American Horror Story: Next week's Cult opens with a mass shooting

In a haunting case of life imitating art, next week’s American Horror Story: Cult opens with a mass shooting. Without giving away too much, the initial moments of the episode find a crowd of people under siege from a shooter while at a political rally. FX and 20th Century Fox declined to comment about the episode and whether it would be delayed.

AHS: Cult wrapped production at the end of September so there’s no way producers or the network could have known the events that unfolded in Las Vegas this past week. Cult, which follows a Trump supporter who amasses a team of murderous followers, has been almost presciently timely with its plot, which began on election night 2016.

A similar issue arose with Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1999 when the series was scheduled to air an episode about a teen plotting a mass killing a week before the real-life Columbine shootings happened. The WB eventually pulled the episode, “Earshot,” but it ultimately aired months later.