The mothers—they are mothering. At least that’s the vibe coming from American Horror Story: Delicate’s first teaser trailer, which debuted on Thursday. The anthology series’s 12th season stars franchise regular Emma Roberts, Cara Delevingne, and (despite the misgivings of one Patti LuPone) Kim Kardashian in her first major acting role.
Set to an eerie version of “Rock-a-Bye Baby,” the first taste of the new season is filled with maternal, if morose, imagery. There are shots of an egg falling from a nest, an insemination needle, a cradle glowing red from within, and blackbirds circling said crib in a mobile-like fashion. Roberts, Delevingne, and Kardashian all appear to be wearing long black latex gloves and peering from ornate eyewear. Figures with long, iridescent hair circle the stars in Don’t Worry Darling-esque dance formations as they chant “baby.” The brief teaser ends with Kardashian cradling a baby surrounded by mirrored versions of herself.
The upcoming season of AHS is shrouded in more mystery than most, partly because it’s inspired by a book that has yet to be released—Danielle Valentine’s novel, Delicate Condition, which debuts next month. A blurb on the book from author Andrea Bartz describes it as “the feminist update to Rosemary’s Baby we all needed.”
Ryan Murphy handed over writing and showrunning duties on season 12 to actress and playwright Halley Feiffer. “Kim is among the biggest and brightest television stars in the world and we are thrilled to welcome her to the AHS family,” Murphy said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter in April. “Emma and I are excited about collaborating with this true force in the culture. Halley Feiffer has written a fun, stylish and ultimately terrifying role especially for Kim, and this season is ambitious and unlike anything we have ever done.”
Production on Delicate has become something of a lightning rod amidst the ongoing writers and, later, actors strikes. Kardashian sparked backlash for tweeting from the set and further caught flack after posting a photo of herself and SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher at a Dolce & Gabbana promotional event in Italy, just days before the guild contract was set to expire. “That wasn’t a selfie,” Drescher said during the press conference announcing the strike. “I’m a brand ambassador for a fashion company and so is Kim. I had only met Kim seconds before that publicity picture was taken. It had nothing to do with being at a party or having fun — it was absolute work,” she continued. “We work. That’s what we do.” (As it turns out, some people do want to work these days, Kim.)
The series, which is one of only a few that was still filming in the U.S. in recent weeks, has no official release date. Its return is, according to the trailer, “coming soon.”