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, 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, and often playing multiple characters in a season. Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, and Lily Rabe have returned most frequently, with each having appeared in nine seasons, followed by Frances Conroy and Denis O'Hare who both appear in eight; Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, and Leslie Grossman appear in six, while other notable actors including Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Adina Porter, Finn Wittrock, and Jamie Brewer appear in five of the seasons.
The first season of American Horror Story, retroactively subtitled Murder House, centers on the Harmon family, who, after dealing with a miscarriage and infidelity, move to a restored mansion in Los Angeles, unaware that the ghosts of its former residents and their victims haunt the house. The ensemble cast includes Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott, Evan Peters, Taissa Farmiga, Denis O'Hare and Jessica Lange.
The second season of the American horror anthology television series American Horror Story, subtitled Asylum, takes place in 1964 and follows the stories of the staff and inmates who occupy the fictional mental institution Briarcliff Manor, and intercuts with events in the past and present. The ensemble cast includes Zachary Quinto, Joseph Fiennes, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Lily Rabe, Lizzie Brocheré, Dylan McDermott, James Cromwell and Jessica Lange, with all returning from the first season, except newcomers Fiennes, Brocheré, and Cromwell. The season marks the first to not feature cast mainstays Connie Britton, Taissa Farmiga and Denis O'Hare.
The third season of the American horror anthology television series American Horror Story, subtitled Coven, is set in 2013 New Orleans and follows a coven of witches descended from Salem as they fight for survival and features flashbacks to the Salem witch trials in 1692, as well as the 1830s, 1910s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1990s. The ensemble cast includes Sarah Paulson, Taissa Farmiga, Frances Conroy, Emma Roberts, Lily Rabe, Evan Peters, Denis O'Hare, Kathy Bates and Jessica Lange, with all returning from previous seasons, except Roberts and Bates. The season marks the first to not feature cast mainstays Dylan McDermott and Zachary Quinto.
"Bitchcraft" is the premiere episode of the third season of the anthology television series American Horror Story, which premiered on October 9, 2013, on the cable network FX. The episode title is a portmanteau of the words bitch and witchcraft.
"Protect the Coven" is the eleventh episode of the third season of the anthology television series American Horror Story, which premiered on January 15, 2014, on the cable network FX. The episode was written by Jennifer Salt and directed by Bradley Buecker.
Top Chef: Boston is the twelfth season of the American reality television series Top Chef. The season was formally announced on August 20, 2014, and premiered on October 15, 2014. Filming for Season 12 took place from May through June 2014 in locations around Boston, Massachusetts, concluding with a finale in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato and the surrounding area. Top Chef: Chicago finalist and Top Chef: All-Stars winner Richard Blais debuted as a recurring judge, joining Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, Hugh Acheson, and host Padma Lakshmi on the judging panel. Last Chance Kitchen also returned for its fourth season, beginning with a two-part redemption mid-season and continuing until the first part of the finale. In the season finale, Mei Lin was declared the winner over runner-up Gregory Gourdet. Unlike previous seasons, no Fan Favorite vote was held.
"Monsters Among Us" is the premiere episode of the fourth season of the anthology television series American Horror Story, which premiered on October 8, 2014, on the cable network FX. It was co-written by creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk and directed by Murphy.
"Pink Cupcakes" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the anthology television series American Horror Story, which premiered on November 5, 2014, on the cable network FX. It was written by Jessica Sharzer and directed by Michael Uppendahl. In this episode, Stanley and Elsa have their own ideas on getting rid of Bette and Dot as Dandy finds his first victim.
The fifth season of the American horror anthology television series American Horror Story, subtitled Hotel, is centered around the mysterious Hotel Cortez in Los Angeles, the scene of disturbing and paranormal events, overseen by its enigmatic staff. The location is loosely based on the Cecil Hotel, marked by deaths and tragedies. The ensemble cast includes Wes Bentley, Chloë Sevigny, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Matt Bomer, Denis O'Hare, Cheyenne Jackson, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates and Lady Gaga, with all returning from previous seasons, except newcomers Jackson and Gaga. Hotel marks the first season to not feature cast mainstays Jessica Lange and Frances Conroy. Breaking from the anthological format, the season is connected to Murder House and Coven.
