Which 'American Horror Story' Season Is the Best?
American Horror Story has never been as popular as say, The Bachelor, but it has some of the most devoted—and often obsessive—fans in TV history. In 2022, when AHS co-creator Ryan Murphy and company declined to offer any details about the show’s then-upcoming 11th season, a slew of AHS fan accounts threatened to stop posting about the series until the powers that be released more info on their favorite horror anthology.
In an open letter to Murphy and FX, Twitter account @AHSZone slammed the “radio silent approach” taken to promote what would eventually be revealed as NYC. “The work of keeping the show relevant and talked about seems to have fallen squarely on the shoulders of the undyingly loyal news accounts this year,” they wrote. “We spend months on end, year round, thanklessly maintaining enthusiasm for the show. And we’re tired.”
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The kerfuffle may have seemed comical to the outside observer, but AHS fandom is basically a religion at this point. For years, fans have combed the episodes for clues about how the supposedly disconnected seasons were related, and many times, their hypotheses were correct. (This culminated in the fan service-y but delightful Apocalypse, which proved that Coven and Murder House were more deeply entwined than anyone could have imagined.)
When they’re not searching for links between Asylum and 1984, AHS fans love to debate which season is the best. Every season is good because it’s AHS, of course, but some entries are better than others—and some that are widely loathed still have their passionate defenders. In that spirit, keep reading for a not-at-all scientific ranking of the first 11 seasons of American Horror Story.
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American Horror Story seasons ranked
11. Roanoke (Season 6)
If you’re the kind of person who did an extra-credit project on the lost Roanoke colony in grade school—there are dozens of us!—then Roanoke is either a dream come true or your worst nightmare. The initial premise only tangentially involves the real Roanoke colony, but it’s still interesting: a married couple moved to North Carolina and immediately got haunted. They recount their troubles in a show-within-a-show called My Roanoke Nightmare, which features re-enactors recreating the horrors they experienced. There are fun cameos from the late Leslie Jordan (as sassy psychic Cricket) and Lady Gaga (as an immortal witch), but the show falls apart in the second half of the season with the addition of a second show-within-a-show. It gets too hard to keep track of who’s who and what happened when—even more so when the finale brings in three more fictional shows investigating the second show’s demise.
10. Double Feature (Season 10)
For the show’s 10th season, Murphy and company told two shorter, separate stories in one season. Debate is fierce about which one of these is better, but I’m personally a Red Tide apologist. The ending is messy, but there’s a lot of old-school AHS goodness here: Frances Conroy as a murderous erotica writer, Sarah Paulson as a person named Tuberculosis Karen and a magic pill that either turns you into a bloodthirsty zombie or turbocharges your work ethic. Death Valley, however, is borderline unwatchable, even though it’s about aliens secretly taking control of the U.S. government. Paulson, ever the MVP as an alien-possessed Mamie Eisenhower, is Death Valley’s only saving grace.
9. Freak Show (Season 4)
Freak Show suffers somewhat from where it landed in the order of AHS’ anthology format. It was well-liked when it premiered—and earned a ton of Emmy nominations—but its reputation diminished somewhat as other, better seasons debuted. Freak Show is perhaps most notable for introducing Twisty the Clown (John Carroll Lynch), one of the scariest villains in AHS history, and making the first official connection with a previous season when Sister Mary Eunice (Lily Rabe) and Pepper (Naomi Grossman) from Asylum pop up. Also, you just can’t beat Jessica Lange as Elsa Mars in David Bowie drag singing “Life on Mars.”
8. NYC (Season 11)
NYC came and went with little fanfare, thanks in part to its compressed broadcast schedule, but its low-key one of the most interesting AHS seasons to date. Like several AHS entries, it includes a midseason bait-and-switch that is either brilliant or annoying, depending on who you ask. Its strength, however, lies in the way it eschewed jump scares and gore for the horror of real life, specifically the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. NYC lacked the dark humor of previous seasons, for good reason, but it pushed boundaries and played with convention in ways the show hadn’t in years. It’s also downright heartbreaking—just try watching the finale’s Kraftwerk montage without shedding a tear.
