This is a smart idea, and one for which fans like me will be appreciative. As most of us know by now, last year’s oh-so-edgy, oh-so-excellent American Horror Story completed its story arc at the end of the season, and the Season 2 version will have an entirely different setting and story, though some of the actors will return from Season 1 as entirely different characters.

To help future generations keep track of which season is which, beginning with Season 2, the title of the show will change each season by adding a qualifier at the end. The title for Season 2 will be (drumroll…..)

American Horror Story: Asylum

And it will be set in 1964. Showrunner Ryan Murphy explained:

“When we launched the show last year, we kept quiet about the closed-ended nature of the show because we didn’t want to tip off the audience that the characters were not going to survive,” says Murphy in a press release. “Now that it has been established that each year is a closed-ended story, the time seemed right to reveal what we’re calling the new installment.”

“We picked ‘Asylum’ because it not only describes the setting – an insane asylum run by Jessica Lange‘s character which was formerly a tuberculosis ward – but also signifies a place of haven for the unloved and the unwanted. This year’s theme is about sanity and tackling real life horrors,” Murphy adds.

Wait a second – “this year’s theme” sounds like last year’s theme. EXCELLENT.

American Horror Story:Asylum, starring Jessica Lange, Zachary Quinto, Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe, Chloë Sevigny, James Cromwell, Adam Levine, Lizzie Brocheré, Britne Oldford, Mark Consuelos, Clea DuVall, and Jenna Dewan, will be premiering this fall on FX.