WhileAmerican Horror Storyseason 13 might be an unexpected return to form, this doesn’t change the fact that it must be the anthology show’s last outing.Every season ofAmerican Horror Storyis connected, but not necessarily in the way that the show’s creators intended. Originally, the series brought back cast members in new roles and certain characters, locations, and events to imply that all ofAmerican Horror Story’s seasons took place in the same fictional universe. However, as anyone familiar with the series can attest, actors and in-universe elements aren’t the only things uniting the show’s outings.
Every season of the series eventually goes off the rails in terms of plotting, as evidenced byAmerican Horror Story: Delicate’s absurd ending. EveryAmerican Horror Storyseries also lurches between high camp and surprisingly dark, gritty horror without warning, although this tendency becomes more of an issue in later seasons. Every outing from the anthology show also features at least one or two promising subplots that are inexplicably forgotten by the end of the season. Thanks to all of these flaws, it is fair to suggest thatAmerican Horror Storyseason 13should be the show’s final outing.
American Horror Story’s Worst Season Could’ve Been Great If It Did 1 Thing The Franchise Never Has
Although American Horror Story’s weakest season had a lot of structural issues, the outing could have been an instant classic if the show took 1 risk.
American Horror Story Season 12’s Reception Was Disastrous
Season 12’s Finale Earned The Show’s Worst Reviews Yet
After season 12’s critical failure,it’s time forAmerican Horror Storyto finally wrap up for good.The anthology show began back in 2011 and has done a lot to reshape the landscape of horror television since its premiere. WithoutAmerican Horror Story, there would be noSlasherorChannel Zero, and the show’s gruesome content helped push the boundaries of screen censorship. However, there is a reason that season 12’s finale wasAmerican Horror Story’s lowest-rated episodeever. The series lost its charm years ago and, after numerous failed comebacks, it’s time to call it quits.
If anything was going to saveAmerican Horror Story,Delicatewould have been it. The season was the first based on an existing piece of source material, namely author Danielle Valentine’s novelDelicate Condition.Delicatebrought back series mainstay Emma Roberts in its lead role and stunt cast Kim Kardashian in a major supporting part, while also pulling in buzzy stars from the cast ofSuccession. With a timely storyline that reflected on bodily autonomy and feminism via aRosemary’s Babyriff,Delicateseemed set for success. Instead, the season’s ending earned some of the show’s worst reviews ever.
American Horror Story: Delicate’s average viewership per episode lingered around the 0.3 million mark.
American Horror Story’s Ratings Are Declining Rapidly
The Series Hasn’t Earned Over A Million Viewers In Four Years
As ifDelicate’s woeful reviews and reception weren’t bad enough, the show’s viewership ratings were equally dire. For its first few seasons,American Horror Storycould silence its critics with the show’s impressive audience share. However,American Horror Storyhasn’t had an average audience of over 1 million viewers since 2018. This represents a massive drop-off from the height of its popularity whenAmerican Horror Story’s ratingsfrequently jumped as high as 3 and 4 million viewers during seasons 3 and 4. In contrast,American Horror Story: Delicate’s average viewership per episode lingered around the 0.3 million mark.
Even tricks that once succeeded for the series, like its habit of stunt-casting stars in supporting roles, aren’t working.
American Horror Story’s declining ratings would be a cause for concern for the show’s fan base if viewers felt that the series was still in its prime, but the reviews received in recent seasons prove this isn’t the case.American Horror Storyis losing both critics and viewers at an alarming rate. Even tricks that once succeeded for the series, like its habit of stunt-casting stars in supporting roles, aren’t working. CreatorRyan Murphy’s new horror show has castTravis Kelce in an unspecified part, but Kardashian’s failure to drum up a large audience forDelicateproves this doesn’t always work.
American Horror Story Season 13 Can Still Link Every Story Together
The Show’s Ever-Expanding Universe Has Grown Messier Over Time
Fortunately, there is still time forAmerican Horror Storyseason 13 to salvage the show’s reputation. Although the seasons of the series that tried to pull its fictional universe together have never been its strongest outings,American Horror Storyseason 13 can feature a story that links up all the earlier seasons. The last time the show attempted this was 2018’s season 8,Apocalypse, a thinly-disguised follow-up toCoven. This season was a letdown, but this was mostly due to the first three episodes wasting significant screen time by hiding its canon connection toCovenandMurder House.
All the series needs is an ending that feels like a fitting confusion to the wild, warped saga American Horror Story has taken viewers on.
IfAmerican Horror Storyseason 13 unabashedly focused on tying up all the show’s loose ends, the outing could provide a satisfying final adventure for fans. This doesn’t even require the show to bring back stars like Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, and Jessica Lange, sinceAmerican Horror Story’s best season in years was missingsome of the show’s biggest names. All the series needs is an ending that feels like a fitting confusion to the wild, warped sagaAmerican Horror Storyhas taken viewers on over the last thirteen years, rather than another standalone story likeDelicate.
American Horror Story’s Spinoff Can Keep The Franchise Alive
American Horror Stories Has A Fun Standalone Style
American Horror Storyseason 13 should attempt to finally provide viewers with a sense of closure after so many disappointing endings from earlier outings. However, this doesn’t mean the season necessarily needs to be the end of the entire franchise.American Horror Story’s spinoffAmerican Horror Storiescan still provide great standalone anthology storiesand keep the show’s unique tone, dark sense of humor, and singular style alive in the process.American Horror Storieshas been expanding the world of the show with one-off adventures since 2021. While not perfect,American Horror Storiesis helpfully limited by its single-episode storytelling.
American Horror Storiesseason 4 is likely to air in late October 2024 as part of Hulu’s “Huluween” event.
WhileAmerican Horror Storywastes characterswho had untapped potential,American Horror Storiesuses its shorter runtime to tell self-contained stories. Not all the show’s episodes work, but the series doesn’t share the most frustrating issue with its predecessor. Namely,American Horror Storiescan’t introduce interesting characters and storylines only to drop them without a second thought. The show’s shorter runtime means the cast is smaller, and the storytelling is more focused as a result. As such, the spinoff could keep the franchise’s fictional universe alive without frustrating viewers ifAmerican Horror Storyseason 13 ended the series.
