American Horror Story, or AHS as the audience knows it, is a horror anthology series that airs on the FX network. The series created by Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy showcases every season as a separate mini-series with a different setting and distinct characters in the same fictional universe.
Every season completes the story arc of that particular season’s theme with an apt beginning, middle, and climax. Some of the seasons have also derived inspiration from real-life events.
American Horror Story is the first series in the American Horror Story franchise and has had ten seasons with 113 episodes. The FX network has renewed the series for three more seasons.
American Crime Story and American Horror Stories are also a part of the American Horror Story franchise.
Cast
The series features mostly the set of actors portraying different characters in every season. The series has an ensemble cast of talented actors.
The actors who have most frequented the series are Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe, and Evan Peters. These three have appeared in nine of the show’s ten seasons.
Actor Frances Conroy has appeared in eight seasons, while Denis O’Hare made an appearance in six seasons.
Other actors to make an appearance in five of the show’s ten seasons are Jessica Lange, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Adina Porter, Emma Roberts, Finn Wittrock, and Jamie Brewer.
The renowned songstress Lady Gaga has appeared in two seasons of American Horror Story.
Premise
American Horror Story has a different story setting for each season. Every season is a mini-series in itself.
Season one, titled Murder House, is set in LA, California, and narrates the story of a family that moves into a haunted house. Spirits of anyone who has died on the property haunt the place. The events of the season take place in 2011.
The series’ second season, Asylum, is set in 1964 Massachusetts and depicts the lives of the staff and patients at a church-owned mental asylum.
In the third season, Coven documents the ordeals of a witch coven’s fight against people who intend to destroy them. The story took place in New Orleans in 2013.
Season four, titled Freak Show, revolves around a freak show and the struggles of its members to survive. This season took place in Jupiter, Florida, in 1952.
The fifth season, Hotel, takes place in 2015 in LA, California. The story revolves around the guests and staff at a supernatural hotel.
The sixth season, Roanoke, takes place from 2014 to 2016 in North Carolina, and its story relies on the happenings in an isolated farmhouse haunted by the ghosts of people of the Roanoke colony.
Set in Michigan, right after the 2016 US presidential elections, the seventh season, Cult, tells the story about a cul that is terrorizing the residents of Michigan.
Apocalypse, the eighth season, features the batter between the witches from Coven and the Antichrist from Murder House. The witches battle the Antichrist to avoid an apocalypse.
1984, the series’ ninth season, is set in the 1980s and narrates the story of a summer camp that has reopened after a massacre that occurred 14 years ago.
Season ten of American Horror Story was divided into two parts and was aptly titled ‘Double Feature.’ The first part, ‘Red Tide,’ focuses on a family from Massachusetts who meets the town’s actual inhabitants.
The second part, ‘Death Valley,’ has a group of camping students entangled in a controversy, including the extraterrestrials from Asylum.
Reception
American Horror Story has received mainly mixed reviews from the critics; however, the critics have always appreciated the acting of the show’s cast.
The series’ first season was the most-viewed new cable series of 2011. American Horror Story is one of the popular shows on the FX network and has constantly gotten high ratings for the network.
Accolades
The actors from American Horror Story have been recipients of several awards.
Jessica Lange has received a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Emmys for her performances on the show.
Kathy Bates and James Cromwell have also received an Emmy Award. Lady Gaga has also won a Golden Globe.