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American Horror Story
Alt=The title written in a distinctive font, white on black
Title card from the first season
GenreDrama
Horror
Thriller
Anthology
Created byRyan Murphy
Brad Falchuk
StarringVarious
Theme music composerCesar Davila-Irizarry
Charlie Clouser
ComposersJames S. Levine
(original music, pilot)
Country of originTemplate:TVUS
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes15 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersDante Di Loreto
Brad Falchuk
Ryan Murphy
Tim Minear
ProducersAlexis Martin Woodall
Patrick McKee
Production locationsParamount Studios
Los Angeles, California
CinematographyChristopher Baffa, ASC
EditorsBradley Buecker, ACE
Doc Crotzer
Camera setupSingle camera
Running time40-45 minutes (per episode)
Production companies20th Century Fox Television
Ryan Murphy Productions
Original release
NetworkFX
ReleaseOctober 5, 2011 (2011-10-05) –
present

American Horror Story is a horror-drama television series created and produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. Described as an anthology series, each season is conceived as a self-contained miniseries, following a disparate set of characters and settings, and a storyline with its own "beginning, middle and end."[1]

The first season takes place in the present day and follows the story of the Harmon family, who move into a restored mansion, unaware that the home is haunted by its former inhabitants. The second season, titled American Horror Story: Asylum, takes place in 1964 and follows the stories of the patients, doctors and nuns who occupy an institution for the criminally insane.

The series is broadcast on the cable television channel FX in the United States. The first season premiered on October 5, 2011, and concluded on December 21, 2011.[2] The second season premiered on October 17, 2012.[3]

American Horror Story has been well received by television critics and fans. The cast has been generally praised, particularly Jessica Lange.[4][5][6] The series draws consistently high ratings for the FX network, with its first season being the biggest new cable series of 2011.[7]

Overview

See also: List of American Horror Story episodes

Season 1

The theme of the first season is infidelity. The story takes place in 2011 and follows the Harmon family: psychiatrist Ben (Dylan McDermott), his wife Vivien (Connie Britton) and their teenage daughter Violet (Taissa Farmiga), who move from Boston to Los Angeles after Vivien gives birth to a stillborn baby and Ben has an affair. The Harmons move into a restored mansion and soon encounter the home's former residents, the Langdons: Constance Langdon (Jessica Lange) and her two children, Tate (Evan Peters) and Addie (Jamie Brewer), and the disfigured Larry Harvey (Denis O'Hare). Ben and Vivien try to rekindle their relationship, as Violet, suffering from depression, finds comfort with Tate. The Langdons and Larry frequently influence the Harmons' lives, as the family discovers that the home is haunted by the ghosts of its former inhabitants.

Season 2

The theme of the second season, titled American Horror Story: Asylum is sanity. The story takes place in 1964 and follows the patients, doctors and nuns who occupy the Briarcliff Mental Institution, founded to treat and house the criminally insane. The wardens who run the institution include the stern Sister Jude (Jessica Lange), her second in command Sister Mary Eunice (Lily Rabe) and the founder of the institution, Monsignor Timothy Howard (Joseph Fiennes). The doctors charged with treating the patients at the asylum include psychiatrist Dr. Oliver Thredson (Zachary Quinto) and the sadistic scientist Dr. Arthur Arden (James Cromwell). The patients, who each claim to be unjustly institutionalized, include lesbian journalist Lana Winters (Sarah Paulson), accused serial killer Kit Walker (Evan Peters), and alleged murderer Grace (Lizzie Brocheré).

Production

Conception

What you saw in the finale was the end of the Harmon house. The second season of the show will be a brand-new home or building to haunt. Just like this year, every season of this show will have a beginning, middle and end. [The second season] won't be in L.A. It will obviously be in America, but in a completely different locale.

