'American Horror Story' Season 3 eyes 'evil glamour'

Anyone who's been attuned to "Asylum," or even checked in with our weekly episode recaps, can attest that "American Horror Story" has been a decidedly bleak affair this go-around. Not that it hasn't offered thrills and chills a minute, punctuated by a hearty dose of black humor. But its violent glimpse inside a Satanically and supernaturally compromised mental institution circa 1964 hasn't exactly focused on the brighter side of life.

 

Bing: "American Horror Story: Asylum | Ryan Murphy

 

Not to worry: Creator Ryan Murphy assures fans that Season 3 will be less stiflingly morbid. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he concedes, "I don't think anything could ever be as dark as the mental health care system in our country," while elaborating that "for the third version I want to do something that’s a little bit more evil glamour." 

 

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Specifically, that could entail another teen courtship à la Season 1, something Murphy says was lacking amid the "Asylum" doom and gloom. "I really loved having that 'Romeo and Juliet' youth story with Violet and Tate," he explains. "I want something like that again, and we’re doing something like that in the third season."  As for where that next chapter will unfold, the giddy showrunner will only acknowledge, "We’re contemplating shooting it in a place in the country where true horror has been. We’ve got lots of delicious plans." 

Far as the inmates at Briarcliff, Murphy promises that not all their fates are as grim as Shelley or [spoiler] Mary Eunice's, unavoidable as the latter's may have been. "What was important to me is that the show, as we built to the conclusion, wasn’t just so dark and unrelenting," he reassures audiences. "I really wanted to have a couple happy endings, and some of the characters do have that." Well, thank goodness for tiny miracles.