American Horror Story: Cult intro and trailer released for season 7

The clips for AHS’ new election-themed season feature images of clowns and masked versions of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

FX has unveiled the trailer and opening credits for season 7 of American Horror Story, subtitled “Cult,” in anticipation of the show’s return in early September. As previously revealed by creator Ryan Murphy, the action for the anthology series’ latest story kicks off on Election Night 2016. Preview clips have also heavily hinted that the season will revolve around a group of clowns, including the return of Freak Show villain Twisty the Clown (John Lynch).

The latest intro reveals a smaller main cast, which includes AHS regulars Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters and Cheyenne Jackson, along with newcomers Alison Pill (The Newsroom) and Billie Lourd, who starred in Murphy’s short-lived Fox series Scream Queens.

The opening credits feature plenty of politically charged content, including two members of a cult wearing masks of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, a statue of George Washington and an American flag drenched in blood. It also continues some of the images found in past teasers with swarms of bees, killer clowns climbing out of caskets and riding a carousel, and allusions to trypophobia, the fear or discomfort of clusters of small holes.

Meanwhile, the trailer includes several scenes from AHS: Cult such as one showing Paulson’s character, Ally, screaming in horror at the TV when Trump is declared the winner of the presidential election. She’s comforted by her wife Ivy, (Pill), and explains to her therapist, Dr. Rudy Vincent (Jackson), that the election results seems to have triggered her fear of clowns, also known as coulrophobia.

Peters’ blue-haired character, Kai Anderson, on the other hand, has a similarly extreme reaction to Trump’s victory, but on the opposite side of the spectrum. He joins Lourd’s Winter Anderson in wreaking havoc on Ally and her family’s lives when she’s hired to be her son’s nanny, secretly gifting him a Twisty the Clown toy.

“If you get people scared enough, they’ll set the world on fire,” says Kai, who ends the clip by asking viewers to “Join Me,” as he stands in front of the cult’s symbol.

Watch the full trailer below:

Other cast members will include returning vets Frances Conroy, Emma Roberts, Adina Porter and Mare Winningham, in addition to franchise newcomers Billy Eichner, Colton Haynes, Leslie Grossman and Lena Dunham. The new season will be set in Michigan, one of the swing states that helped tip the election to Trump.

American Horror Story: Cult season 7 will premiere Tuesday, September 5th at 10 p.m. ET on FX.