American Horror Story Quasimodo
Oleta Blaylock
American Horror Stories is an American horror anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for FX on Hulu. Originally premiering on July 15, 2021, the series serves as a direct spin-off/companion series to American Horror Story, and the third installment in the American Story media franchise. Contrasted by American Horror Story which tells a different story throughout each season, Stories tells a different story in each individual episode (except the first 2 episodes and the last of season 1, which were a 2-part story and a coda taking place some time later).
Returning cast members from the original show, usually playing a new character, include Matt Bomer, Celia Finkelstein, Naomi Grossman, John Carroll Lynch, Charles Melton, Billie Lourd, Chad James Buchanan, Cody Fern, Dylan McDermott, Jamie Brewer, Denis O'Hare, Matt Lasky, Gabourey Sidibe, Max Greenfield, Austin Woods, Seth Gabel, Rebecca Dayan, Cameron Cowperthwaite, Spencer Neville, Teddy Sears, and Jeff Hiller.
Some episodes of this show are connected to past American Horror Story seasons. The episodes "Rubber(wo)Man Part One", "Rubber(wo)Man Part Two", and "Game Over" are connected with American Horror Story: Murder House, while "Dollhouse" is connected with American Horror Story: Coven.[2]
On May 11, 2020, Murphy revealed that a spin-off series named American Horror Stories was being developed; it would feature self-contained anthological episodes, instead of a season-long story arc as featured in American Horror Story.[1] The first season consists of seven episodes.[3] On August 13, 2021, FX renewed the series for a second season of eight episodes.[4]
The third season was first reported in May 2023, when it was affected by the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.[5] In August, it was announced that the season would premiere on October 26 as a four-episode Halloween event.[6]
Matt Bomer, Gavin Creel, Sierra McCormick, Paris Jackson, Belissa Escobedo, Merrin Dungey, Selena Sloan, Ashley Martin Carter, Valerie Loo, Kaia Gerber, Aaron Tveit and Celia Finkelstein starred in the first two episodes.[7][8] Other American Horror Story alums who appeared in the first season include Naomi Grossman, John Carroll Lynch, Charles Melton, Billie Lourd, Chad James Buchanan, Cody Fern, Dylan McDermott and Jamie Brewer along with newcomers Rhenzy Feliz, Madison Bailey, Ben J. Pierce, Leonardo Cecchi, Kyle Red Silverstein, Brandon Papo, Amy Grabow, Adrienne Barbeau, Kevin McHale, Nico Greetham, Dylln Burnside, Taneka Johnson, Danny Trejo, Ronen Rubinstein, Virginia Gardner, Vanessa E. Williams, Michael B. Silver, Kimberley Drummond, Jake Choi, Misha Gonz-Cirkl, Tiffany Dupont, Blake Shields, Colin Tandberg, Mercedes Mason, Noah Cyrus, Adam Hagenbuch, John Brotherton, Nicolas Bechtel and Tom Lenk.[9][10]
Nico Greetham and Cody Fern returned for the second season. Denis O'Hare, Matt Lasky, Gabourey Sidibe, Max Greenfield, Austin Woods, Seth Gabel, Rebecca Dayan, Cameron Cowperthwaite, Spencer Neville and Teddy Sears, who appeared in previous seasons of American Horror Story, appeared in the second season along with newcomers Kristine Froseth, Houston Towe, Abby Corrigan, Simone Recasner, Maryssa Menendez, Emily Morales-Cabrera, Caitlin Dulany, Joel Swetow, Lily Rohren, Vince Yap, Nancy Linehan Charles, Bella Thorne, Anthony De La Torre, Billie Bodega, Julia Schlaepfer, Addison Timlin, Ian Sharkey, Dominique Jackson, Quvenzhan Wallis, Raven Scott, Kyla Drew, Kyanna Simone, Shane Callahan, Ryan Madison, Tiffany Yvonne Cox, Judith Light, Britt Lower, Todd Waring, Cornelia Guest, Madison Iseman, Jeff Doucette, Sara Silva, Jessika Van, Chelsea M. Davis, Alicia Silverstone, Olivia Rouyre, Bobby Hogan, Heather Wynters and Jarrod Crawford.[11][12]
Seth Gabel and Cameron Cowperthwaitereturned for the third season. Jeff Hiller, who appeared previously in American Horror Story: NYC appeared in the third season, along with newcomers Jessica Barden, Emma Halleen, Amrou Al-Kadhi, Allius Barnes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Reid Scott, Annie Hamilton, Christopher Fitzgerald, Maury Ginsberg, Lisa Rinna, Laura Kariuki, Rob Yang, Hazel Graye, Ral Castillo, Emily Browning, Havana Rose Liu, Susan Pourfar, Jeff Adler, Drew Moore, Patrick Breen, Maria Tucci and Laila Robins.[13]
On August 4, 2020, it was announced that Sarah Paulson was set to direct an episode on the series, but she ultimately did not do so.[14] In 2023, it was revealed that the third season was filmed in New Jersey.[15][16]
Every episode of the series has its own title sequence, with the exception of the first and second episodes, which share the same one, to connect to the theme of each episode. The title sequence was created by Elastic. They also created the title sequence for the HBO series Game of Thrones. The same theme music and font of American Horror Story is used during the opening credits. "The Naughty List", the fourth episode of the first season, uses the same remix of the theme music as American Horror Story: 1984 but high pitched. Starting with season 3, a new logo and font are used for the titles.
