American Horror Story is a horror 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".
The first season, subsequently re-titled American Horror Story: Murder House, takes place in 2011 and follows the story of a family that moves into a home haunted by its former occupants. The second season, titled American Horror Story: Asylum, takes place in 1964 and follows the stories of the inhabitants of an institution for the criminally insane. The third season, titled American Horror Story: Coven takes place in the 1800s and present day and follows the battle between witches and voodoo practitioners.
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. The second season premiered on October 17, 2012 and concluded on January 23, 2013. The third season premiered on October 9, 2013, and is scheduled to conclude in January 2014. On November 6, 2013, FX renewed American Horror Story for a fourth season of 13 episodes to air in 2014.
American Horror Story has been well received by television critics. The repertory cast has been generally praised, particularly Jessica Lange, who received the Emmy Award, the Golden Globe Award, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance. The series draws consistently high ratings for the FX network, with its first season being the biggest new cable series of 2011.