7. 1984 (Season 9)
1984 is a lesser season of AHS, for sure, but it’s catnip for lovers of 1980s slasher movies, especially the Sleepaway Camp franchise. Leslie Grossman is incredible as camp director Margaret Booth, who survived the massacre of her fellow campers years earlier by a villain known as Mr. Jingles (John Carroll Lynch). Murphyverse regulars Billie Lourd, Cody Fern and Emma Roberts also turn in fantastic performances, so even though 1984 doesn’t have much to say, it’s an entertaining ride.
6. Cult (Season 7)
Cult started with a too-real premise—the aftermath of Donald Trump winning the 2016 U.S. presidential election—but then morphed into something much weirder, exploring the history of cults in America via Andy Warhol, Charles Manson and more. If nothing else, the season ranks this high for the sheer pleasure of watching AHS stalwart Evan Peters pull septuple duty as Manson, Warhol, Jim Jones, Jesus, Marshall Applewhite, David Koresh and fictional cult leader Kai.
5. Hotel (Season 5)
People love to hate on Hotel, but those people don’t understand joy, and joy is watching Lady Gaga play a glamorous vampire named The Countess who slices her victims’ throats with a chainmail glove. Hotel is loosely inspired by the real-life Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles, famous in part for being the temporary home of serial killer Richard Ramirez (who makes an appearance here). But reality slips away when Finn Wittrock shows up in a flashback as screen legend Rudolph Valentino, who in this universe is The Countess’ lover and also a vampire. Go with it!
4. Apocalypse (Season 8)
Apocalypse brings back the Coven witches—including Jessica Lange, who’d been absent since Season 4—for a romp through an underground bunker populated by a scenery-chewing Joan Collins, who plays a wealthy, octogenarian cannibal. The season also finally gave fans a real, detailed crossover rather than just hints and nods. Apocalypse centers around the coven uniting to stop the rise of the Antichrist, aka Michael Langdon (Cody Fern), otherwise known as the cursed offspring of Vivien Harmon (Connie Britton) and Tate Langdon (Evan Peters) from Murder House. And if that’s not enough to pique your interest, then recall that this season also marks the return of Stevie Nicks.
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3. Murder House (Season 1)
Longtime AHS fans will always hold a soft spot for Murder House as the one that started it all. The season may not be the most creative—it’s more or less just about a haunted mansion—but it kicked things off with a bang, giving us the frighteningly good union of Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson, plus the spooky sight of Rubber Man hanging out on the ceiling. If the season has any flaws, it’s teasing us with Connie Britton. She only came back to AHS once after this, reprising her role as Vivien in Apocalypse. AHS is confirmed for seasons 12 and 13, though, so there’s still time for Mrs. Coach to make her glorious return.
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2. Asylum (Season 2)
Asylum holds the distinction of being one of the few AHS seasons that’s actually kind of scary, thanks in part to a legitimately terrifying villain named Bloody Face. Set in the decidedly not up-to-code Briarcliff Manor asylum, the season veers slightly off course when aliens get involved, but it otherwise contains some of the best performances in the annals of AHS. Lily Rabe is a standout as Sister Mary Eunice, while Sarah Paulson shines as Lana Winters, a fan favorite character who (rightfully) gets to return to the AHS universe again and again.
1. Coven (Season 3)
If Coven has a million fans, then I am one of them. If Coven has 10 fans, then I am one of them. If Coven has only one fan, then that is me. If Coven has no fans, then that means I am no longer on Earth. If the world is against Coven, then I am against the world. But seriously, I must ask: What has humanity done to deserve the glory that is Coven? Jessica Lange as the baddest witch in town, Fiona Goode. Kathy Bates screaming “LIIIIIIIES.” Frances Conroy yelling “BALENCIAGA” as she’s burned at the stake. Angela Bassett making her AHS debut as voodoo priestess Marie Laveau. Stevie Nicks playing a witch-ified version of herself, bestowing magic scarves on other good witches. And all of that’s before you even get to the plot, which in a rarity for AHS makes pretty much total sense. Five stars, no notes, bury me with my Coven Blu-rays.
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