American Horror Story: Roanoke was a show about a show based on another show, which inspired several other shows. Confused? You should be. It was two months of chaos. AHS: Roanoke followed the success of a fictional docuseries called My Roanoke Nightmare, which included a retelling and reenactments of a family’s horrific experience at a home built on the land of the mysterious Roanoke Colony. It was so successful that it spawned a reality-based spin-off called Return to Roanoke: 3 Days in Hell, for which the cast of the original series returned to the haunted house. Pretty much everyone dies, the end.
But a lot of effort was put into framing the fictional TV franchise and its fandom. Many of the subsequent victims were fans of the show attempting to gather content for their fan site or their own television shows. AHS: Roanoke creators even went so far as to stage a fake PaleyFest panel, complete with obnoxious, screaming superfans looking for hugs and to unload their fan art. It was an interesting scene, given that series creator Ryan Murphy has been a part of the real PaleyFest for years with AHS. Was this how he really viewed his devotees? Crazed and overcommitted?
Fans will have the chance to find out soon, because according to Variety, the real-life shows that are set to be included in the real-life 2017 PaleyFest have been announced, and AHS: Roanoke is at the top of the list, along with This Is Us and Westworld. It may be the first PaleyFest panel that organically recreates an actual scene from one of its shows — which ultimately means that even though the show ended weeks ago, we’re still trying to figure out what’s real and what’s filmed on American Horror Story.
This is never going to end.
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