FX Will Air 2 Versions of ‘American Horror Story: Cult’ Mass-Shooting Episode

Jeff Pfeiffer October 9, 2017, 2:00 pm

Over the weekend, American Horror Story: Cult executive producer Ryan Murphy confirmed that he edited Tuesday’s new episode to be less violent in the wake of last week’s mass shooting in Las Vegas. The “Mid-Western Assassin” episode, which filmed in September, originally featured a graphic mass shooting scene, with an intent, according to Murphy, of making “an obvious anti-gun warning about society.”

The violent scene, which opens the episode, will feature “substantial edits” in its televised version on linear cable, according to a statement released Monday by FX Networks. Also in that statement, the network said that the unedited version will be available on its VOD platforms.

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The statement from FX Networks, in full:

“In light of the tragedy last week in Las Vegas, Ryan Murphy and the producers of American Horror Story: Cult have chosen to make substantial edits to the opening scene of tomorrow night’s episode (Tuesday, October 10, 10 PM ET/PT). This opening, which was filmed two months ago and which portrays an occurrence of gun violence that has sadly become all too common in our country, contains a sequence that some viewers might find traumatic. Only the edited version of the episode will air on the FX linear channel, while the unedited version of the episode will be available on the VOD platform of your cable, satellite or telco provider, as well as on the FX Networks non-linear platforms, FXNOW and FX+.”

American Horror Story: Cult, Tuesdays, 10/9c, FX