American Horror Story gets a 14th season before 13 ends
FX renewed American Horror Story for season 14, its first renewal in almost seven years, after season 13 set a Hulu and Disney+ launch record for Ryan Murphy. Here is what we know, plus a catch-up list of the six seasons 13 pulls from before the October 29 finale.
American Horror Story was supposed to end at 13. That was the joke, the theory and, for a lot of fans, the plan. FX had other ideas. On Tuesday the network renewed Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk's anthology for a 14th season, and The Hollywood Reporter notes the pickup landed nine days before the season 13 finale on October 29.
Deadline points out why the end-at-13 idea had legs: this is the first renewal for the show in almost seven years. FX ordered seasons 11, 12 and 13 together in January 2020, and a lucky-number finish was right there. Then season 13 became, per THR, the biggest launch ever for one of Murphy's series on Hulu and Disney+ based on four days of viewing, and made Nielsen's streaming top 10 in each of its first two weeks. Numbers like that do not get a send-off.
Why season 13 worked
Season 13 is the reunion season. Deadline describes it as a crossover set mostly in New York City, built around The Apollyon, a residential building with a portal to Hell in the basement. Murphy compared it to The Avengers. TV Insider lists the seasons it pulls characters from: Coven, Murder House, Freak Show, Hotel, Cult and Apocalypse. Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Gabourey Sidibe, Leslie Grossman and Jessica Lange are all back.
It is a fan-service season and it does not pretend otherwise. I think that is the honest reason it hit. The show spent the NYC and Delicate years trying new tones, and the audience came running back the second Murphy put the old faces in one building. That tells FX exactly what people want from season 14. Whether Murphy gives it to them is another question.
The audience came running back the second Murphy put the old faces in one building.
Your catch-up list before the finale
If you jumped into season 13 cold, or you are holding the whole thing for a Halloween binge, here are the six seasons it draws on. Season numbers, years and episode counts come from Wikipedia's season table. The order is my suggestion for a quick rewatch, not the broadcast order, and I am keeping it to premises only.
| Watch | Season | Years | Episodes | Why it matters now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Murder House (1) | 2011 | 12 | The original haunted house and the family at the center of everything |
| 2 | Coven (3) | 2013 to 2014 | 13 | The New Orleans witches, the biggest returning group |
| 3 | Apocalypse (8) | 2018 | 10 | The first big crossover, linking Murder House and Coven |
| 4 | Hotel (5) | 2015 to 2016 | 12 | The Hotel Cortez and its permanent guests |
| 5 | Freak Show (4) | 2014 to 2015 | 13 | The 1952 Jupiter, Florida troupe |
| 6 | Cult (7) | 2017 | 11 | The most grounded of the six, a Michigan town after the 2016 election |
That is 71 episodes, which is a lot for a week. If you only have a weekend, do Murder House, Coven and Apocalypse. Apocalypse was already a crossover of the first two, so those three cover the most returning faces for the time. The remaining episodes of season 13 air on Thursdays: Deadline says episodes 11 and 12 arrive this Thursday and the finale on October 29, at 9 PM ET/PT on FX and 9 PM PT on Hulu.
Some quick math on 14
Add up Wikipedia's episode counts and the 13 seasons come to 145 episodes once the finale airs. THR says season 14 will likely push the show past the 150 mark, and it already holds the record as FX's longest-running hourlong series. No season has ever run shorter than nine episodes, so 150 is a lock as long as 14 actually makes it to air.
What Murphy has said
Not much, and that is normal for this show. TV Guide says not to expect concrete details until closer to the release, and TV Insider notes there is no plot, cast or premiere date yet. Murphy told THR he is "working on Season 14 as we speak in terms of, 'What's the idea?' and 'Who wants to be in it?'" At the season 13 premiere he also said, "I really want this show to go international."
That second quote is the one I would watch. The show has toured a lot of America: Los Angeles, Massachusetts, New Orleans, Florida, North Carolina, Michigan and New York. An international season would be the biggest change of scenery it has ever tried. My bet, and it is only a bet, is that FX keeps 14 close to the 13 formula because the formula just worked. But a reunion only works once. If 14 is another crossover, it needs a new building, a new country or a new reason, or it becomes the band playing the hits a second night in a row.
Fall has been strong for horror TV across the board. Crystal Lake split critics on its slow burn last week, and AMC put the end of Daryl Dixon on the calendar. AHS gets something those shows do not: another year with no end date at all.
How we made this: researched and drafted with AI assistance. Sources are linked in the piece.
How we made this: researched and drafted with AI assistance. Sources are linked in the piece.
Original commentary based on public reporting. Not a reprint. Editorial standards.