Scarlett Winslow and her house-flipping fathers Michael and Troy move into the infamous Murder House. Scarlett sneaks out to attend a sleepover at her crush Maya's house. Later that night, Maya invites Scarlett back to her bedroom away from the others. They kiss and Scarlett shares her violent sexual desires. Texts from her best friend Shanti reveal to Scarlett that Maya and her friends are pulling a cruel prank on her by live-streaming their conversation. To get revenge after a fantasy of one while masturbating, Scarlett lures Maya and her friends to the basement of Murder House, where she murders them, while wearing the Rubber Man suit. The next day, Scarlett opens her door to find the Rubber Man outside.
Scarlett forms a relationship with Ruby, the ghost of a young woman who snuck into the Murder House to commit suicide as they relax in the same bathtub. Troy begins to cheat on Michael with a contractor named Adam. After discovering the bodies of Maya and her friends behind a brick wall, Adam blackmails Michael and Troy only to be slain by the Rubber Man. Michael and Troy try to flee the house, but find they cannot leave. They find out that they were murdered earlier in an effort on Ruby's behalf to persuade Scarlett to stay with her in the Murder House forever. On Halloween, Scarlett and Ruby venture out of the house. The ghosts of Maya and her friends pursue them to get revenge on Scarlett, but they are unsuccessful. At dawn, Scarlett resolves to move out of the Murder House while promising Ruby that she will visit her every Halloween.
Kelley and her boyfriend Chad attend a drive-in screening of a banned film "Rabbit Rabbit". The film was banned thanks to Tipper Gore after it caused the premiere's audience to kill each other upon their eyes turning black. The film's director Larry Bitterman attacks Tipper at a congressional hearing after she gloats about the studio burning all remaining copies. He is subsequently jailed for the assault. In the present, Kelley and Chad make out as the film starts. Unable to see "Rabbit Rabbit" through fogged-up windows, they are unaffected as mass violence erupts. Everyone who watches the film is attacking and devouring one another. Kelley and Chad flee to the projection room and destroy the film. Hours pass and instead of going to the cops, the two decide to find Larry and force him to hand over all copies. Once found, Kelley shoots Larry's kneecaps and Chad burns the original film. Larry taunts them as his trailer burns down and they leave him for dead. The two go back to Chad's and celebrate. As they kiss, the camera pans to "Rabbit Rabbit" being promoted on Netflix. Then the window shows the Los Angeles skyline erupting in flames.
Influencers Wyatt, Zinn, Barry, and James live in a content house and have a collaborative YouTube channel, "The Bro House". Their channel begins losing subscribers after they post a video of a man jumping off a bridge. After failing to regain their popularity by queer baiting, the boys film a prank video at a mall's Santa Village where they make fun of a Mall Santa. On Christmas Eve, the boys upload the video and they get a call from a detective stating that the Santa in their video was an imposter as the real Mall Santa was found dead. The imposter Santa descends upon their house, killing Wyatt and Zinn and uploading their deaths onto the Bro House channel, along with a linked article identifying himself as the Wild Man, a minor pagan god and Satanic killer of the "naughty" after whom the legend of Santa Claus was inspired. Barry and James try to escape the house but the Wild Man shoots them down in the driveway. James is killed and Barry drags himself back into the house. Their channel reaches five million subscribers as the Wild Man pours gasoline down the chimney and sets the house and Barry on fire, who jumps into the pool to put himself out. On Christmas Day, the police find the other boys' body parts adorning their Christmas tree, as elsewhere, the Wild Man prepares to murder another Mall Santa.
After several failed attempts to get pregnant, Liv Whitley receives a totem from Bernadette, the receptionist at a fertility clinic, and places it under her bed just before she and her husband Matt have sex. The totem works and Liv has a son, Aaron. Sixteen months later, Liv is suffering from postpartum depression and begins seeing visions of Ba'al, a demon haunting her child. Liv seeks out Bernadette, who shares a banishment ritual with her. Liv accidentally stabs Matt while performing the ritual and is committed to an asylum. It is revealed that Matt and his college friends had orchestrated every supernatural event to gaslight Liv so Matt could have her committed and take her money to share with his friends; Matt had never wanted to have a baby, had been sabotaging their efforts to get pregnant on purpose, and had been having an affair with Bernadette the entire marriage. As Matt and his friends celebrates his success, the real Ba'al appears and slaughters Bernadette and Matt's friends. It is revealed that Liv sent Ba'al to exact revenge. The banishment ritual Bernadette gave her turned out to a "real life summoning spell". Matt is sent to prison and Ba'al appears in Liv's bedroom. He demands to be released; She agrees on the condition that "You give me another baby".
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