Here's What Bees Have to Do With 'American Horror Story: Cult'

08/31/2017 05:36 pm EDT

Of the many teasers and promotional images for the next season of American Horror Story, there is one that has sparked more curiosity and speculation than most.

The poster in question shows a woman's head with the top part of her skull removed to reveal a bee hive where a brain would typically be. Bees have been central to the advertising of the new season and FX showrunner Ryan Murphy is finally explaining how the "bees" connect to AHS: Cult.

"Bees are the original cult," Murphy said, according to EW.

In addition to the bees being a thematic element to the next season, a character portrayed by comedian Billy Eichner is a suburban beekeeper.

Season 7 follows Evan Peters' character who is described as "a creepy but charismatic psychopath who invokes fear in order to build a following and gets darker and darker as he rises to power (from the City Council to the Senate)," IndieWire reports.

The storyline for the cult was heavily influenced by the 2016 presidential election, Murphy says.

"Everyone lost their sh*t after this election," Murphy said. "And everyone's still losing their sh*t, and there is no real discussion. Everyone's at each others' throats. This is not about Trump or Clinton, but about somebody who has the wherewithal to use [that divisiveness]."

When crafting ideas and storylines for the upcoming season, Murphy says that there were passionate discussions about both candidates, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

"There was so much passion, pro and con, for both candidates [in the writers' room] and we wanted to tap into that," Murphy said.

"We started writing this first episode right after the election in December. Things we were shooting in May in our country have come true in the last six weeks — Charlottesville, for example. Things that we as a room felt was in the water in our country have come to pass. It's bizarre and emotional for the cast," he continued.

The cast for Cult includes a number of returning stars as well as a handful of new additions. Actors Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Adina Porter, Cheyenne Jackson, Lena Dunham, Billy Eichner, Billie Lourd, Colton Haynes, Emma Roberts, and Frances Conroy are all set to appear on the next season of AHS.

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