FX has announced that they have renewed their breakout hit American Horror Story for a second season consisting of 13 episodes, which they expect to air in 2012. The current season of the drama series is scheduled to complete its run on the cable channel on December 28, 2011.
In the press release announcing the renewal, John Landgraf, President and General Manager of FX Networks, said “It’s one thing to have the ambition and guts to reinvent a genre in a way that makes it captivatingly fresh for a broad audience—it’s something else entirely to have the craft to back that ambition up. Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk have hit the trifecta with Nip/Tuck, Glee and now American Horror Story, which will be scaring FX’s viewers to death for many years to come.”
American Horror Story
The horror/drama series was created by Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy and follows the Harmon family who moves to Boston from Los Angeles, seemingly unaware that their new house is haunted. American Horror Story stars Dylan McDermott as Ben Harmon, Connie Britton as Vivien Harmon, Taissa Farmiga as Violet Harmon, Evan Peters as Tate Langdon, Dennis O’Hare as Larry Harvey and Jessica Lange as Constance. The series is produced by 20th Century Fox Television, Brad Falchuk Television and Ryan Murphy Productions, with Dante Di Loreto, Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy serving as executive producers.
The Ratings Game
American Horror Story has been nothing short of a runaway success for FX. The series premiere, which aired on FX on October 5, 2011, scored 3.18 million viewers and a 1.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic in live + same day. Time shifted viewing for the premiere rose those numbers to 3.14 million Adults 18-49 and 1.77 million Adults 18-34, gains of 54% and 39% respectively; making it the highest rated premiere in the history of the cable network.
In the three weeks since its premiere, American Horror Story has seen steady ratings, with last weeks episode being the series highest rated in the coveted 18-49 demographic. The series second episode, which aired on October 12, 2011, delivered 2.46 million viewers and a 1.4 rating in live + same day. The series third episode saw a rise in viewers to 2.59 million viewers and a 1.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic, while the fourth episode scored 2.96 million total viewers and a 1.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic in live + same day.
It is highly unusual for any series, one on cable no less, to post gains in the 18-49 demographic in its fourth week compared to its premiere. When you consider that, coupled with the fact that the series edged out The Shield to become FX’s highest rated series premiere, it isn’t too hard to see why Landgraf wanted to bring the series back for a second season.
New episodes of American Horror Story air on FX on Wednesday nights at 10/9C.
