‘American Horror Story: Apocalypse’ Introduces “Murder House” Crossover Character in Season Premiere

American Horror Story: Apocalypse debuted tonight and while most of the season premiere was spent introducing viewers to the new characters who somehow survived the literal end of the world, the episode also gave fans their first clue as to how the season will incorporate the crossover element.

Spoilers for the season premiere of American Horror Story: Apocalypse below.

In the last moments of “The End”, the hungry and weary inhabitants of Outpost 3 were very near their breaking point when suddenly a perimeter alarm sounds. There’s been a breach and that breach turns out a representative of the mysterious The Cooperative: Michael Langdon (Cody Fern).

Michael Langdon is all grown up in Apocalypse, but the character first appeared in “Murder House”. Michael is the “demon baby”, born after Vivien (Connie Britton) was impregnated by Tate Langdon (Evan Peters). That Michael was widely regarded as a potential antichrist by the audience, the fact that his return comes in a season known as “Apocalypse” is likely a bad sign as he’s almost certainly the antichrist now.

Michael also makes mention of a “sanctuary” of sorts that exists outside of the Outposts that he has the option of taking the residents of Outpost 3 as it is likely to fall at some point in the reasonably near future. Three other Outposts, he explains, have already fallen and three more likely will soon. This sanctuary he mentions may well be Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies — the school that was the center of “Coven”.

As fans of the horror anthology series know, Apocalypse serves as the eagerly-anticipated crossover of season one’s “Murder House” and season three’s “Coven”. Those two seasons rank among the most popular among fans of the series to date. Of course, as with any season of American Horror Story there will be many familiar faces though not necessarily in familiar roles.

Apocalypse is set to feature many returning actors. Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates, Evan Peters, Billy Eichner, Dylan McDermott, Taissa Farmiga, Connie Britton, Cheyenne Jackson, Adina Porter, Stevie Nicks, Leslie Grossman, Billie Lourd, Emma Roberts, Jessica Lange, Gabourey Sidibe, and Lily Rabe will all appear this season. In the case of a few actors, such as Paulson, Peters, and Farmiga, they will actually be playing multiple characters as the story of the end of the world unfolds.

And the season will unfold over a fairly tight amount of time. The Wrap reports that Apocalypse will only be 10 episodes long, tying the sixth season, Roanoke, as the shortest in the show’s history.

The series usually runs longer, though not by much, in its eight-year history, kicking off with the “Murder House” storyline with 12 episodes. The next three seasons, Asylum, Coven, and Freak Show, were all 13 episodes each. Season 5, dubbed Hotel, was 12 episodes, and the seventh season Cult was 11.

Despite the short length, American Horror Story: Apocalypse is highly anticipated by fans as the long-awaited crossover season that has long been teased by creator Ryan Murphy. As a follow-up to the acclaimed “Murder House” and Coven seasons, fans will finally get to learned what happened to some of their favorite characters in the franchise.

Murphy teased the season while speaking at a summer event for the Television Critics Association, expressing joy in the opportunity to continue making such a show.

“One of the great joys of my life is doing this show. I love this show so much,” Murphy said. “This great group of actors who come together and get to know each other, and trust each other, and go to places…I just love the ability to reach out to people who I love, love, love, and say, ‘Hey would you like to come play in our sandbox?’”

American Horror Story: Apocalypse airs Wednesdays on FX.