With Season 10 of American Horror Story on its way, fans are busy speculating on a theme, a release date and casting. Creator Ryan Murphy has been teasing fans with hints, revealing the main cast as well as a promo photo on Instagram with the caption "things are beginning to wash up on shore," leading fans to believe the theme could be aquatic. While some of the previous AHS seasons have received high praise from audiences and critics alike, others were almost universally panned. When taking a look back, there are certainly aspects of Seasons 1-9 that fans hope to find in Season 10, along with a few they hope don't wash up onshore. Here's a comprehensive list of each season of American Horror Story, ranked from worst to best.
SEASON 7: CULT
This season had so much potential. Having shot the season before the results of the 2016 presidential election, the season could have served as a speculative dystopian future, or as an assessment of Donald Trump's presidential win. The season started out strong, with some disturbing murders, plus the introduction of the wonderful Billie Lourd. However, the entire season felt a bit messy, with events happening either way too fast or way too slow. Not to mention, the entire idea of the political spectrum was very much oversimplified.
SEASON 9: 1984
Fans went crazy when they heard Season 9 would be a love letter to the 1980s, complete with quintessentially 80s costumes and a brilliant soundtrack. The first few episodes even set up the season quite nicely, with the suggestion of ghosts stuck in time loops and an examination of the mind of a serial killer. It was everything else that fell short. The name 1984 was part of the season's downfall, suggesting a possible connection to the dystopian George Orwell novel of the same name. It's literally the only year in the decade which has previous connotations. The season may have worked a bit better had it been named 1985 or 1983.
SEASON 6: ROANOKE
Season 6 is easily the most controversial season with its highly experimental format. Presented initially as a docu-series following a couple and the disturbing events happening in their home, the story is told in talking-head interviews as well as reenactments. If this were the format for the entire season it may have been one of the best, but instead, the season devolved into a bizarre battle royale between the real-life homeowners, the actors and the ghosts in the house.
SEASON 4: FREAK SHOW
Freak Show is another controversial season that had a ton of potential but fell slightly short of what it could have been. The final season to feature Jessica Lange in a main role, Freak Show holds a special place in the heart of many fans for this reason. As typical for a few AHS seasons, the ending was fumbled. However, Season 4 boasts one of the most terrifying villains: Twisty the Clown, played by John Carrol Lynch, as well as one of the most well-crafted characters, conjoined twins Dot and Bette, played by Sarah Paulson. As more of a story of personal and familial conflicts with minor horror elements, Freak Show is a season that fans either loved or hated.
SEASON 5: HOTEL
The first of the series without Jessica Lange, Hotel is another divisive season. Lady Gaga as the stuck-out-of-time Countess completely steals the show, along with other characters who quickly became fan favorites, including Denis O'Hare as Liz Taylor. The Ten Commandments serial killer storyline is executed quite well, with an excellent twist ending. The hotel itself is one of the main characters in the season, with the most perfectly unsettling origin story of being built by murderous psychopath James Patrick March.
SEASON 8: APOCALYPSE
The highly anticipated Murder House/Coven crossover was arguably the only season that ended stronger than it began. The first few episodes left fans fairly confused, wondering when the crossover was going to kick in. Once the witches arrived, the season really took off, with the best episode being Episode 6, "Return to Murder House" with the return of Jessica Lange. The beginning of the season had a hard time reconciling with the ending, however, almost seeming as though the apocalypse aspect was written for another season and was then loosely strung together to fulfill the promise of a crossover. But, it was, overall, a very strong season.
SEASON 1: MURDER HOUSE
The inaugural season of the American Horror Story series is one of the strongest, with some of the most memorable characters and the strongest cast. The jumping from one era of the house's history to another, along with the troubled past of Evan Peters' character Tate, the season is perfectly disturbing and unnerving. Murder House had the added bonus of being the introduction to the series, meaning audiences had no idea of the rollercoaster ride they were getting themselves into, along with the added surprise of the anthology format, which certainly took fans for a loop.
SEASON 3: COVEN
Coven boasts the best Jessica Lange character of the series, Fiona Goode, the Supreme of a coven of witches. This entire season is full of absolutely badass female characters, each one as complex as the next. From the historically accurate storylines about witchcraft and voodoo in New Orleans to the incredible dialogue, disturbing imagery and even a guest appearance by Stevie Nicks, Coven is hands down one of the strongest seasons of the series.
SEASON 2: ASYLUM
Arguably the only scary season of the series, Asylum at times was downright terrifying. Sarah Paulson offers one of her best characters as the intrepid reporter Lana Winters, and Zachary Quinto is exquisitely disturbing as the murderous Dr. Oliver Thredson. Between the setting, the violent serial killer with an apartment full of human-skin lampshades and the frightening reality of the state of medical facilities in the 60s, Asylum hits the nail on the head when it comes to what AHS truly is as a series.