A whole season of "American Horror Story" about Charles Manson? It almost happened.
In an Emmys Q&A with Deadline.com, Ryan Murphy admitted that instead of focusing Season 3 on New Orleans witches, "American Horror Story" almost centered on 1960s mass murderer Charles Manson.
“I want to do an entire season about the [Charles] Manson case,” Murphy told Deadline. "But then we decided that wasn’t respectful to the victims, and it’s really hard to get life rights. So I went to the other idea, which was New Orleans witches that I’ve always been obsessed with. We might go back to the Manson thing in some regard one day. We spend a lot of time specifically trying to get the look and the tone of it right. Every year has a different tone."
This isn't the first time Manson's name has made its way into the TV world in recent months. When "Mad Men's" Megan Draper (Jessica Pare) wore a t-shirt similar to actress Sharon Tate's -- perhaps Manson's most famous victim -- viewers began to speculate that Megan's character was Sharon Tate and would be killed off of "Mad Men."
"Mad Men" creator Matt Weiner quickly shot the theory down, telling The Huffington Post, "[Megan's T-shirt recalled the] picture of Sharon Tate and, yes, she was murdered. It was horrible, but that’s not what [the Megan scene] was about. It was about finding a T-shirt that we could substantiate in case somebody said, 'No, women didn't wear T-shirts back then.'"
One thing's for sure, though: Charles Manson still looms large in the American cultural consciousness.
Would you want to see a whole season of "American Horror Story" about the Charles Manson case? Sound off in the comments.
"American Horror Story: Coven" premieres in October 2013 on FX.
For more on Ryan Murphy and "American Horror Story," head over to Deadline.