Why AHS Fans Think Hulu Has Changed The Show Drastically
FX's anthology series "American Horror Story" has captivated audiences since 2011. Each season, "AHS" follows a new setting and story (though sometimes there are crossovers between a few chapters) and oftentimes, these stories follow some staple of the horror genre itself. Some of the tropes the series has explored throughout the years include a family moving into a haunted house, a haunted insane asylum with a mad doctor at its head, and of course, a season following a murderous clown. Fans fell in love with the variation each season promised, as well as its emphasis on complex storytelling with plenty of twists.
Recently, the series launched a spinoff series on Hulu titled "American Horror Stories," which promised a new take on the anthology in the form of horror "shorts" in the same vein as the original "AHS." Unfortunately, while that premise is certainly intriguing, many fans feel that the show's new angle has been extremely disappointing. Here's what they had to say.
Quantity just doesn't beat quality
"American Horror Stories" launched in July 2021 to negative reviews from fans and critics alike. The show's seven-episode first season included both one-off short stories that had no connection whatsoever to the original show, and a few episodes that take place directly in the established AHS universe, referencing seasons from the past.
AHS fans took to the show's subreddit to explain their disappointment in the new spinoff series. "When the series was announced I thought it would be anthologies using characters from previous seasons," writes u/BetweenTwoLungs12345. "A day in the life of Elizabeth Taylor working the desk of "Hotel" [for example]...so you can see my disappointment in the final product."
Alongside the unrealized potential in the story, fans insisted that the series' move to Hulu has resulted in a decline of quality as well. "It felt cheap and was written like someone who had never watched 'American Horror Story” but had it explained to them," wrote user u/dannydevitodogwalker. "The episodes were too short for there to be a well thought out conclusion."
On the bright side, u/BetweenTwoLungs12345 suggested that the show "might stop [Ryan] Murphy from injecting those subpar ideas into a random episode B-plot of the main AHS series."