It’s that time of year again that everyone from the youngest child in the family to the oldest adult looks forward to: fall, or specifically the beginning of the fall television premieres. People across the country sit down at their televisions and DVRs and start watching and recording programs new and old.
A few weeks ago on September 14th, the popular FX series “American Horror Story” returned for their sixth season in the renowned anthology. After much speculation as to the theme of this season and a cavalcade of strange and cryptic trailers, the series revealed itself to be themed after the historic colony of Roanoke.
The season has been getting a lot of criticism from fans for its complete change in style when it comes to the way the story is being told. Series creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk have written this season as a docudrama where the episodes are broken up into two distinct parts that coexist with one another: an interview with the people that lived through the events, and then a dramatic recreation of the events that happened.
The main cast for this season includes the return of such favorites as Sarah Paulson and Lily Rabe, as well as new cast members like Cuba Gooding Jr. and Kathy Bates. The story follows Shelby, played by Paulson and Rabe, and Matt, portrayed by Gooding Jr. and André Holland, who are newlyweds that decide to move out of the city and into the country, when strange things start to happen to them. Is it the hillbillies having some fun with the new neighbors, or is something much darker at play?
Fans have expressed concern at the lack of screen time for long-time actor Evan Peters, the fan favorite actor since season one, and Lady Gaga, who is a recent addition to the “American Horror Story” cast. Although Peters has been credited in both episodes that have aired thus far, he has yet to make a noticeable on screen appearance.
This season has many fans wondering how the producers are going to bring watchers back into the series. Season 6 opened to some of the worst ratings the show has had thus far, with only 5.1 million viewers actually watching the entire episode. This has people concerned due to the fact that another popular television show, “The Walking Dead,” averages about 15 million viewers per episode.
This has been the show’s worst premiere since Season 2’s Asylum debut, which is hailed by the fan base as the lesser of the five stories that have been told thus far. Series co-creator Ryan Murphy has taken to the internet to try and wrangle back in the viewers who have already jumped ship by stating that there is a huge twist coming in a few episodes.
“American Horror Story: Roanoke” airs on FX every Wednesday night at 10 p.m. What could this twist that Murphy promises is coming, and will it be big enough to turn the tide of the season? The only way to know is to keep watching.