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American Horror Story: Freak Show |OT| Let your inhibitions go, it's a crazy night...

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Nemesis_

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SEASON PREMIERE:
Wednesday October 8th 10p [only on FX]

American Horror Story is a horror-drama series created and produced by Ryan Murphy (Nip/Tuck) and Brad Falchuk. The series has been referred to as an "anthology" series
as every series features different characters, settings and story lines while utilizing the same actors who may return for different roles. From the beginning, Murphy and Falchuk had
planned for the series to be a different story each season - allowing for actors to sign on without having to commit to multiple year runs and allowing the show to remain fresh and
varied. As such, each story is conceived and penned at the beginning of the production cycle from beginning to end.

Freak Show is the fourth season of American Horror Story. It will span multiple years, ranging from the early 1930s through to the 1950s. It's main focus is surrounding a "Freak Show", that
with the advent of television is finding themselves down and vying for relevance. The main storyline will take place in Jupiter, Florida during the 1950s. The participants in the Freak Show
will do whatever necessary to keep their craft alive. The writers plan to explore the conflict between the "freaks" themselves as well as the "evil forces" who do not understand them.

Ryan Murphy has promised that Freak Show will have a much darker tone, and will be a very different season for the show, especially when compared to Coven.

The stories concerning the Harmon family and their haunted house (from the first season) as well as the Foxx Coven of Witches (from the third season) are completely unrelated to Freak
Show. There are minor, very superficial ties between Asylum (the second season) and Freak Show.

You do not need to watch the first, second or third season to understand this one - each season of American Horror Story is independent of one another​

REGARDING SPOILERS:
  • Spoilers regarding episodes not yet aired are to be spoiler tagged.
  • Discussions about episodes that have aired are not to be spoiler tagged.
  • Not only does this prevent the thread from looking like a giant black wall, but it allows members to pick out real spoilers from plot points about episodes they've already seen.

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NOTE: All details contained herein are what's been released in promotional materials officially.

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ELSA MARS | Played by Jessica Lange. A german expatriate, and the manager of one of the last remaining Freak Shows. She is caring and nurturing, but not exploitative.
BETTE & DOT | Played by Sarah Paulson. Conjoined twins who share a body but have polarising personalities, they are scouted by Elsa to bring new life to the Freak Show.
ETHEL DARLING | Played by Kathy Bates. A bearded woman who is Elsa's right hand man. Peppered with a tragic past, she owes much of her life to Elsa.
DESIREE DUPREE | Played by Angela Bassett. A three breasted woman who performs in the Freak Show.​
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GLORIA MOTT | Played by Frances Conroy. A zealous, wealthy woman whose son wants to join the Freak Show. She has other plans for him, however, and wishes to keep him away.
DANDY MOTT | Played by Finn Wittrock. A "beautiful" young man who wishes to Elsa's Freak Show, much to the chagrin of his mother Gloria.
DELL TOLEDO | Played by Michale Chiklis. A "strongman" of the Freak Show who is on the run from the law for unknown reasons.
JIMMY DARLING | Played by Evan Peters. The son of Ethel Darling, he was born with Ectrodactyly, having "lobster" shaped hands. He's the "big man on campus" for the Freak Show.​
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STANLEY | Played by Denis O'Hare. A con artist and a rival to Elsa. He is a "collector" of sorts and is constantly at odds with Elsa and her Freak Show.
MAGGIE ESMERALDA | Played by Emma Roberts. Another con artist who masquerades as a psychic, complete with crystal ball and tarot cards.
TWIST THE CLOWN | Played by John Carroll Lynch. A villain and retired clown who doesn't like the Freak Show's presence in Jupiter.
EDWARD MORDRAKE | Played by Wes Bentley. An urban legend of sorts, he has connections to one of the freaks pasts​
This season will also feature appearances by the following guest stars in some capacity: -
  • Jyoti Amge
  • Jamie Brewer
  • Matt Bomer
  • Patti LaBelle
  • Gabourey Sidibe
  • Naomi Grossman
  • Mat Fraser
  • Grace Gummer
  • Erika Ervin
  • Skyler Samuels
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1. Monsters Among Us [Oct 8th]
One of the only surviving sideshows in the country struggles to stay in business during the dawning era of television. When police make a terrifying discovery at a local farmhouse, the eccentric purveyor of the freak show sees an opportunity that will lead her troupe either to their salvation or ruin.
2. Massacres and Matinees [Oct 15th]
A citywide curfew threatens to shut down the Freak Show. A strongman from Ethel’s troubled past arrives at camp. Gloria arranges a terrifying play date for Dandy. The Tattler Twins reveal a talent that could knock Elsa from the spotlight.
3. Edward Mordrake (Part 01) [Oct 22nd]
The Freaks refuse to perform on Halloween due to an old carny superstition. Jimmy is smitten by a woman claiming to be
a fortuneteller
. Ethel receives life-changing news.
4. Edward Mordrake (Part 02) [Oct 29th]
Edward Mordrake continues his search for a Freak to add to his ghostly coterie. Elsa tells the grisly story of her days in Germany. Jimmy and Maggie have a run-in with the Twisted Clown.
5. Pink Cupcakes [Nov 5th]
Stanley and Maggie hatch a plan to
murder the Freaks
. Gloria hides the evidence of
Dandy's gruesome new hobby
. A health scare reveals Desiree may not be the oddity she once thought.
6. Bullseye [Nov 12th]
7. Test of Strength [Nov 19]

