Nellie Andreeva

Before they co-created Fox’s Glee, Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk were executive producers on FX’s Nip/Tuck, which Murphy created. Now the two are returning to the cable channel with American Horror Story, a drama project that was just ordered to pilot.  “American Horror Story is a wildly brilliant original series,” FX’s president and GM John Landgraf said. “Ryan and Brad Falchuk, who created it together, are evil geniuses and, in the spirit of the great Louis Armstrong, ‘Hello, Dolly, well hello, Dolly, it’s so nice to have you back where you belong…’”

Murphy is set to direct the pilot for American Horror Story, whose premise is being kept under wraps.  Filming will begin in April after production on Glee wraps. Murphy and Falchuk previously teamed to write the daring FX pilot Pretty/Handsome, starring Joseph Fiennes as a transsexual father, which was also directed by Murphy. FX ultimately passed on it, but it has high hopes for American Horror Story – should it get picked up to series, the network plans to start production in late spring for a fall debut. 20th Century Fox TV, where Murphy and Falchuk are based, is producing, with Murphy, Falchuk and Dante Di Loreto executive producing. Murphy said he and Falchuk had been discussing the idea for American Horror Story for a while. Separately, he  had had “an open invitation” from Landgraf to develop a new show for the cable network. “FX is the perfect place for this series and we look forward to a great homecoming,” Murphy said. He was quick to reaffirm his commitment to Glee. “Fans can rest assured that we haven’t taken our eyes off that ball for a second,” he said. “We’ve broken the stories for the season’s remaining episodes and we’ve got big things planned for our little glee club as it strives to make it past Regionals to the all-important Nationals competition in New York City.”

Murphy is the second creator of one of FX’s signature series to be lured back for an encore. The Shield creator Shawn Ryan was behind off-beat drama Terriers, which had a season-long run last year. This development season, Murphy teamed with former 24 showrunner Howard Gordon for a phobias drama at Fox but the project was pushed due to the duo’s full schedules. Murphy has also been very busy on the feature side. He is writing a movie for Julia Roberts and is being courted for several musicals, including Annie with Willow Smith.

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