American Horror Story renewed through 2019 

FX has just renewed the annual limited series for another two installments.

This is all the more remarkable because the show was already renewed for a seventh season airing this fall (

could it be set at sea?). This pickup is for an eighth and ninth round in addition to that. Assuming producers continue to generate one new horror tale per year, this will keep

, the topic of season 7 will not be revealed beforehand. “It actually will be shrouded in super secrecy,” FX CEO John Landgraf said at the Television Critics Association’s press tour on Thursday. “Ryan has yet another really innovative idea for how to do something fresh and different with the franchise that audiences haven’t seen before, and there’s a marketing promotional hook around that.”

Future seasons, however, are a little more unclear. “We know explicitly what next season is about, which is seven, but we don’t know what the eighth and ninth seasons are about,” Landgraf says. “We’re extending it out of trust and goodwill but also, Ryan made a commitment that he would continue to run that show and that he would be involved as he has been in the past with… designing and building the show from the ground up. So I honestly couldn’t tell you what seasons 8 or 9 [could] be, but I can only tell you that I’m really excited about season 7 and I’m utterly confident that seasons 8 and 9 will be equally original and interesting.”

a limited series and not a drama series, but you could also say this pickup will make 

the cable network’s longest-running dramatic original program.

launched the modern limited series revolution and — as evidenced by the most recent installment,

stunned audiences six years ago,” said Landgraf. “Each new chapter is a cultural event, beloved for every new twist in imagery, style, cast, and plot.”

“When Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk came to us seven years ago with the idea for a horror series structured as an anthology, with a group of actors returning year after year, in different roles, settings, and time periods, we were in awe of the sheer originality and ambition of their vision,” said Fox Television Group Chairmen and CEOs Dana Walden and Gary Newman. “They’ve since delivered six fantastic installments which have rightfully attracted millions of viewers, critical raves, and dozens of awards.”

, was 2016’s top limited series among adults 18-49. Each of the last five installments has ranked among cable’s top five scripted series in the year in which it aired.

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