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PROMOTIONAL STILLS

TEASERS

TRAILERS

ANIMATED GIFS
A staple of NeoGAF culture, enjoy a large selection of over 200 animated GIFs from all three seasons of American Horror Story.
More will be added as each episode of Coven airs, so be sure to make some requests if you want more!




Simply click any of the corresponding images above to be taken to that folder. Most are labelled, so CTRL+F should get you what you need​
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One of the greatest things about American Horror Story (and since adapted by series like True Detective and Fargo) is that each season is self contained.
The actors are the same, sometimes, but the characters and stories change every year.

Relive some of the past moments of the franchise here! Watch the first season, Murder House. Explore the second season, Asylum. Or be whisked away to New Orleans for the third, Coven.
If you've never watched them before, now's the perfect time to jump in! Or leave them until after Freak Show - they are unrelated, after all.

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[ Origina OT | DVD | BRD ]

Murder House is the first season of American Horror Story. Taking place in 2011, it is centered around themes of infidelity. It follows the Harmon family (Ben, Vivien and daughter Violet), who move from Boston to Los Angeles following Vivien's stillbirth.
Eventually purchasing a house for a price much cheaper than it's worth, the family unknowingly moves into a haunted house with a storied past dating all the way back to the 20s. Ben and Vivien are trying to
rekindle their relationship, Violet develops depression and finds solace in one of Ben's psychiatric patients, Tate Langdon, whom Ben sees in his house due to the family financial troubles.

Moira, a maid, services the house on a regular occasion but also harbours a secret and is connected to the house more than you would imagine. Constance, the Harmon's creepy neighbour, constantly visits the
house offering up tidbits of advice to the family, though there is more to her than meets the eye. To make matters worse, Larry, a disfigured man, continues to stalk Ben and warns him of the dangers of that house,
and what it does to people.

  • Dylan McDermott plays Dr. Ben Harmon - a psychiatrist married to Vivien Harmon and father of Violet Harmon.
  • Connie Britton plays Vivien Harmon - A cellist who had a stillbirth which subsequently made her withdraw from her husband.
  • Taissa Farmigia plays Violet Harmon - The only child in the Harmon family and a social outcast. She self-harms regularly.
  • Jessica Lange plays Constance - Next door neighbour and former resident of the house the Harmons move into, she moved to Los Angeles to become a star while young, but that never took off.
  • Evan Peters plays Tate Langdon - A troubled youth who Ben treats as a patient, he takes a liking to Violet and has a storied past.
  • Denis O'Hare plays Larry Harvey - A former owner of the house the Harmons have bought, and incredibly disfigured. Imprisoned for killing his family, he claims he was let out as he has a terminal illness.
  • Frances Conroy plays Moira - A maid who has serviced the house for all the families who inhabit it, she has a few tricks up her sleeves and is incredibly protective of the families she works for.
Murder House features guest appearances from Kate Mara, Lily Rabe, Matt Ross, Jamie Brewer, Zachary Quinto and Mena Suvari.