— Murphy on American Horror Story's anthology format.[8]

Creators Murphy and Falchuk began working on American Horror Story before their Fox series Glee began production. Murphy wanted to do the opposite of what he had done previously and thus began his work on the series. He stated, "I went from Nip/Tuck to Glee, so it made sense that I wanted to do something challenging and dark. And I always had loved, as Brad had, the horror genre. So it just was a natural for me."[9] Falchuk was intrigued by the idea of putting a different angle on the horror genre, stating that their main goal in creating the series was to scare viewers. "You want people to be a little bit off balance afterwards," he said.[10]

In February 2011, FX officially announced that it had ordered a pilot for a possible series from Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, with both Murphy and Falchuk writing and Murphy directing. Dante Di Loreto was announced as executive producer. Production on the series began in April 2011.[11] In July 2011, FX officially announced the project had been picked up to series.[12]

From the beginning, Murphy and Falchuk planned that each season of the series would tell a different story.[8] After the first season finale aired, Murphy spoke of his plans to change the cast and location for the second season.[13] He did say, however, that some actors who starred in the first season would be returning. "The people that are coming back will be playing completely different characters, creatures, monsters, etc. [The Harmons'] stories are done. People who are coming back will be playing entirely new characters," he announced.[8]

Casting

See also: List of American Horror Story characters

Season 1

Connie Britton was first to be cast, portraying female lead Vivien Harmon.[14] Denis O’Hare joined second as Larry Harvey.[15] Jessica Lange soon followed as Constance, her first regular role on television.[16] Dylan McDermott joined the cast, soon after Lange, as the lead Ben Harmon.[17] Taissa Farmiga and Evan Peters were the last actors to be added to the main cast, portraying Violet Harmon and Tate Langdon, respectively.[18]

Season 2

In March 2012, Murphy revealed that the second season had been conceptualized around Jessica Lange who portrays Sister Jude, a sadistic nun who runs the asylum.[19] Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe and Zachary Quinto also return as main cast members in the second season.[20] Peters portrays Kit Walker, an inmate accused of murdering his wife.[21] Paulson portrays Lana, a lesbian reporter who gets committed to the asylum.[22] Rabe's character is Sister Mary Eunice, second-in-charge to Sister Jude.[23] Quinto portrays Dr. Thredson, a psychiatrist at the asylum.[24][25] Lizzie Brocheré plays Grace, a "sexpot" to rival Lange's Sister Jude.[26] James Cromwell co-stars as Dr. Arthur Arden, who proclaims to be in charge of the asylum.[27][28][29] Joseph Fiennes is Monsignor Timothy Howard, a possible love interest for Sister Jude.[29][30][31]

Filming

The pilot episode was shot on location in a house in Country Club Park, Los Angeles, California, which serves as the haunted house and crime scene in the series. Designed and built in 1910 by Alfred Rosenheim, the president of the American Institute of Architects' Los Angeles chapter, the Tudor or Collegiate Gothic-style single family home was previously used as a convent.[32][33] The first season is filmed on what appear to be sets that are an exact replica of the house.[34] Details such as Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass windows, and hammered bronze light fixtures, were re-created to preserve the look of the house.[32]

Production and shooting for the second season began in late July 2012 for a scheduled premiere in mid October.[35] The exteriors for the second season are being filmed in Hidden Valley, Ventura County, California, a rural area outside Los Angeles.[36]

Title sequence

The opening title sequence was created by Kyle Cooper and his company Prologue. He also created the title sequence for the AMC series The Walking Dead and the 1995 film Se7en. The theme music was composed by sound designer Cesar Davila-Irizarry and musician Charlie Clouser.[37] The cinematography was done by Juan Ruiz Anchía and the editing by Gabriel J. Diaz.

For the first season, the sequence is set in the Harmons' basement and includes images of postmortem young children, fetuses in jars, skulls, a christening dress, a nurse's uniform, and a figure holding a pair of bloody hedge clippers. Murphy described the sequence as a mini-mystery and stated that "By the time you see the ninth episode of this season, every image in that title sequence will be explained".[38]

The second season's opening sequence is done by the same creative team. "We are shooting a new title sequence with the same team that did last year's," series creator Ryan Murphy said. "The song may stay...not sure."[39]

Promotion

As part of the promotion for the series, FX launched a "House Call" campaign, in which viewers at home could sign up and come face-to-face with a character from the series.[40] Prior to the series premiere, FX released several clues to shine light on the series. They were offered on the show's official YouTube channel. Ten clues were released.[41] In September 2011, FX launched a website which allows visitors to tour the murder house throughout the decades and look for clues.[42]

