‘AHS’ finale gets ‘substantial edits’ after Las Vegas shooting

LOS ANGELES — The upcoming season finale of “American Horror Story” has undergone significant edits following the mass shooting in Las Vegas that claimed 58 lives.

FX Networks released a statement Monday saying that the linear telecast of the finale, scheduled for Tuesday at 10 p.m., will feature the new edits, while the original version will be available on on-demand and digital services.

In the statement, FX said, “In light of the tragedy last week in Las Vegas, Ryan Murphy and the producers of ‘American Horror Story: Cult’ have chosen to make substantial edits to the opening scene of tomorrow night’s episode (Tuesday, October 10, 10 PM ET/PT). This opening, which was filmed two months ago and which portrays an occurrence of gun violence that has sadly become all too common in our country, contains a sequence that some viewers might find traumatic. Only the edited version of the episode will air on the FX linear channel, while the unedited version of the episode will be available on the VOD platform of your cable, satellite or telco provider, as well as on the FX Networks non-linear platforms, FXNOW and FX+.”

Murphy, the show’s creator, spoke about the decision to edit the opening sequence of the finale Saturday at the New Yorker Festival.

“American Horror Story” becomes the second scripted series to have its programming plans altered in the wake of the shootings. Last week, Netflix and Marvel pulled “The Punisher” from a planned panel at New York Comic-Con, which had expected to be timed with a rumored-but-unannounced Oct. 7 premiere. Neither company has said when the series will be released.