Kim Kardashian Joining American Horror Story Is The Most Ryan Murphy Move Possible And We're Shocked It Took This Long
It was only a matter of time before these words ended up in a sentence together: Kim Kardashian will be joining the 12th season of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk's long-running anthology, "American Horror Story." A collaboration between the man who explores fame, camp, luxury, and what captures America's attention, and the woman who has captured America's attention better than anyone else feels so natural, that it's surprising it hasn't happened sooner.
Kardashian posted a teaser promo to her Instagram account today announcing the collaboration. In the promo, you can hear the sound of children playing along with a slow, eerie rendition of "Rock-a-bye Baby." An enigmatic, slowly revealed tagline reads: "Emma Roberts and Kim Kardashian are delicate." Roberts is an "American Horror Story" veteran who played the witch Madison Montgomery in the seasons titled "Coven" and "Apocalypse," and appeared as other characters in the anthology along the way. She is set to star alongside Kardashian in the upcoming season, which will debut this summer.
Murphy's works have always been fascinated by fame
While details about both stars' roles remain scarce, Ryan Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter that Kardashian's role is "fun, stylish, and ultimately terrifying," and that it was written specifically for Kardashian by Halley Feiffer. Feiffer will reportedly act as sole showrunner and writer this season, a rarity for a show that's typically has several writers. Before helming this Kardashian-led season of "American Horror Story," she previously worked on the magical realist Apple TV+ anthology, "Roar," and Showtime's surreal and profound comedy, "Kidding." Feiffer also penned a pivotal episode of the Murphy-created series, "American Crime Story: Impeachment."
"Kim is among the biggest and brightest television stars in the world and we are thrilled to welcome her to the 'AHS' family," Murphy told THR before adding, "Emma and I are excited about collaborating with this true force in the culture." This short and sweet statement gets to the root of why this collaboration isn't a surprise. Murphy has long been interested in the people whose presence on TV and in the tabloids drives conversations in American culture. He's tackled the O.J. Simpson trial, the Bill Clinton impeachment scandal, and the drama behind "What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?" Even the highly fictionalized "American Horror Story" sometimes pulls from real events the public is obsessed with, such as the 2016 election.
AHS has a long track record of casting non-actor celebrities
It makes sense, then, that a subject of intense media fascination like Kim Kardashian would be a great fit for Ryan Murphy's sensibilities. Since her initial rise to fame, Kardashian has rarely appeared on screen as anyone but herself. She's voiced a character on "Paw Patrol" and appeared in a supporting role on the fourth season of "Drop Dead Diva," but the reality star and entrepreneur hasn't had the chance to show off her acting chops before. A role in "American Horror Story" could change that.
Relative inexperience, however, hasn't stopped Murphy from casting zeitgeist-capturing stars before. His franchises have been a jumping-off point for the acting careers of versatile performers in the past, with Lady Gaga memorably appearing in "American Horror Story: Hotel" years before her award-winning turn in "A Star Is Born." Ariana Grande and Nick Jonas show up in "Scream Queens," Britney Spears appears in "Glee," and everyone from Naomi Campbell to Adam Levine pops up in "American Horror Story." Murphy seems to love buzzy casting choices, but he also highlights performers who have been pigeonholed by the public. Going on shows like "American Horror Story" gives non-actor celebrities a chance to show they're capable of doing more than one thing — or, if it turns out they're no good, at least earn some fun headlines in the process.
Good, bad, or camp, season 12 has our attention
This isn't Ryan Murphy's first time putting the spotlight on a Kardashian. In "American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson," Murphy used Robert Kardashian's involvement in the trial to show an intergenerational link between one media circus and another. The filmmaker cast David Schwimmer as the attorney but also focused on the young Kardashian sisters, who he imagines witnessing the harsh glow of the spotlight from the sidelines. American pop culture, he seemed to be arguing, has an attention-driven economy, and the people who saw the 24-hour news coverage of the O.J. case internalized that idea.
Above all else, Kim Kardashian's casting walks the fine line between camp and poor taste, something "American Horror Story" has found itself on both the right and wrong side of throughout its decade-plus run. The reality star has become a lightning rod for persistent sexism and some hyperbolic hate over the years, but she's also received a fair share of valid criticism for things like her history of appropriating Black culture and her promotion of products that reinforce diet culture. She's a controversial star, and that makes her a great fit for Murphy, whose past works reveal a love of divas in every sense of the word.
Kardashian's casting could crash and burn, or it could result in a surprising performance. Either way, it will probably inspire drag personas and memes and way too many thinkpieces. In the attention-based economy that Murphy is so interested in, there are few combinations of celebrities that grab our collective attention as easily as Murphy and Kardashian.