Summary
While one season ofAmerican Horror Storywas seen as a major return to form for the series, this ironically arrived after its three biggest stars had departed. Whileevery season ofAmerican Horror Storyis connected, this doesn’t mean that all the horror anthology’s outings share the same cast members.American Horror Storyoften casts actors who starred in earlier seasons in new roles and brings back existing characters from earlier seasons, but some cast members only appear in a few of its twelve outings. This reality was reinforced byAmerican Horror Storyseason 12’s ending.
WhileAmerican Horror Story: Delicateintroduced actors like Kim Kardashian, Matt Czuchry, and Cara Delevingne to the show’s sprawling stable of recurring guest stars, this came at the cost of its usual ensemble. Stars like Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates, Evan Peters, Taissa Farmiga, Lily Rabe, Cody Fern, and Angela Bassett were all absent fromDelicate, with Emma Roberts and Denis O’Hare being some of the season’s few returning actors. This might seem like an obvious cause ofAmerican Horror Story: Delicate’s low critical ratings, but dropping cast members isn’t always a problem for the long-running series.
American Horror Story Season 13: Confirmation, Cast, Story & Everything We Know
American Horror Story season 13 is confirmed, and there’s already speculation about what’s next for the Ryan Murphy anthology horror show.
American Horror Story: 1984 Didn’t Include Evan Peters, Sara Paulson, Or Jessica Lange
All Three Were Major American Horror Story Players For Several Years
As surprising as it might sound,American Horror Story’s best season in years didn’t feature three of the show’s biggest stars.American Horror Story: 1984didn’t include Jessica Lange, Evan Peters, or Sarah Paulson,yet the slasher pastiche still managed to earn some of the show’s best reviews in years.1984boasted a more straightforward horror plot than its predecessor,Apocalypse.Apocalypse’s convolutedCovensequel was messy, bloated, and painfully slow, whereas1984made up for its lack of star power with a comparatively streamlined and dynamic story. In classicAmerican Horror Storyfashion, the plot eventually involved complicated time loops.
UnlikeCultandApocalypse,1984was clear about who its protagonist was.
However,1984was otherwise refreshingly simple in its storytelling. AlthoughApocalypsewasAmerican Horror Story’s worst season, its comparatively solid predecessor,Cult, was bogged down by intensely timely satire and a massive cast of characters.1984also had a large lineup, but its slasher story ensured that the show tore through the superfluous supporting players quickly and without pity. This meant that, despite the absence of Lange, Peters, and Paulson, it was easier for viewers to care about the show’s heroine and get invested in her story. UnlikeCultandApocalypse,1984was clear about who its protagonist was.
American Horror Story: 1984 Ended A Divisive Era For The Series
The Outing Was Better Received Than Seasons 5, 6, 7, and 8
WhileJessica Lange was central to the early success ofAmerican Horror Story, she was also the first major recurring star to leave the series. Lange played major roles in seasons 1, 2, and 3, before portraying the protagonist of season 4,Freak Show. Elsa Mars was Lange’s most complex character yet and her exit from the series signaled a shift in its critical reception. Peters and Paulson remained mainstays in seasons 5, 6, and 7, despiteAmerican Horror Story’s critical struggles.American Horror Storyseason 5 wasted multiple promising characterswith its bleak, slow story.
The season’s slasher story featured plenty of dark humor, but its campy tone felt justified.
Meanwhile, season 6’s ambitious meta-premise made its pacing a slog despite its intriguing subject matter. Season 7 fared better largely because of stellar central performances from Paulson and Peters but, outside of these central turns,Cultfailed to find its footing. The season bounced between intense, gory horror and goofy political humor without warning, a problem that1984ironed out. The season’s slasher story featured plenty of dark humor, but its campy tone felt justified since the entire season functioned as a love letter to the horror movies of the ‘80s.
American Horror Story’s Comeback Was Short-Lived
Peters and Paulson’s Returns Couldn’t Salvage Season 10
While1984might have improvedAmerican Horror Story’s critical standing, the show’s comeback was short-lived. Ironically, while Lange is yet to return to the series as of season 12’s finale, both Paulson and Peters were back by season 10. Unfortunately,American Horror Storyseason 10,Double Feature, wasn’t well received thanks in large part to the misjudged titular gimmick. WhileAmerican Horror Storyseason 12was the first in the series to adapt an existing text, season 10 split its episodes between two unrelated stories. The first half,Red Tide, centered on a town full of vampires.
AlthoughRed Tidehad a lot of potential, the story was over before it could get truly interesting since season 10 needed time for its second story,Death Valley. This sci-fi tale focused on a government conspiracy involving aliens, but it was hard to care about this plot when neither story’s cast felt fully fleshed out by the end of the season. Thus, although1984helpedAmerican Horror Story’s reputation in the absence of the show’s central stars, their comeback in the next season also saw the return of the show’s recurring problems.