In August 2012, the first promo for the second season was released on the American Horror Story Facebook page entitled "Special Delivery", in which a nun carries a couple of buckets filled with body parts through a field. As a church bell rings, the nun empties one bucket's bloody contents, leaving the empty bucket behind, and resumes her trek.[43] Over 20 subsequent teasers have been released.[44] Four photos were also released on EW.com.[45] Two televised teasers, titled "Meet the Residents", were released on August 31, 2012. They feature the patients and some staff (such as Dr. Thredson, played by Zachary Quinto, and Sister Eunice, played by Lily Rabe) lying in twin beds and dealing with their individual issues as the heads of the asylum (Jessica Lange, Joseph Fiennes and James Cromwell) look on. The song "Que Sera, Sera", mixed with the show's theme music, plays.[46]

Broadcast

The series premiered on October 5, 2011, and is broadcast on the cable television channel FX, in the United States. In November 2011, it premiered internationally on the respective countries' Fox International Channels.[47] The second season premiered on October 17, 2012.[3]

Reception

Critical reception

American Horror Story has received generally positive reviews from critics. The first season scored 62 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 30 reviews.[48] Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly awarded the pilot episode a B+, stating "AHS is pretty much all scare, all the time: a whole lotta screams, sex, jolts, mashed faces, psychotic behavior, and dead babies."[49] Hank Stuever from The Washington Post said in his review that "Overdoing things is one of Murphy's trademark flaws, but this show has a captivating style and giddy gross-outs."[50] Not all reviews were favorable: Alan Sepinwall of HitFix gave the series a D−, saying, "It is so far over the top that the top is a microscopic speck in its rearview mirror, and so full of strange sounds, sights and characters that you likely won't forget it—even though many of you will wish you could."[51] The Los Angeles Times' Mary McNamara gave it a mixed review, stating that it "...collapses into camp...upon more than one occasion" but also noting that it is "hard to look away."[52]

The second season, American Horror Story: Asylum, has received early generally positive reviews from critics and scored 64 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 21 reviews.[53] James Poniewozik from Time stated: "AHS: Asylum feels like a more focused, if equally frenetic, screamfest. It's also gorgeously realized, with a vision of its '60s institution setting so detailed you can smell the stale air and incense."[54] Maureen Ryan of The Huffington Post said "It's to the credit of Asylum's writers, directors and cast that the emotional pain of the characters often feels as real as their uncertainty and terror."[55] Verne Gay from Newsday gave the season a C grade, stating it "has some good special effects, just not much of a story to hang them on."[56] However, Linda Stasi of the New York Post thought the season was "over the top," adding "I need to enter [an asylum] myself after two hours of this craziness."[57]

Ratings

The pilot episode gained a 1.6 ratings share among adults aged 18–49 and garnered 3.2 million viewers.[58] These were the best numbers FX had ever received for a series premiere.[59] The episode was seen by 3.2 million viewers total in 59 countries.[60] Ratings increased as the season progressed, with the season finale being watched by 3.22 million viewers and receiving a 1.7 ratings share in the 18-49 demographic.[61] American Horror Story's November 2011 Fox International Channels' premiere across Europe and Latin America drew rankings of first or second among all Pay-TV in most metered markets for its time slot. In the UK, it premiered on non-terrestrial channel FX, with 128,200 viewers. The second episode saw an increase of 27%, receiving an overall viewership of 158,700.[62]

The second season's premiere gained a 2.2 18–49 ratings share and was watched by 3.85 million viewers,[63] marking the highest numbers for the series.[64]