Jessica Lange's performance as Constance one her both the Emmy and Golden Globe for Supporting Actress amidst it's numerous nominations.​

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[ Original OT | DVD | BRD ]

Asylum follows the patients, doctors and nuns who occupy the Briarcliff Mental Institution in 1964 but is intercut with scenes from the present day. Sister Jude and Sister Mary Eunice maintain the institution that was built and founded by Monsignor Timothy Howard to treat and house the criminally insane. Psychiatrist Dr. Oliver Thredson and scientist Dr. Arthur Arden are both medical staff who treat the patients within the facility. The patients, many of whom claim to be unjustly instituionalised, are a dynamic and eclectic bunch. Lana Winters was thrown into Briarcliff for being a lesbian when Sister Jude finds out she is investigating the institution. Kit Walker has been accused of murdering his wife and several other women - essentially accused of being mythological killer "Bloody Face". Grace Bertrand is a french woman alleged to have cut up her entire family in a fit of rage one night.

  • Jessica Lange plays Sister Jude - a sadistic nun in charge of administration and discipline at Briarcliff.
  • Lily Rabe plays Sister Mary Eunice - Sister Jude's right hand, Sister Eunice is appears "dense" but there is more to her than meets the eye.
  • James Cromwell plays Dr. Arthur Arden - A scientist with rumoured ties to Nazi germany, Arden is alleged to have created many diabolical experiments in Briarcliff's basements.
  • Sarah Paulson plays Lana Winters - An unjustly imprisoned lesbian journalist who will stop at nothing to expose the secrets of Briarcliff.
  • Evan Peters plays Kit Walker - A greaser accused of murdering his wife and constantly punished by Jude. He claims something "not human" was responsible for his wife's death.
  • Zachary Quinto plays Dr. Oliver Thredson - A psychiatrist at Briarcliff whose forward-thinking methods of practice constantly clash with Sister Jude's management style.
  • Lizzie Brocheré plays Grace Bertrand - A quiet and observant patient at Briarcliff with secrets of her own, she takes an interest in Kit and they become close friends.
  • Joseph Fiennes plays Monsignor Timothy Howard - Ranking over Sister Jude in authority, the monsignor is alleged to be rather nefarious
Asylum features guest appearances from Fredric Lehne, Chloe Sevigny, Clea Duvall, Dylan McDermott, Frances Conroy, Adam Levine, Mark Conseulos, Mark Margolis, Ian McShane and Franka Potente.

Lange, Cromwell, Quinto and Paulson were all nominated for Emmys for their roles as Jude, Arthur, Thredson and Winters respectively. However, only James Cromwell took home the best supporting actor award. Asylum has been well regarded and well nominated

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[ Original OT | DVD | BRD ]

Coven follows the antics and events of a coven of Salem descendents whom reside within a boarding school centered in New Orleans, Louisiana. The academy is run by Cordelia Foxx, who has always lived in the shadows of her mother, Fiona Goode. Fiona is the "supreme" of the coven, a witch born every generation who embodies countless gifts and is the supposed head of the coven. A young girl, Zoe, is sent to the academy following the discovery of her unique power. She attends the boarding school with former movie star Madison Montgomery, as well as human voodoo doll Queenie and enigmatic clairvoyant Nan. Zoe and Madison vie for the attention of a local frat boy, Kyle.

There are several major conflicts throughout Coven. Fiona wishes to retain her supremacy and must discover who the next supreme is, and murder them. The voodoo priestess, Marie Laveau, is at odds with the witches following the violation of an age old truce. And and immortal racist, Delphine LaLaurie, who mutilated several slaves in the past, is brought back into the fold, with whom she has notable history with Marie Laveau.

  • Jessica Lange plays Fiona Goode - The current supreme of the Coven, who has shirked her responsibilities to live a life of luxury.
  • Sarah Paulson plays Cordelia Foxx - Daughter of Fiona, and current headmistress of the boarding school. She is practical, protective and peaceful.
  • Kathy Bates plays Delphine LaLaurie - A Parisian socialite from the 1830s, infamous for torturing and mutilating slaves.
  • Angela Bassett plays Marie Laveau - The high priestess of the Voodoo clan. She is completely unrelenting to anyone who dares to hurt her people.
  • Frances Conroy plays Myrtle Snow - An eccentric witch who heads the Witche's Council. She and Fiona have been rivals for a large majority of their lives.
  • Taissa Farmiga plays Zoe Benson - A young girl who discovers she is a witch and is whisked away to the boarding school.
  • Emma Roberts plays Madison Montgomery - A spoiled Hollywood starlet who can move objects with her mind. She is brash and abrasive, much like Fiona.
  • Lily Rabe plays Misty Day - A witch living in the swamps of Louisiana, she has a unique power that many do not possess. She's a huge fan of Stevie Nicks too.
  • Denis O'Hare plays Spalding - The butler of the academy who has been mute since the 70s. He comes from a long line of servants for the coven, and a strange taste.
  • Evan Peters plays Kyle Spencer - A college student and leader of his fraternity, he lives wit his mother in the slums following Hurricane Katrina
Coven features guest appearances from Gabourey Sidibe, Jamie Brewer, Patti LuPone, Alexander Dreymon, Josh Hamilton, Danny Huston, Lance Reddick, Leslie Jordan, Mare Winningham, Christine Ebersole, Alexandra Breckenridge and Stevie Knicks.

