American Horror Story (AHS) is an American horror anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the cable network FX. The first installment in the American Story media franchise, seasons of AHS are mostly conceived as self-contained miniseries, following a different set of characters in a new setting within the same fictional universe (which the show occasionally uses for crossovers between seasons, and shares with episodic spin-off American Horror Stories), and a storyline with its own beginning, middle, and end. Some plot elements of each season are loosely inspired by true events.
Many actors appear in more than one season, usually playing a new character though sometimes as a returning character. Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson appear in ten seasons; Lily Rabe and Frances Conroy have starred in nine seasons; Denis O'Hare appears in eight; Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd and Leslie Grossman appear in seven; Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett and Jamie Brewer appear in six; and Adina Porter, Finn Wittrock, Gabourey Sidibe and John Carroll Lynch appear in five seasons.
Although reception to individual seasons has varied, American Horror Story has largely been well received by television critics, with the majority of the praise going towards the cast, particularly Jessica Lange, who won two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performances. James Cromwell and Kathy Bates each won an Emmy Award for their performances, while Lady Gaga won a Golden Globe Award. The series draws consistently high ratings for the FX network, with its first season being the most-viewed new cable series of 2011.
Cast and characters
Introduced in Murder House Connie Britton as Vivien Harmon Dylan McDermott as Dr. Ben Harmon Evan Peters as Tate Langdon Taissa Farmiga as Violet Harmon Denis O'Hare as Larry Harvey Jessica Lange as Constance Langdon
Introduced in Asylum Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Thredson Joseph Fiennes as Monsignor Timothy Howard Sarah Paulson as Lana Winters Evan Peters as Kit Walker Lily Rabe as Sister Mary Eunice McKee Lizzie Brocheré as Grace Bertrand James Cromwell as Dr. Arthur Arden Jessica Lange as Sister Jude Martin
Introduced in Coven Sarah Paulson as Cordelia Goode Taissa Farmiga as Zoe Benson Frances Conroy as Myrtle Snow Evan Peters as Kyle Spencer Lily Rabe as Misty Day Emma Roberts as Madison Montgomery Denis O'Hare as Otis 'Spalding' Van Wirt Kathy Bates as Madame Delphine LaLaurie Jessica Lange as Fiona Goode Angela Bassett as Marie Laveau (later promoted in 13) Gabourey Sidibe as Queenie (later promoted in 13)
Introduced in Freak Show Sarah Paulson as Bette and Dot Tattler Evan Peters as Jimmy Darling Michael Chiklis as Wendell 'Dell' Toledo Frances Conroy as Gloria Mott Denis O'Hare as Stanislaus 'Stanley' Spencer Emma Roberts as Maggie Esmerelda Finn Wittrock as Dandy Mott Angela Bassett as Desiree Dupree Kathy Bates as Ethel Darling Jessica Lange as Elsa Mars
Introduced in Hotel Kathy Bates as Iris Holloway Sarah Paulson as Sally McKenna Evan Peters as James Patrick March Wes Bentley as Det. John Lowe Matt Bomer as Donovan Holloway Chloë Sevigny as Dr. Alex Lowe Denis O'Hare as Liz Taylor Cheyenne Jackson as Will Drake Angela Bassett as Ramona Royale Lady Gaga as Elizabeth Johnson
Introduced in Roanoke Kathy Bates as Agnes Mary Winstead Sarah Paulson as Audrey Tindall Cuba Gooding Jr. as Dominic Banks Lily Rabe as Shelby Miller André Holland as Matt Miller Denis O'Hare as William van Henderson Wes Bentley as Dylan Conrad Evan Peters as Rory Monahan Cheyenne Jackson as Sidney Aaron James Angela Bassett as Monet Tumusiime
Introduced in Cult Sarah Paulson as Ally Mayfair-Richards Evan Peters as Kai Anderson Billie Lourd as Winter Anderson Cheyenne Jackson as Dr. Vincent Anderson Alison Pill as Ivy Mayfair-Richards
Introduced in Apocalypse Sarah Paulson as Ms. Wilhemina Venable Evan Peters as Malcolm Gallant and Jeff Pfister Adina Porter as Dinah Stevens Billie Lourd as Mallory Leslie Grossman as Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt Cody Fern as Michael Langdon Cheyenne Jackson as John Henry Moore Kathy Bates as Ms. Miriam Mead
Introduced in 1984 Emma Roberts as Brooke Thompson Billie Lourd as Montana Duke Leslie Grossman as Margaret Booth Cody Fern as Xavier Plympton Matthew Morrison as Trevor Kirchner Gus Kenworthy as Chet Clancy John Carroll Lynch as Benjamin Richter / Mr. Jingles Angelica Ross as Dr. Donna Chambers Zach Villa as Richard Ramirez
Introduced in Double Feature Sarah Paulson as "Tuberculosis" Karen and Mamie Eisenhower Evan Peters as Austin Sommers Lily Rabe as Doris Gardner and Amelia Earhart Finn Wittrock as Harry Gardner Frances Conroy as Sarah "Belle Noir" Cunningham Billie Lourd as Leslie "Lark" Feldman Leslie Grossman as Ursula Caan and Calico Adina Porter as Chief Burleson Angelica Ross as The Chemist and Theta Macaulay Culkin as Mickey Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Alma Gardner Neal McDonough as Dwight Eisenhower Kaia Gerber as Kendall Carr Nico Greetham as Cal Cambon Isaac Powell as Troy Lord Rachel Hilson as Jamie Howard Rebecca Dayan as Maria Wycoff
Introduced in NYC Russell Tovey as Det. Patrick Read Joe Mantello as Gino Barelli Billie Lourd as Dr. Hannah Wells Denis O'Hare as Henry Grant Charlie Carver as Adam Carpenter Leslie Grossman as Barbara Read Sandra Bernhard as Fran Levinsky Isaac Powell as Theo Graves Zachary Quinto as Sam Jones Patti LuPone as Kathy Pizazz
