‘American Horror Story: Freak Show’ spoilers: Neil Patrick Harris shows his ‘magic’

What will be magical about Neil Patrick Harris’ upcoming appearance on “American Horror Story: Freak Show“? That remains to be seen, but based on the first images that we officially have from FX, it suggests that Chester is not going to be the sort of magic man you want to send your kids to.

Is he basically the Twisty of magicians? That remains to be seen. Maybe he’s the Gob Bluth of the 1950s, since it is very likely that the majority of his tricks are going to end very badly. Some of the promos released for next week’s “Magical Thinking” make us imagine things in that vein.

At least this image is very effective at making Neil come across as very creepy in this part, which is going to be for at least two of the show’s final three episodes. We anticipate quite the turn from the “How I Met Your Mother” character, especially since that has been a recurring theme for him over much of the past nine months or so. He appeared for a while on Broadway, saw his role in “Gone Girl” produce some massive success, and there’s also that Oscars hosting gig coming up for early next year.

With this impressive of a resume out there, it is rather easy to imagine that playing Chester would somehow get lost in the shuffle. Let’s hope that it doesn’t, and that this role lives up to some of the pretty enormous expectations that we have for it. Sometimes, “American Horror Story” struggles near the end of the season.

What do you want to see from Harris on this episode? Share with a comment, and be sure to check out some further “American Horror Story” coverage! Also, you can sign up now to get some additional TV updates on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: FX, via TVLine.)