American Horror Story Returns To The '80s With A Gay Serial Killer Story In Season 11 Premiere — Grade AHS: NYC!

The road to American Horror Story's eleventh season has been a long and mysterious one.

Without so much as a trailer ahead of the long-awaited premiere, fans dealt with a level of secrecy not seen since the days of Roanoke. Back in July, the deafening silence of the Powers That Be led several of the show's fan accounts to organize a strike until FX and/or Ryan Murphy "formally acknowledged" Season 11. Much to their dismay, it would be two months before the series would be confirmed for a "fall" return, then two more before its official announcement as AHS: NYC.

Now here we are — the nineteenth day of October in the year of our Billie Lourd 2022 — and the first two episodes have premiered on FX. We met the show's new cast of characters. We watched Patti LuPone perform in a bathhouse. We all agreed never to order another Mai Tai for as long as we live.

Read on for the who, what, when and WTF of the season's first two episodes, then drop a comment with your review of AHS: NYC (and its many thinly veiled metaphors) thus far.

The premiere kicks off in 1981 with the beheading of a down-low leather daddy, the latest in a series of gay murders to hit New York City. It makes for an especially tense dinner conversation between Patrick (Russell Tovey), a closeted detective assigned to the case, and Gino (Joe Mantello), a reporter for gay publication The Native who resents his boyfriend for withholding details about the investigation.

We're then introduced to Adam (Charlie Carver), a spritely young man nursing the pain of a recent breakup. Adam's well-meaning but tragically misguided roommate Sully tricks him into a night of Central Park cruising to heal his broken heart, but the poor guy ends up getting kidnapped (or worse) by the aforementioned Bane-looking gentleman.

Adam reports Sully's disappearance to Patrick, but their conversation does little to ease his concerns, forcing Adam to play detective on his own. His first important discovery — like so many gay revelations — happens while Patti LuPone is singing. Her character, a songstress named Kathy, provides the background music as Adam recognizes the leather assailant in a series of photos hanging at a bathhouse.

A visit to the photographer's studio offers an additional clue, that the photo's subject is known as "Big Daddy," or at least that's what Theo (Isaac Powell) calls him. Oh, about Theo — his grandmother was a witch who allegedly passed her powers onto him, hence his ominous speech about an impending darkness. Theo is right, of course, but his sugar daddy Sam (Zachary Quinto) dismisses it as paranoia. Hey, it's nothing a little more cocaine can't solve, right?

The plot thickens when Sam and Theo invite an aspiring actor named Freddie to their studio, where he's welcomed by none other than Big Daddy. Following what must have been a very painful photo shoot involving an upside-down stool, Freddie takes off. When asked if he knows anything about Big Daddy, Sam tells Theo that he's "probably dead," which is very much a lie. (And Sam seemed like such a trustworthy guy until now!) In fact, Big Daddy is so not dead that he follows Freddie to the bathhouse and murders him in the shower — once again in the key of Kathy.

Meanwhile, Gino's efforts put him in the path of Henry (Denis O'Hare), an eccentric artist who claims to have seen "Big Daddy" pick up a number of "desperate" bar patrons, all of whom are never seen again. Henry is a prickly fella, but seemingly harmless, which makes it especially surprising when Gino exits the bar and realizes that he's been drugged.

And where is Billie Lourd while all of this is going on, you ask? Her character, a doctor named Hannah, is investigating a potential epidemic developing on Fire Island, insisting that they hunt down every last Bambi in the area. Just to be safe.

A groggy Gino awakens to find himself tied to a chair, and (surprise!) his kidnapper is now performing some sort of operation on him. The faceless surgeon speaks of a brewing war, one that Gino is now apparently serving in.

"Homosexuals are central to the natural order of things, and you will be a totem to that," the man tells Gino. "They think we bleed differently, but we're all the same — and they will see the blood."

But the mystery man stops dead in his tracks when he notices Gino's tattoo from his time in the service. "A fellow brother-in-arms? You can't serve twice," he says, releasing Gino into the night.

We're then reunited with Hannah at her clinic, where she diagnoses Sam with cryptosporidium before meeting with her next patient, Mr. Whiteley (Jeff Hiller) — aka Gino's kidnapper!

Over at The Native, Adam encourages Gino to create a hotline for gathering tips about the serial killer. It's an instant success, even if it gets Adam thrown in a jail and slapped around by an enormous man in a jock strap. (To be fair, some of the characters on this show would probably consider that a perfect afternoon.)

Gino then receives an unexpected visit from Patrick's wife Barbara (the always delightful Leslie Grossman), who hands over a box of Patrick's gay paraphernalia that she found among his belongings: handkerchiefs, poppers, leather goods — all things he previously claimed to know nothing about. Gino eventually confronts him about his obvious denial issues, but their conversation is interrupted by screams from outside the bar. Another murder!

In other disturbing news, a leather bar patron named Stu answers a phone call that will come to change (and eventually end) his life. It's Sam on the other end, inviting Stu to a "party" back at his place. A little of this, a little of that, and whole lot of locking Stu in a cage in his basement. It's a tragic turn of events, but let's be honest — we knew this guy was a goner the moment we heard his name. (Never forget: "The stew is Stu!")

Meanwhile, Adam's crappy day is only getting worse downtown. Not one but two random strangers inform him that "something evil" is coming for him, and he's starting to believe it. During a much-needed fresh air break, he bumps into Theo, who agrees to a non-sexual hangout. What is that called, again? Fr...iend...ship?

Things are also getting weird for Hannah, who receives a frantic phone call from Fran (Sandra Bernhard), who claims to know what's happening to Hannah's patients and the deer on Fire Island: "A group of vulnerable people are under attack... by the U.S. government."

The second episode ends with Patrick and his clearly closeted boss (Kal Penn) discovering five severed hands from five different victims — no doubt Mr. Whiteley's handiwork. (Sorry, poor choice of words.)