American Horror Story: Murder House
First season of the FX horror anthology series.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
American Horror Story: Murder House, the debut season of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s horror anthology series for FX, follows the Harmon family as they relocate to a restored Los Angeles mansion after a miscarriage and an affair. Unbeknownst to them, the house is haunted by the ghosts of its previous owners and their victims. The ensemble cast includes Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott, Evan Peters, Taissa Farmiga, Denis O’Hare, and Jessica Lange.
The series was announced by FX in February 2011, with production beginning that April. It aired from October 5 to December 21, 2011, and was produced by 20th Century Fox Television. Dante Di Loreto served as executive producer alongside Murphy and Falchuk.
Murder House received mostly positive reviews and maintained high ratings for FX, becoming the year’s top new cable series. It earned several industry award nominations, including a Golden Globe for Best Television Series – Drama and seventeen Emmy nominations. Jessica Lange won a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Primetime Emmy for her supporting role.
- Creator
- Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk
- Network
- FX
- Broadcast dates
- October 5 to December 21, 2011
- Number of episodes
- 13 (planned), 12 aired (finale extended to 52 minutes)
- Main cast
- Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott, Evan Peters, Taissa Farmiga, Denis O'Hare, Jessica Lange
- Genre
- Horror
- Production company
- 20th Century Fox Television
Lore & Background
Murphy and Falchuk began working on American Horror Story before their Fox series Glee began production. Murphy wanted to do the opposite of what he had done previously, stating, 'I went from Nip/Tuck to Glee, so it made sense that I wanted to do something challenging and dark.' The dark tone was modeled after the ABC soap opera Dark Shadows, which Murphy's grandmother forced him to watch when he was younger. Other influences cited include Rosemary's Baby, Don't Look Now, The Amityville Horror, and Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining. Murphy and Falchuk planned that each season would tell a different story from the beginning, with the cast and location changing for the second season while retaining some actors playing completely different characters.
Reader's Guide
Murder House generally received positive reviews from critics and drew consistently high ratings for FX, ending its cycle as the biggest new cable series of the year. The season was nominated for various industry awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama, and received a total of seventeen Emmy Award nominations. Jessica Lange won the Golden Globe, the Screen Actors Guild Award, and the Primetime Emmy Award for her supporting role. The season established the anthology format that would define the series, with each subsequent season featuring a new story and characters. Its success paved the way for later crossover seasons, such as Apocalypse, which merged characters and themes from Murder House and Coven.
Did You Know?
- The pilot episode was shot on location in a house in Country Park Club, Los Angeles, which was previously used as a convent.
- The season was originally planned to have 13 episodes, but the finale was shortened to 12 episodes with the 12th episode extended to 52 minutes.
- Jessica Lange's role as Constance marked her first regular role on television.
- The house used for filming became available for rent on Airbnb for six months beginning February 2016.
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