This page is for the entire anthology. For individual seasons, try:
- Actor Shipping: This show has huge amounts of actor shipping, the most notable of these being Parmiga (Evan Peters and Taissa Farmiga) and Raulson (Lily Rabe and Sarah Paulson). The former has mostly come about due to the pair's portrayal of Season 1's highly popular couple Tate Langdon and Violet Harmon, as well as the fact that they played a couple once again in Season 3. Raulson was about even before American Horror Story started, and was present all throughout the first two seasons, finally coming to a head during Season 3 with their portrayals of Misty Day and Cordelia Foxx, who are an immensely popular ship.
- Audience-Alienating Ending / Anti-Climax: American Horror Story is infamous for having a real trouble with its final episodes. Even the most beloved seasons (such as Murder House, Coven or Red Tide) end up with divise or underwhelming finales. So far, the only finale that seems to be unanimously considered a good one and up to the bulk of the season is the one Asylum.
- Broken Base:
- Sarah Paulson's recurring role through the series has divided opinion. Some people like her due to playing The Woobie only to be shown to be as manipulative and controlling as the show's villains, but on the other hand, some people have grown very tired of her often being the heavy focus of the show regardless of the season or character she's playing, and beyond that, for coming up on top almost all the time, to the point where some fans have dropped the show outright because they know Sarah Paulson will have a big role and, after much woobeing, will come up on top, again, once more.
- The general consensus is that the show suffered from Seasonal Rot. But where the show went wrong, and if it recovered, is up for debate. While Asylum is regarded as the pinnacle of the series, Coven is either the start of the quality drop, or stands up with the first two seasons as the show's best seasons.
- Likewise, while almost everyone agrees the show got back on track at some point, almost no one can actually agree when that was, though it's usually considered to be between Hotel and Roanoke for most viewers.
- For many, Hotel was when things recovered, changing out Jessica Lange and introducing Lady Gaga as well as overhauling the show and the characters the cast played, making things fresh, memorable, and fun again. To others, the loss of Lange was, essentially, the final nail in the coffin of a declining show, combined with the tone alternating between creepy and campy as well as the chaotic feel to the season, meaning the seasonal rot continued.
- For others, Roanoke was the true return to form, managing to be scary, clever, and innovative as well as having a tighter-focus and clear direction for the plot (something Coven, Freak Show, and Hotel all struggled with), but just as many found it to be tedious, stupid, and unnecessarily weighed down by an unlikable cast. The finale only served to splinter the base more.
- Complete Monster: See here.
- Friendly Fandoms: With RuPaul's Drag Race, due to numerous Shout Outs in both challenges and on the runway, not to mention AHS's huge queer fanbase in general. Plenty of cast regulars have been guest judges on the show, vice versa season 7 alum Trixie Mattel had a cameo in Roanoke.
- LGBT Fanbase: The campy aesthetics, the diverse cast (including lots of gay male eye-candy) and the progressive themes made the show a favorite of the queer community.
- Magnificent Bastard:
- Cult: Ally Mayfair-Richards was initially The Paranoiac, but would become much more fearless and conniving. After being released from a psychiatric ward, she would soon seek vengeance on Kai Anderson and his cult for tormenting her. She integrated herself into the cult where she manipulated Kai into killing his siblings and his most loyal followers on the pretense that they were turning against him; Ally also kills her own wife for joining Kai's cult, partaking in her torment and taking her son away from her. She would then have the FBI raid Kai's hideout completely dismantling his cult and arresting Kai. Decided to steal Kai's plan to run for a seat in the Senate, Ally would then arrange Kai's escape from prison, only to have him publicly humiliated on live-television before having him killed. Winning a seat in the Senate and later starting her own cult, Ally Mayfair-Richard undoubtedly proves that there is something more dangerous in this world than a humiliated man: a nasty woman.
- American Horror Stories: "The Naughty List": The mysterious Serial Killer who murders men working as mall Santas before taking their costumes. He dresses up as Santa Claus to hide in plain sight while finds those he deems naughty to kill. A group of obnoxious influencers one such example and to do so he tracks them down in their home and kills them in various fashions before uploading their deaths on YouTube for everyone to see. By the time the cops arrive, he is already gone before being last being seen stalking another mall Santa and preparing to repeat his MO.
- Older Than They Think: The art-nouveau style typeface used for the titles and opening credits was not, as American audiences frequently assume, created specifically for the show — it's actually a slight variant of the one designed by Scottish architect and designer, Charles Rennie Mackintosh
, in the late 19th century. - Seasonal Rot: Everyone agrees a drop in quality started at some point, but no one agrees exactly when this occurred. Coven, Hotel, and Roanoke are all thrown out as being among examples of when this set in (with which season qualifies and which ones work proving divisive). The only things almost everyone can agree on was that Freak Show, while still adequate, was disappointing and underwhelming, and that Apocalypse was a cringy Crossover mess worthy of a bad fanfiction.
- Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: The show tends to have this for some people (specifically the middle seasons such as "Hotel" and "Roanoke"), whether the characters are just unbearable Jerkasses, the constant usage of adultery, the Black-and-Gray Morality the characters have, or even the fact Anyone Can Die ruins any interests some have with the show.
- Took the Bad Film Seriously: No matter how many ridiculous, frustrating storylines or bad writing the show throws at its actors, many fans agree that they always give their all. The special effects, costumes, sets, cinematography, and music also tend to be rather highly thought of, even if the writing is sometimes lacking.
- Tough Act to Follow: Asylum is widely considered the best season the show produced, so much so that the later seasons often pale in comparison to it. Roanoke will sometimes be brought up as a worthy contender, but many agree that it ended very unsatisfactorily.
