There's a Very Good Reason American Horror Story Might Delay Next Week's Episode

American Horror Story, and by extension Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, has never been afraid of tackling gruesome, all-too-relevant subject matters like rape and murder. For instance, in the anthology show's debut season, troubled teenager Tate (Evan Peters) shoots a large number of his classmates dead in disturbing scenes inspired by 1999's Columbine High School massacre. While season seven's focus might be its roving gang of killer clowns, the season's sixth episode, "Mid-Western Assassin" — set to air next Tuesday — will also depict a mass shooting, this time at a political rally. Given what happened at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas on Sept. 30, many are wondering whether or not the new episode will be delayed.

It's a heartbreaking coincidence, to be sure, but it's not the first time TV has been eerily reminiscent of real-life tragedies. An episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer showing a student planning a mass shooting of his high school ("Earshot") had to be delayed for months in 1999 after Columbine (it was originally set to air just a week after the shooting happened), and USA's drama Shooter pushed back its premiere date twice because of shootings in real life. The same goes for other USA drama Mr. Robot, which had its first season finale postponed following the horrific on-camera deaths of TV reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward in 2015 (an event that coincidentally AHS: Cult seemed to re-create in episode four with Emma Roberts's character).

Cult follows a psychotic, charismatic Donald Trump supporter who quickly amasses a group of homicidal followers in the aftermath of the 2016 election and has featured brutal murders via nail gun and butcher knives. There's no official word on whether or not the episode will be pulled, and FX and 20th Century Fox have declined to comment on the matter.