time in this world and this industry."