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by American Horror Story

References

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  3. ^ a b Frankel, Daniel (October 31, 2011). "'American Horror Story' gets season 2 order from FX". Reuters. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  4. ^ "Best & Worst of 2011 Issue, Dec. 23, 2011". Entertainment Weekly. December 15, 2011.
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  7. ^ VanDerWerff, Todd. "American Horror Story to completely ditch season one characters, story, do something new in season two". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
  8. ^ a b c Mullins, Jenna (December 22, 2011). "American Horror Story Season Two Scoop: New House and (Mostly) New Faces". E! Online.
  9. ^ Stack, Tim (October 5, 2011). "'American Horror Story' co-creator Ryan Murphy talks premiere, his favorite scene, and identity of Rubber Man – EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly.
  10. ^ Juergens, Brian (October 3, 2011). "Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk Talk "American Horror Story": Blood, Infidelity, and Zachary Quinto". AFTERELTON.
  11. ^ Fienberg, Daniel (February 17, 2011). "FX orders 'American Horror Story' from 'Glee' pair". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
  12. ^ FX Orders "American Horror Story" to Series
  13. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (December 22, 2011). "'American Horror Story' Will Scare Up a New Cast and New Haunted Home for Season 2". The New York Times.
  14. ^ Stransky, Tanner (March 18, 2011). "'Friday Night Lights' star Connie Britton cast in Ryan Murphy's 'American Horror Story' pilot". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  15. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 30, 2011). "Denis O'Hare Joins Ryan Murphy's FX Pilot 'American Horror Story' pilot". Deadline. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
  16. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 13, 2011). "Jessica Lange To Star In Ryan Murphy/Brad Falchuk's FX Pilot 'American Horror Story'". Deadline. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 29, 2011). "Dylan McDermott To Star In Ryan Murphy's FX Pilot 'American Horror Story'". Deadline. Archived from the original on 8 May 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 5, 2011). "'American Horror Story' Casts Young Leads". Deadline. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  19. ^ Fowler, Tara. "Sister Jude (Jessica Lange)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  20. ^ Bricker, Tierney (March 2, 2012). "American Horror Story Season Two Scoop: Three More Castmembers Confirmed to Return!". E! Online.
  21. ^ Fowler, Tara. "Kit (Evan Peters)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  22. ^ Fowler, Tara. "Lana (Sarah Paulson)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  23. ^ Fowler, Tara. "Sister Eunice (Lily Rabe)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  24. ^ Fowler, Tara. "Dr. Thredson (Zachary Quinto)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  25. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (March 2, 2012). "Zachary Quinto Returning to FX's 'American Horror Story'". The Hollywood Reporter.
  26. ^ Ausiello, Michael (April 11, 2012). "Exclusive: American Horror Story Casts French Actress in Major (and Mysterious) Season 2 Role". TVLine. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  27. ^ Fowler, Tara. "Dr. Arden (James Cromwell)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  28. ^ Stack, Tim (May 7, 2012). "'American Horror Story' scoop: James Cromwell in talks for season 2". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  29. ^ a b Kondolojy, Amanda (August 1, 2012). "Ryan Murphy Reveals Title of New Chapter of 'American Horror Story'". TV By the Numbers. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  30. ^ Fowler, Tara. "Monsignor Timothy Howard (Joseph Fiennes)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
  31. ^ Stack, Tim (June 11, 2012). "'American Horror Story' scoop: Joseph Fiennes in talks for season 2 -- EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  32. ^ a b Keeps, David A. (October 31, 2011). "Set Pieces: The haunted house of 'American Horror Story'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
  33. ^ Kudler, Adrian Glick (October 4, 2011). "American Horror Story Gave Alfred Rosenheim House in Country Club Park an Early Halloween Costume". curbed.com. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
  34. ^ Chaney, Jen (October 5, 2011). "Connie Britton on 'American Horror Story,' 'Friday Night Lights' and what she learned from Rob Zombie". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 13, 2011.
  35. ^ Rice, Lynette (March 1, 2012). "Jessica Lange will return to 'American Horror Story' -- EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly.
  36. ^ Dos Santos, Kristin (July 26, 2012). "American Horror Story Casting Scoop: Jenna Dewan to Be Lovers With Adam Levine". E!. Retrieved July 27, 2012.
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  39. ^ Abrams, Natalie (August 7, 2012). "The New Rubber Man, Lange's Character and More American Horror Story: Asylum Spoilers". TV Guide. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
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  54. ^ Poniewozik, James (October 17, 2012). "TV Tonight: American Horror Story: Asylum". Time. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
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External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_Horror_Story&oldid=521041868"