The sixth season of the American horror anthology television series American Horror Story, subtitled Roanoke, follows supernatural experiences around a haunted house and its surroundings in North Carolina. The first half of the season is presented as a paranormal documentary entitled My Roanoke Nightmare, which reenacts the experiences of a married couple who lived in the house. The second half is presented as found footage and depicts the doomed production of the documentary's sequel. The ensemble cast includes Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Cuba Gooding Jr., Lily Rabe, Adina Porter, André Holland, Denis O'Hare, Wes Bentley, Evan Peters, Cheyenne Jackson, and Angela Bassett with all returning from previous seasons, except Gooding Jr. and Holland.
The first season of American Crime Story, titled The People v. O. J. Simpson, revolves around the O. J. Simpson murder case, as well as the combination of prosecution confidence, defense witnesses, and the Los Angeles Police Department's history with African-American people. It is based on Jeffrey Toobin's book The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson (1997).
Feud is an American docudrama anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy, Jaffe Cohen, and Michael Zam, which premiered on FX on March 5, 2017. Conceived as an anthology series, Feud's first season, Bette and Joan, chronicles the well-documented rivalry between Hollywood actresses Joan Crawford and Bette Davis during and after the production of their psychological horror thriller film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962). Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon star as Crawford and Davis, respectively. Judy Davis, Jackie Hoffman, Alfred Molina, Stanley Tucci, and Alison Wright feature in supporting roles. Academy Award–winning actresses Catherine Zeta-Jones and Kathy Bates also appear. Critically acclaimed, with major praise for Lange and Sarandon's performances, the first season garnered several accolades. It received 18 nominations at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards and won two, including Outstanding Hairstyling and Makeup (Non-Prosthetic). Bette and Joan also received six Critics' Choice Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Television Critics Association Awards nominations.
The seventh season of the American horror anthology television series American Horror Story, subtitled Cult, takes place in the fictional suburb of Brookfield Heights, Michigan, during the year 2017, and centers on a cult terrorizing the residents in the aftermath of Donald Trump winning the 2016 U.S. presidential election. It is a season that does not present supernatural elements. The smallest ensemble cast of the series, it includes Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Billie Lourd, Cheyenne Jackson, and Alison Pill, with all returning from previous seasons, except newcomers Lourd and Pill. This season marks the first to not feature cast mainstay Lily Rabe.
The eighth season of the American horror anthology television series American Horror Story, subtitled Apocalypse, features the witches from the New Orleans coven as they battle the Antichrist and attempt to prevent the world from ending. The season is presented as a crossover between Murder House, Coven, and Hotel. The ensemble cast includes Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Adina Porter, Billie Lourd, Leslie Grossman, Cody Fern, Emma Roberts, Cheyenne Jackson and Kathy Bates, with all returning from previous seasons, except newcomer Fern.
"Apocalypse Then" is the tenth and final episode of the eighth season of the anthology television series American Horror Story. It aired on November 14, 2018, on the cable network FX. The episode was written by Ryan Murphy & Brad Falchuk, and directed by Bradley Buecker.
The ninth season of the American horror anthology television series American Horror Story, subtitled 1984, takes place outside Los Angeles during the 1980s and focuses on the staff of a summer camp reopening after a massacre 14 years prior. It has been described as being heavily influenced by classic slasher films, such as Friday the 13th (1980) and Halloween (1978). The ensemble cast includes Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Leslie Grossman, Cody Fern, Matthew Morrison, Gus Kenworthy, John Carroll Lynch, Angelica Ross, and Zach Villa, with all returning from previous seasons, except newcomers Morrison, Kenworthy, Ross, and Villa. The season marks the first to not feature cast mainstays Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters.
The tenth season of the American horror anthology television series American Horror Story, subtitled Double Feature, is composed of two stories, each taking up half the season. The first story, Red Tide, focuses on a family in Provincetown, Massachusetts, who meet the town's mysterious true inhabitants. The second story, Death Valley, follows a group of camping students who find themselves in the midst of a conspiracy involving extraterrestrials. The ensemble cast includes veterans Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Lily Rabe, Finn Wittrock, Frances Conroy, Billie Lourd, Leslie Grossman, Adina Porter, and Angelica Ross, as well as newcomers Macaulay Culkin, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Neal McDonough, Kaia Gerber, Nico Greetham, Isaac Powell, Rachel Hilson, and Rebecca Dayan.
