From Jessica Lange’s iconic performances in the show’s peak seasons, to Evan Peters in a blonde wig returning to a character he debuted years prior, American Horror Story (AHS) is something only Ryan Murphy could create. I mean, he made Glee. If you find yourself wondering which season to revisit this fall, consider my personal rankings.Â
Note: If you are looking for a discussion on the new season, “13,” you won’t find it here. As I am writing, the season is still airing; I do not want to form an opinion on something I haven’t watched in full.Â
- “Cult.”
A story of politics, deception, and calculation — all in the midst of Donald Trump’s first election in 2016. Kai Anderson (Evan Peters), leads a cult of clowns, a nod to the 2016 killer clown craze sweeping the United States, that plots to destroy Ally Mayfair-Richard’s (Sarah Paulson) life. For one of the modern seasons, and without icon Jessica Lange, it is a fantastic interpretation of how politics can control entire lives and spark unstable people to become full-blown cult leaders.
- “Roanoke.”
On first watch, “Roanoke” was quite scary. Something about a haunted property is initially unsettling, and the hauntings that characters Shelby Miller (Sarah Paulson) and Matt Miller (Cuba Gooding Jr.) face in the documentary spoof turns real for the actors on their forced return to the house. The inception of actors playing actors and their “celebrity” counterparts is funny to see and clever in my opinion (especially when Sarah Paulson’s character turns British behind the scenes of the documentary). Trixie Mattel even makes a cameo as a fan convention panel host, which is pretty cool.Â
- “Asylum.”
This season has all the charm of the original AHS. The plot twist revealing the killer “Bloody Face,” was such a surprise to me on first watch. I love, and am quite afraid, of the possibility of an alien abduction, which Kit Walker (Evan Peters) experiences when his wife Alma (Britne Oldford) is abducted from their home. Thereafter he is framed for her murder, labeled “Bloody Face,” and sent to the Briarcliff Manor asylum. There, he meets Lana Winters (Sarah Paulson), a reporter looking to investigate Bloody Face and his crimes, who is subsequently trapped in the asylum and forced to undergo various cruel treatments like electroshock therapy. This season is all about hidden agendas, where the “holier than thou” are anything but.
- “Coven.”
Who doesn’t love witches? My favorite thing about this season is the setting. New Orleans has a natural eerie atmosphere with the existing history of witchcraft and Voodoo. Here, we see all of the iconic female characters in the AHS realm as witches in a coven, with their supreme Fiona Goode (Jessica Lange) growing weary, assumed to be replaced by her own daughter, Cordelia Goode (Sarah Paulson). Some episodes are rather gruesome, especially the depictions of torturous acts performed by Madame Delphine LaLaurie (Kathy Bates).Â
- “Murder House.”
I hate to put the season that started it all so far down, but there are far better seasons in my opinion. Its edgy tone was eye-opening for me at 15, but is a bit corny now that I’m 21. However, this season set the tone that the dead are never really dead for the rest of the anthology. Also, I think the intro is the scariest of all the show openings.Â
- “Freak Show.”
This season lacked a bit in plot for me, or rather, had a storyline I was plainly not interested in. This season does have a great cast and introduces one of my favorite returning actors Finn Wittrock as Dandy Mott, a sadistic and spoiled man-child who aims to befriend Twisty the Clown, another ruthless killer, in the B plot.Â
- “Double Feature.”
If Ryan Murphy had chosen to take the concept of the season’s first half, entitled “Red Tide,” through to the end, it might have been number three on my list. The plot is reminiscent of a Stephen King story; aspiring screenwriter Harry Gardner (Finn Wittrock) moves his family to Provincetown, Massachusetts in order to gain inspiration for his work. The family quickly discovers strange, vampiric creatures who seem to hide in the shadows. It’s a creative take on the trope of being careful what you wish for. The second half of the season, however, is a very forgettable alien story with almost none of the usual returning cast. Lame.
- “1984.”
“1984” is the first season of AHS I had ever seen. I enjoyed the typical 80s camp horror story with a few expected killers — and a few unexpected twists. Emma Roberts is the main character, and while I am typically not a fan of her acting, I thought she played her “final girl” character well. Once I had become familiar with the charm of other seasons, 1984 moved down my list.Â
- “Apocalypse.”
For the last pre-COVID season of AHS, I had higher hopes. It brings back storylines from “Murder House,” “Coven,” and “Hotel” in a rather sloppy way. Evan Peters in that terrible blonde wig is the cherry on top of all the weirdness of the season. I find that Cody Fern’s performance playing Michael Langdon was the only redeeming quality.Â
- “Hotel.”
This take might be controversial. There are a lot of die-hard “Hotel” fans, presumably because of Lady Gaga’s appearance as The Countess. I did like some of the characters, like Liz Taylor (Denis O’Hare) and Sally Mckenna (Sarah Paulson). I think I find Patrick March (Evan Peters) a bit too insufferable to ever rewatch, though.Â
- “NYC.”
This is another forgettable season for me. The story is set in the 80s, with a mysterious murderer targeting only the LGBTQ+ community. I think they went the wrong way with executing the season. Some parts were quite sad, but the randomness of a murderer threw off the tone.Â
- “Delicate.”
“Delicate” was not for me. Again, Emma Roberts is the main character, playing an actor who is struggling with fertility issues. I know that AHS is inherently strange, but some of the imagery around pregnancy was downright disturbing. Kim Kardashian also makes an appearance; I was pleasantly surprised with her performance. I gave the season, which had lots of initial bad reviews, a proper chance and enjoyed the first few episodes. As the final episode ended, I felt weirded out and bored with the reused theme of a “devil baby.”
This is my personal opinion and ranking of American Horror Story seasons. Although I have seen most seasons at least twice, I still could’ve missed your favorite part of “Hotel” or “NYC.” Nonetheless, I have been hooked since I discovered the show way too early and have been looking forward to an autumn rewatch to kick off the season!