Summary
WhileAmerican Horror Storyseason 12 did improve on one season 11 issue,Delicatestill kept a bad streak alive for the long-running horror anthology series.Every season ofAmerican Horror Storyis different, but all of these outings have a few things in common. For one thing, most seasons feature recurring guest stars and cast members. For another,American Horror Storyalso often reuses specific characters or otherwise clarifies that all its stories take place in a shared universe. Furthermore, even the show’s darkest seasons share a sense of humor andAmerican Horror Story’s uniquely campy tone.
For the most part, season 12 continued to keep these trends alive. Unfortunately,American Horror Story: Delicate’s endingwas one of the show’s worst outings in years and managed to earn the lowest IMDb rating of any episode in the series so far. Despite the problems withAmerican Horror Story: Delicate’s finale, I didn’t hate everything about season 12. The plot’s re-working ofRosemary’s Babywas occasionally fun and inventive, and the pacing was more patient than many earlier, more chaotic outings. Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian was an unexpected highlight as the heroine’s catty agent Siobhan Corbyn.
American Horror Story Season 13: Confirmation, Cast, Story & Everything We Know
American Horror Story season 13 is confirmed, and there’s already speculation about what’s next for the Ryan Murphy anthology horror show.
American Horror Story: Delicate’s Ratings Were Higher Than Season 11
NYC Hit A Series Low For American Horror Story
One crucial area whereAmerican Horror Story: Delicateimproved on its predecessor was in its ratings.American Horror Storyseason 12’s ratings were better than season 11’s viewership numbers, although only marginally.American Horror Story: NYC’s average viewership per episode was 0.27 million, whileDelicatebrought this back up to 0.30 million. For a frame of reference, it is worth noting that the show’s pilot commanded an audience of 3.18 million back in 2011. Admittedly, streaming services have reshaped the landscape of television ratings in the years since, but the drop-off inAmerican Horror Story’s viewership still worries me.
American Horror Story: Delicate regained an average of 0.0.3 million viewers more than its predecessor.
Delicate’s premiere earned 0.45 million viewers in September 2023, a number that just about beat season 11’s premiere audience of 0.38 million. Considering how high profileRyan Murphy’sAmerican Horror Story Stuntcastingof Kim Kardashian was inDelicate, this was something of a dispiriting beginning. As the season continued,American Horror Story: Delicateregained an average of 0.0.3 million viewers more than its predecessor. This sounds impressive, but season 10 had an average viewership of 0.65 million, or over doubleDelicate’s average audience. This made me realise how bigAmerican Horror Storyseason 13’s problems are.
American Horror Story: Delicate’s Ratings Were Still Concerning
The Horror Anthology Series Once Earned Millions Of Viewers
A look back on earlier seasons proves thatAmerican Horror Storyseason 13 has some major obstacles to overcome. Season 3’s average viewership was a whopping 4 million, while even season 8 averaged 2 million five years later. The drop that struck me was the one between seasons 9 and 10, from 1.32 million to 0.65 million. Although this was not the biggest drop the series ever suffered between seasons, it is the season that saw the show’s average viewership dip beneath 1 million.American Horror Storyseason 9 was great, but even its improvements on season 8 couldn’t bring back viewers.
American Horror Story’s decline in viewership was relatively gradual.
It is difficult for a series to regain viewers after a major drop-off, and it seems almost impossible forAmerican Horror Storyto ever enjoy the ratings success the series once boasted.American Horror Story’s decline in viewership was relatively gradual, with 2016’s season 6 gaining a few more viewers than season 5 before season 7 saw this number drop again. I believe thatAmerican Horror Storycould win back casual watchers, but the show’s status as an institution may work against it in this regard. Once seen as edgy,American Horror Storyis now well-established.
American Horror Story’s Ratings Could Impact Its Future
The Horror Anthology Series May Struggle To Attract Viewers
Season 6 regaining viewers proves thatAmerican Horror Story’s critical reception does sometimes align with its viewership numbers. WhileAmerican Horror Storyseason 5 wasted great characterson a slow, messy story, season 6 regained viewers with a sharp, meta season that played with the found footage format. As such, the fact thatDelicate’s ending was so critically abhorred makes me worry about season 13’s viewership.
However, all hope is not lost. I noticed thatAmerican Horror Story’s spinoffAmerican Horror Storieshasn’t been canceled yet, and Ryan Murphy has another horror series coming out this year inGrotesquerie. This could bode well for the future of the show.American Horror Story’s season 12 stunt casting wasn’t enough to win back a million viewers per episode, but the outing did drag up the ratings of the series. I can’t see howAmerican Horror Storyis likely to over attract as many viewers as the show once could, but its end is not necessarily in sight yet.
