Diving Into American Horror Story

Photo: FX

Photo: FX

Now in its 10th year on the air alongside two spinoff series, the horror anthology American Horror Story is clearly a tremendous success for FX. Yet, despite its popularity, viewership for the series has steadily tilted downward since its fourth season. FX will have to find new ways to grow its audience — or adapt storylines in future seasons and episodes that cater to the shifting tastes of its current audience. 

Ranker Insights is exactly the source the network needs to understand AHS’s current fan base and identify new audiences. Ranker has captured the opinions of thousands of American Horror Story fans, getting their takes on everything from their favorite seasons of the show, to their favorite episodes, to their favorite recurring actors — we know what the program’s loyal followers love most about it, as well as what else they watch. To celebrate the premiere of Season 10, we’re taking a deep dive into the minds of American Horror Story fans.

New episodes of American Horror Story premiere on Wednesdays on FX and Hulu until the series finale on October 27.

Photo: FX

Photo: FX

American Horror Story on Ranker

We can get a sense of what American Horror Story’s fans love most about the show by looking at the Ranker lists it performs best on. The long-running horror anthology series currently holds the top spot on The Creepiest Shows On TV Right Now (4K votes), beating out other iconic horror series like The Walking Dead, Stranger Things, and The Haunting of Hill House. It also holds the #2 spot on lists such as Shows That May Be Just Too Scary For TV (24K votes) and The Best Horror TV Series (26K votes), while nabbing the #3 spot on The Creepiest Shows In TV History (41K votes).

Horror aside, American Horror Story is also recognized by fans for its cast — it’s #2 on Current TV Shows With The Best Overall Acting (4K votes), beating out FX’s Fargo, HBO’s Westworld, and NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In addition to the phenomenal cast, the series has also been acknowledged for its varied and inclusive characters and storylines, as it places at #6 on the list of Best Current TV Shows With LGBTQ+ Characters (11K votes) and #1 on Current TV Dramas You Wish You Were A Character On (1K votes).

It is also clear that fans of the show enjoy binge-watching the standalone seasons again and again, as AHS tops lists featuring streaming series, coming in at #4 on both The Best Shows Available On Netflix To Watch Now (4 million votes) and The Best TV Shows Streaming On Hulu (35K votes).

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Who’s Watching American Horror Story?

After 10 seasons, American Horror Story has had a chance to permeate pop culture while still appealing to core fans who tune in for their weekly allowance of blood and guts. The show’s audience is constantly on the hunt for more thrills and more chills.


FANS OF ANTHOLOGY SERIES

American Horror Story began a trend in 2011 that fans have followed ever since. Other anthology series with extreme storylines popped up to offer viewers a brand-new experience with each new season or episode, a formula that works perfectly in a genre where the constant possibility of danger and gruesome death makes it hard to keep characters around for too long. That might explain why fans of AHS are 9X more likely to also enjoy the short-lived Hulu Stephen King anthology series Castle Rock, as well as the new Amazon Prime Video offering Them, which uses contemporary issues as the crux of its series, exploring “terror in America.”

But it’s not just horror anthologies these fans are interested in: American Horror Story fans are 8X more likely to also watch FX’s American Crime Story, a true-crime anthology series spinoff from AHS creatorsRyan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. The more new stories and characters they get (provided they’re played by familiar faces), the happier fans seem to be. That explains why Season 10, subtitled Double Feature, tells two different stories — and why the most recent spinoff, American Horror Stories, tells a new story in every episode, much like AHS’s predecessors The Twilight Zone and Tales from the Crypt.

These viewers love American Horror Story and… American Crime Story, Castle Rock, and Them.

HORROR ADAPTATION FANS

American Horror Story dips in and out of different storylines, sometimes pulling from the cultural zeitgeist to create a sense of the familiar. From featuring real-life serial killers to referencing urban legends, the show uses these touchstones to relate to fans. 

That seems to be something followers of AHS value in the show, as Ranker Insights suggests they love other scary stories based on familiar source materials that offer a new take on an old tale. For example, fans of AHS are 8X more likely to enjoy Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which is based on a comic. This take on the teenage witch is far darker than the previous TV version, as the laugh track and talking cat are replaced with satanism and ritual sacrifice. American Horror Story fans are also 8X more likely to watch The Walking Dead, also based on a graphic novel. The long-running zombie apocalypse drama has spawned two spinoffs (so far) — Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond — both of which have mass appeal to AHS fans.

American Horror Story audiences are also keen to check out Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House, based on the classic gothic novel by Shirley Jackson. As the show is another dark anthology show based on a popular story, it is no surprise that AHS fans are 9X more likely than the average TV fan to binge the series.

These viewers love American Horror Story and… The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, The Walking Dead, and The Haunting of Hill House.

THOSE WHO LOVE DARK, TWISTED MYSTERIES

Fans of American Horror Story enjoy mystery and intrigue just as much as they do horror, which suggests that the outrageous plot twists of American Horror Story are part of what draws them to the show. 

Fans of AHS are 9X more likely to check out Twin Peaks, David Lynch’s murder-mystery series. They’re also 7X more likely to check out HBO’s Lovecraft Country, a horror series based on the book by Matt Ruff. Inspired by the work of H.P. Lovecraft, the socially conscious show follows several mysteries as protagonist Atticus Turner attempts to get answers regarding his family. 

Finally, AHS fanatics are 7X more likely to check out Manifest,a thriller about a mysterious plane that makes a surprise landing after it initially disappeared for several years, surprising both the people onboard as well as their friends and family, who’ve been forced to move on without them.

These viewers love American Horror Story and… Twin Peaks, Lovecraft Country, and Manifest.

These stories are crafted using Ranker Insights, which takes over one billion votes cast on Ranker.com and converts them into actionable psychographics about pop culture fans across the world. To learn more about how our Ranker Insights can be customized to serve your business needs, visit insights.ranker.com, or email us at insights@ranker.com.

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