American Horror Story is an American anthology horror television series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the cable network FX. The first installment in the American Story media franchise, each season is conceived as a self-contained miniseries, following a different set of characters and settings, 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, often playing a new character. Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, and Lily Rabe have returned most frequently, with each appearing in nine of the first ten seasons, followed by Frances Conroy, who appears in eight, and Denis O'Hare appearing in six. Other notable actors such as Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Emma Roberts, Adina Porter, Finn Wittrock, and Jamie Brewer appear in five of the ten seasons.
The first season, retroactively subtitled Murder House, takes place in Los Angeles, California in 2011, and centers on a family that moves into a house haunted by its deceased former occupants. The second season, subtitled Asylum, takes place in Massachusetts in 1964 and follows the stories of the patients and staff of an institution for the criminally insane. The third season, subtitled Coven, takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana in 2013, and follows a coven of witches who face off against those who wish to destroy them. The fourth season, subtitled Freak Show, takes place in Jupiter, Florida, during 1952 and centers around one of the last remaining American freak shows and their struggle for survival. The fifth season, subtitled Hotel, takes place in Los Angeles, California, during 2015 and focuses on the staff and guests of a supernatural hotel. The sixth season, subtitled Roanoke, takes place in North Carolina during 2014–2016 and focuses on the paranormal events that take place at an isolated farmhouse haunted by the deceased Roanoke colony. The seventh season, subtitled Cult, takes place in the fictional suburb of Brookfield Heights, Michigan, during 2016–2017 and centers on a cult terrorizing the residents in the aftermath of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The eighth season, subtitled Apocalypse, features the return of the witches from Coven as they battle the Antichrist from Murder House in an attempt to prevent the apocalypse. The ninth season, subtitled 1984, takes place outside of Los Angeles during the 1980s and focuses on a group of young staff members at a summer camp getting ready to reopen after a massacre 14 years prior. The tenth season, the two-part Double Feature, focuses on a family in 2021 in Provincetown, Massachusetts, in its first part, Red Tide, where they meet the town's true inhabitants, and later, in its second half, Death Valley, a group of camping students who find themselves in a conspiracy involving the extraterrestrials of Asylum. The eleventh season, NYC, takes place in 1980s New York City, and focuses on a string of killings involving gay men, as well as the emergence of a new virus. In January 2020, FX renewed the series for an additional three seasons, including the eleventh season, bringing it to at least thirteen confirmed seasons.
Although reception to individual seasons has varied, American Horror Story largely has 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. Kathy Bates and James Cromwell 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[]
Murder House[]
- Connie Britton - Vivien Harmon
- Dylan McDermott - Dr. Ben Harmon
- Evan Peters - Tate Langdon
- Taissa Farmiga - Violet Harmon
- Denis O'Hare - Larry Harvey
- Jessica Lange - Constance Langdon
- Zachary Quinto - Chad Warwick
