While American Horror Story season 12 might be hotly anticipated, there is a whole host of factors that make this upcoming outing the horror anthology show’s riskiest season ever. American Horror Story has never been a risk-averse series. In season 1, Murder House, the show turned a school shooter into a surprisingly sympathetic antihero. In season 8, Apocalypse, the series killed off almost the entire cast and started a whole new plot line midway through the season. However, even though American Horror Story has weathered all manner of risky creative choices, the show is still taking a big leap with season 12, Delicate.

American Horror Story: Delicate will be an adaptation of author Danielle Valentine’s novel Delicate Condition. Delicate Condition’s plot revolves around an actor, Anna Alcott, who becomes convinced that shadowy forces are conspiring to thwart her pregnancy. This synopsis proves American Horror Story season 12 will continue a weird obsession the series has with pregnancies gone wrong. That alone is a risk, but the more that viewers look into the story of the season, the more alarm bells begin to ring for American Horror Story: Delicate.

American Horror Story: Delicate Is Adapted From A Novel

While it will be interesting to see how American Horror Story goes about adapting an existing text, the fact that Delicate is based on a novel could be a big risk for the show. This means that the series can’t recreate the show’s usual freewheeling plotting since Delicate will need to maintain at least some fidelity to the book’s plot. This could prove a problem since some of the show’s best seasons, from Asylum to Freak Show, succeeded precisely because they went off on lengthy tangents and frequently focused on supporting characters.

Kim Kardashian Has A Lead Role In American Horror Story Season 12

Despite her minimal dramatic acting experience, reality TV star Kim Kardashian will play a major role in the series. Kardashian plays Siobhan Walsh in American Horror Story: Delicate. Alcott’s best friend and confidante, Walsh is a fading star by the time the series takes place. She acts as an older mentor figure but also may have shady motivations of her own. Whether Kardashian will succeed in this tricky part remains a major gamble for American Horror Story: Delicate.

8American Horror Story Season 12’s Subject Matter Is Intense

Pregnancy horror stories can veer into tastelessness very easily, and American Horror Story is campy and intentionally tacky at the best of times. This is the series that depicted real-life serial rapist Richard Ramirez as a cartoony slasher villain, so it is fair to expect that the show won’t handle themes like miscarriage, abortion, fetal abnormalities, or birthing practices with much grace. Kardashian’s worrying American Horror Story casting alone signified that season 12 would not be taking itself very seriously. However, for many viewers, these are extremely sensitive, emotionally charged topics.

7American Horror Story: Delicate Has A New Showrunner

For the first time since the series began, American Horror Story: Delicate has a new showrunner, with Halley Feifer taking over from Ryan Murphy. This will likely mean that the new season will also have a fresh feel and atmosphere, but this could potentially prove a problem. American Horror Story’s recent seasons have struggled to win over fans and critics, meaning this behind-the-scenes change is justified. However, pairing a risky cast and a risky story with a new creative powerhouse could be too many gambles piled atop each other.

6American Horror Story Season 12’s Story Seems Predictable

Judging by its synopsis, the plot of American Horror Story season 12 seems very similar to 1968’s Rosemary’s Baby. Based on the bestselling Ira Levin horror novel of the same name, Rosemary’s Baby followed a heroine who discovered to her horror that her husband and neighbors had conspired to use her body as a vessel for birthing the antichrist. It looks like American Horror Story: Delicate will tell effectively the same story, meaning the series will inevitably garner comparisons to a canonical horror classic.

5American Horror Story Is Already On A Decline

As mentioned above, American Horror Story has been on a critical decline for some time now. The show’s last outing, NYC, failed to merge its slasher subplot with an ambitious commentary on the AIDS epidemic in a way that felt natural or justified. Meanwhile, 2021’s disjointed two-parter Double Feature told two unrelated stories that both had potential, but never coalesced into a meaningful whole even as the season came to a close. With each passing year, audience goodwill evaporates.

4American Horror Story Season 12 Is Missing Many AHS Veterans

While Kardashian’s controversial American Horror Story season 12 casting made headlines upon its announcement, the names absent from Delicate’s cast list were just as telling. So far, there has been no mention of Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy, Leslie Grossman, Kathy Bates, or Jessica Lange’s involvement in the season. With so many of the faces that made the series famous missing, it seems likely that Delicate will struggle to feel like a classic American Horror Story outing.

3American Horror Story Season 12’s Pregnancy Horror Has Been Done Recently

Pregnancy horror is having something of a moment right now. Baby Ruby, False Positive, Visions, Unwelcome, and Bed Rest all touched on the horror theme and all of these movies earned middling to negative critical reception. To make matters worse, American Horror Story itself has told season 12’s story more than once, with the series focusing two of its earlier subplots on the birth and defeat of the antichrist.

2American Horror Story Season 12 Can’t Wrap Up The Series

Like season 8, which brought together the plots of Coven and Murder House, American Horror Story season 12 seems perfectly primed to wrap up the series if the show brings back the Antichrist for a final showdown. However, while Delicate’s plot seems to invite the creators to end proceedings and bring together the show’s whole universe, the series has already been renewed through to season 13. As such, viewers know that American Horror Story season 12 couldn’t provide a cohesive finale for the series even if the show wanted to.

1American Horror Story Season 12’s Biggest Twist Is Obvious

American Horror Story season 12 killing off Kim Kardashian’s character “surprisingly” early would be a huge cliché, especially when Scream Queens already did exactly this with celebrity guest star Ariana Grande. While it might seem surprising for a show to kill off a guest star with such a high profile, the fact that famous faces cost producers more money means that big-name stars dying in their first episode has been a trope for decades at this stage. As such, American Horror Story season 12 can’t surprise viewers as easily as the show’s creators might want, thus making Delicate’s plot an even riskier proposition.