Introduced in Delicate Emma Roberts as Anna Victoria Alcott Matt Czuchry as Dexter 'Dex' Harding Jr. Kim Kardashian as Siobhan Corbyn Annabelle Dexter-Jones as Sonia Shawcross and Adeline Harding Michaela Jaé Rodriguez as Nicolette Smith Denis O'Hare as Dr. Andrew Hill Cara Delevingne as Ivy Ehrenreich Julie White as Ms. Mavis Preecher Maaz Ali as Kamal Aman
Introduced in 13 Joey Pollari as Ben DeSoto Jessica Lange as Margaret Thatcher
Seasons
Murder House (2011)
Set in 2011, the season follows the Harmon family, which consists of wife and mother Vivien (Connie Britton), her psychiatrist husband Ben (Dylan McDermott), and their teenage daughter Violet (Taissa Farmiga), as they move from Boston to Los Angeles to make a fresh start after Vivien has a miscarriage. Soon after the miscarriage and before the move, Ben has an affair with one of his students, which almost tears the family apart. They move into a restored mansion and soon encounter the residence's housekeeper, Moira O'Hara (Frances Conroy and Alexandra Breckenridge), as well as their neighbors—the eccentric Langdon family, consisting of Constance (Jessica Lange) and her daughter Adelaide (Jamie Brewer), who has Down syndrome. The Harmons' lives are troubled by the meddling Langdons, the incompetent realtor Marcy (Christine Estabrook), as well as the disfigured Larry Harvey (Denis O'Hare), a former resident of the mansion who is secretly in love with Constance, and the scorned Hayden McClaine (Kate Mara), Ben's former student who follows him to Los Angeles. Ben and Vivien try to rekindle their relationship while Violet, experiencing depression, finds comfort in Tate (Evan Peters), one of Ben's patients. The family soon discovers that the home is haunted by the ghosts of anyone who has ever died on the property, including its creators Charles (Matt Ross) and Nora Montgomery (Lily Rabe); and their deformed son Thaddeus (Ben Woolf) who is sometimes referred to as the 'Infantata'. Flashbacks depict the mansion's previous homeowners throughout the last century, dating back to its construction in the 1920s.
Asylum (2012–2013)
Set in 1964, the season follows the patients and staff members of the church-owned mental asylum Briarcliff Manor, located in an undisclosed town in Massachusetts, which was founded to treat and house the criminally insane. Kit Walker (Evan Peters), accused of being a prolific serial killer named "Bloody Face" after the disappearance of his wife Alma (Britne Oldford)—though he claims she was abducted by aliens—is incarcerated at Briarcliff. This piques the interest of ambitious lesbian journalist Lana Winters (Sarah Paulson), who is yearning to find a story for her big break. At Briarcliff, Kit meets the other patients, many of whom claim to be unjustly institutionalized, including microcephalic Pepper (Naomi Grossman), nymphomaniac Shelley (Chloë Sevigny), whose cheating husband hypocritically committed her after finding her in bed with two guys; and the unassuming Grace Bertrand (Lizzie Brocheré) from France. Believed to be a violent serial killer, Kit becomes the subject of interest of pragmatic psychiatrist Dr. Oliver Thredson (Zachary Quinto) and the sadistic Dr. Arthur Arden (James Cromwell), the latter of whom routinely conducts scientific operations on patients. The institution is run under the watchful eye of the stern Sister Jude (Jessica Lange), as well as her second-in-command, the naïve Sister Mary Eunice (Lily Rabe), and the founder of the institution, Monsignor Timothy Howard (Joseph Fiennes). Briarcliff's inhabitants are routinely subject to supernatural and scientific influences, including demonic possession and extraterrestrial abduction.
Coven (2013–2014)
Set in 2013, the season follows the dwindling descendants of the witches who survived the Salem witch trials and their struggle to survive in the modern world since those who are discovered to be witches are often subjected to violent attacks from outside forces, such as voodoo practitioners. Zoe Benson (Taissa Farmiga), a young teenager completely unaware of the existence of witches, discovers her identity after an accident that causes the death of her boyfriend. She is sent to an all-girls boarding school in New Orleans which aims to protect young witches and teach them how to control their powers. There, she meets the other students, narcissistic movie star Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts), outspoken human voodoo doll Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe), and an enigmatic telepath Nan (Jamie Brewer), and gets entangled with a good-natured college student Kyle Spencer (Evan Peters). The school is run by headmistress Cordelia Foxx (Sarah Paulson), head of the Witches Council and eccentric fashionista Myrtle Snow (Frances Conroy), and the mute butler Spalding (Denis O'Hare). Cordelia's mother, Fiona Goode (Jessica Lange), is the Supreme and most powerful witch of her generation, though she regularly avoids her responsibilities, much to the chagrin of Cordelia and her long-time rival Myrtle. After a mob of townspeople discover and burn a young witch named Misty Day (Lily Rabe), Fiona returns to lead the coven, creating conflict with Cordelia and the other young witches as they all conspire to succeed Fiona as the next Supreme.
Freak Show (2014–2015)