- Sarah Paulson - Billie Dean Howard
- Lily Rabe - Nora Montgomery
- Frances Conroy - Moira O'Hara
- Adina Porter - Sally Freeman
- Kate Mara - Hayden McClaine
- Eric Stonestreet - Derek
- Charles S. Dutton - Detective Granger
Asylum[]
- Zachary Quinto - Dr. Oliver Thredson
- Joseph Fiennes - Monsignor Timothy Howard
- Sarah Paulson - Lana Winters
- Evan Peters - Kit Walker
- Lily Rabe - Sister Mary Eunice McKee
- Lizzie Brocheré - Grace Bertrand
- James Cromwell - Dr. Arthur Arden
- Jessica Lange - Sister Jude Martin
- Dylan McDermott - Johnny Morgan
- Frances Conroy - Shachath
- Chloë Sevigny - Shelley
- Ian McShane - Leigh Emerson
Coven[]
- Sarah Paulson - Cordelia Foxx
- Taissa Farmiga - Zoe Benson
- Frances Conroy - Myrtle Snow
- Evan Peters - Kyle Spencer
- Lily Rabe - Misty Day
- Emma Roberts - Madison Montgomery
- Denis O'Hare - Spalding
- Kathy Bates - Delphine LaLaurie
- Jessica Lange - Fiona Goode
- Angela Bassett - Marie Laveau
- Gabourey Sidibe - Queenie
- Patti LuPone - Joan Ramsey
- Danny Huston - The Axeman
- Stevie Nicks - herself
- Mare Winningham - Alicia Spencer
Freak Show[]
- Sarah Paulson - Bette and Dot Tattler
- Evan Peters - Jimmy Darling
- Michael Chiklis - Dell Toledo
- Frances Conroy - Gloria Mott
- Denis O'Hare - Stanley
- Emma Roberts - Maggie Esmeralda
- Finn Wittrock - Dandy Mott
- Angela Bassett - Desiree Dupree
- Kathy Bates - Ethel Darling
- Jessica Lange - Elsa Mars
- Lily Rabe - Sister Mary Eunice McKee
- Wes Bentley - Edward Mordrake
- Matt Bomer - Andy
- John Carroll Lynch - Twisty the Clown
- Gabourey Sidibe - Regina Ross
- Danny Huston - Massimo Dolcefino
- Celia Weston - Lilian Hemmings
- Neil Patrick Harris - Chester Creb
- Mare Winningham - Rita Gayheart
Hotel[]
- Kathy Bates - Iris
- Sarah Paulson - Sally McKenna, Billie Dean Howard
- Evan Peters - James Patrick March
- Wes Bentley - Det. John Lowe
- Matt Bomer - Donovan
- Chloë Sevigny - Dr. Alex Lowe
- Denis O'Hare - Liz Taylor
- Cheyenne Jackson - Will Drake
- Angela Bassett - Ramona Royale
- Lady Gaga - The Countess
- Lily Rabe - Aileen Wuornos
- Finn Wittrock - Tristan Duffy, Rudolph Valentino
- John Carroll Lynch - John Wayne Gacy
- Gabourey Sidibe - Queenie
- Mare Winningham - Hazel Evers
- Naomi Campbell - Claudia Bankson
Roanoke[]
- Kathy Bates - Thomasin White / The Butcher, Agnes Mary Winstead
- Sarah Paulson - Shelby Miller, Audrey Tindall, Lana Winters
- Cuba Gooding Jr. - Matt Miller, Dominic Banks
- Lily Rabe - Shelby Miller
- André Holland - Matt Miller
- Denis O'Hare - Dr. Elias Cunningham, William van Henderson
- Wes Bentley - Ambrose White, Dylan
- Evan Peters - Edward Philipe Mott, Rory Monahan
- Cheyenne Jackson - Sidney Aaron James
- Angela Bassett - Lee Harris, Monet Tumusiime
- Taissa Farmiga - Sophie Green
- Frances Conroy - Mama Polk
- Finn Wittrock - Jether Polk
- Lady Gaga - Scathach
- Adina Porter - Lee Harris
Cult[]
- Sarah Paulson - Ally Mayfair-Richards, Susan Atkins
- Evan Peters - Kai Anderson, Andy Warhol, Marshall Applewhite, David Koresh, Jim Jones, Jesus, Charles Manson
- Cheyenne Jackson - Dr. Rudy Vincent
- Billie Lourd - Winter Anderson, Linda Kasabian
- Alison Pill - Ivy Mayfair-Richards
- Frances Conroy - Bebe Babbitt
- Emma Roberts - Serena Belinda
- Adina Porter - Beverly Hope
- Leslie Grossman - Meadow Wilton, Patricia Krenwinkel
- John Carroll Lynch - Twisty the Clown
- Mare Winningham - Sally Keffler
- Billy Eichner - Harrison Wilton, Tex Watson
- Lena Dunham - Valerie Solanas
Apocalypse[]
- Sarah Paulson - Wilhemina Venable, Cordelia Goode, Billie Dean Howard
- Evan Peters - Mr. Gallant, James Patrick March, Tate Langdon, Jeff Pfister
- Adina Porter - Dinah Stevens
- Billie Lourd - Mallory
- Leslie Grossman - Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt
- Cody Fern - Michael Langdon
- Emma Roberts - Madison Montgomery
- Cheyenne Jackson - John Henry Moore
- Kathy Bates - Miriam Mead, Delphine LaLaurie
- Dylan McDermott - Dr. Ben Harmon
- Taissa Farmiga - Zoe Benson, Violet Harmon
- Jessica Lange - Constance Langdon
- Lily Rabe - Misty Day
- Frances Conroy - Myrtle Snow, Moira O'Hara
- Angela Bassett - Marie Laveau
- Gabourey Sidibe - Queenie
- Stevie Nicks - herself
- Billy Eichner - Brock, Mutt Nutter
1984[]
- Emma Roberts - Brooke Thompson
- Billie Lourd - Montana Duke
- Leslie Grossman - Margaret Booth
- Cody Fern - Xavier Plympton
- Matthew Morrison - Trevor Kirchner
- Gus Kenworthy - Chet Clancy
- John Carroll Lynch - Benjamin Richter / Mr. Jingles
- Angelica Ross - Donna Chambers
- Zach Villa - Richard Ramirez
- Dylan McDermott - Bruce
- Lily Rabe - Lavinia Richter
- Finn Wittrock - Bobby Richter
Double Feature[]
- Sarah Paulson - Tuberculosis Karen (Red Tide), Mamie Eisenhower (Death Valley)
- Evan Peters - Austin Sommers (Red Tide)
- Lily Rabe - Doris Gardner (Red Tide), Amelia Earhart (Death Valley)
- Finn Wittrock - Harry Gardner (Red Tide)
- Frances Conroy - Sarah Cunningham / Belle Noir (Red Tide)
- Billie Lourd - Leslie "Lark" Feldman (Red Tide)
- Leslie Grossman - Ursula Khan (Red Tide), Calico (Death Valley)
- Adina Porter - Chief Burleson (Red Tide)
- Angelica Ross - The Chemist (Red Tide), Theta (Death Valley)
- Macaulay Culkin - Mickey (Red Tide)
- Ryan Kiera Armstrong - Alma Gardner (Red Tide)
- Neal McDonough - Dwight D. Eisenhower (Death Valley)
- Kaia Gerber - Kendall Carr (Death Valley)
- Nico Greetham - Cal Cambon (Death Valley)
- Isaac Cole Powell - Troy Lord (Death Valley)
- Rachel Hilson - Jamie Howard (Death Valley)
- Rebecca Dayan - Maria Wycoff (Death Valley)
- Denis O'Hare - Holden Vaughn (Red Tide)
- Cody Fern - Valiant Thor (Death Valley)
NYC[]
- Russell Tovey - Detective Patrick Read
- Joe Mantello - Gino Barelli
- Billie Lourd - Dr. Hannah Wells
- Denis O'Hare - Henry Grant
- Charlie Carver - Adam Carpenter
- Leslie Grossman - Barbara Read
- Sandra Bernhard - Fran Levinsky
- Isaac Powell - Theo Graves
- Zachary Quinto - Sam Jones
- Patti LuPone - Kathy Pizazz
Delicate[]
- Emma Roberts - Anna Victoria Alcott
- Matt Czuchry - Dexter Harding Jr.
- Kim Kardashian - Siobhan Corbyn
- Annabelle Dexter-Jones - Sonia Shawcross, Adeline Harding
- Michaela Jaé Rodriguez - Nicolette Smith
- Denis O'Hare - Dr. Andrew Hill
- Cara Delevingne - Ivy Ehrenreich
- Julie White - Ms. Mavis Preecher
- Maaz Ali - Kamal Aman
International broadcast[]
| Country | Channel |
|---|---|
| United States | FX, Fox MundoFox |
| International | Netflix, Disney+ |
| Asia | FX, Star World, Fox |
| Latin America | Fox |
| Australia | Eleven, FX, Fox Showcase |
| Belgium (Dutch) | Prime Series, 2BE |
| Belgium (French) | Plug RTL, Star |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Serbia Slovenia |
Fox Life |
| Brazil | Fox |
| Canada (English) | Citytv, FX |
| Canada (French) | AddikTV |
| Finland | Sub, MTV3 |
| France | Ciné+ Frission, Canal+ Séries, Canal+ |
| Germany | Fox, sixx |
| Greece | Fox |
| Hong Kong | TVB Pearl |
| Hungary | Viasat 6 |
| Iceland | Stöð 2 |
| India | Star World Premiere Star World |
| Israel | yes Oh |
| Italy | DeeJay TV, Fox |
| Japan | Fox |
| Mexico | Fox |
| Netherlands | RTL 5 |
| Norway | Fox Crime |
| Philippines | Jack TV |
| Poland | Fox |
| Spain | Cuatro, Energy, Fox |
| Sweden | TV11 |
| Ukraine | TET |
| United Kingdom | Fox, Horror Channel, Movies4Men2 With 5Action & Movies4Men |