Lange, Paulson, Conroy, Bates and Bassett were all nominated for Emmys for their roles as Fiona, Cordelia, Myrtle, Delphine and Marie respectively. Both Kathy Bates and Jessica Lange took home the best supporting actress and best lead actress awards. Similar to Asylum, Coven has been well regarded and well nominated
 
Nice OP. I didn't know Lange was back. She is American Horror Story as far as I'm concerned. She really grounds the show. Good to see Bates and Basset back as well. Farmiga is gone so I am excited despite S3's horrendous execution.
 

Karu

Member
Coven was horrible, but then again I only enjoyed Asylum in its entirety (Even the Alien-stuff). If they manage to keep some form of cohesion mixed with interesting(!) characters I will stick to it this time, but I'm skeptical. Cast is amazing as always.
 
This will be the first season I get to watch "live", I am thrilled.

Loved pretty much everything about the first two seasons and am looking forward to the third when it comes to Netflix. I'm not expecting much, given the outspoken criticism around here, but the setting looks interesting and if Jessica Lange even turns in a quarter of what she did previously I'll be enthralled.
 

Replicant

Member
Coven was weak overall but I felt that it was saved by the ending. Whereas I felt that Haunted House made me want to kill the entire Harmon family + Tate then kill them again so they can't show up as ghosts.

Asylum was the superior season despite the weird-ass and irrelevant alien abduction plot.

For me: 2 >>>>>>>>>>>>>> 3 >> taking a dump >> 1
 

Dabanton

Member
No Taissa Farmigia at all?

i am disappoint.

Coven went off the deep end near the end. I really do hope they have a firm storyline for this season instead of the throw shit at the wall and use what sticks feel season 2 and 3 gave off. Season 3 especially had an amazing first three episodes them careened into utter nonsense with a few bright spots.
 

Judderman

drawer by drawer
No Taissa Farmigia at all?

i am disappoint.

Coven went off the deep end near the end. I really do hope they have a firm storyline for this season instead of the throw shit at the wall and use what sticks feel season 2 and 3 gave off. Season 3 especially had an amazing first three episodes them careened into utter nonsense with a few bright spots.

She has been relegated to odd-numbered (Translation: Inferior) seasons of the show.
2>1>>>3

I kind of wish she was back, too.
 

Replicant

Member
Taissa Farmiga is so boring that I didn't realize until recently that she's the girl dancing next to Emma Watson in "The Bling Ring" GIF:

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Aske

Member
People didn't like season 3? I thought it was the strongest of the bunch. More focused and cohesive than the scattershot style of the first two seasons, and it's thematically consistent rather than juxtaposing serious drama with campy madness; falling somewhere between those extremes. Lange, Bates and Bassett were all superb. Certainly less horrific than previous seasons - was that the problem?
 

Mononoke

Banned
Already said in other threads before, but I liked Season 1, and loved Season 2. Hated season 3. So I'll give this a shot.
 
Can't wait for my favoyrite show to come back! :D It seems that we know a lot more for this season than the other ones, let's hope it'll be more focused.

Seriously, she's the worst part of the show.

Her role was actually okay in the first season, but she was simply useless in season three. :/

I actually hated season 1..... Should I bother trying the other seasons?

Each season is pretty different I would say. Second one has a lot of random horror tropes, while the third one is more like a funny drama show involving bitchy witches.
 

Siyou

Member
Maybe give Season 2 a chance. But Season 3 was fuckin awful. Much worse than Book 1.

The premise seems inviting... I liked the first few episodes of the first season, but hated where the story went. I might try season 2.
 
I liked season 3, but I'm not crazy enough to claim it's as good as the other seasons. I'm super psyched for this season, though, it's giving me Carivale vibes.
 
The premise seems inviting... I liked the first few episodes of the first season, but hated where the story went. I might try season 2.

You already hated one of the two good seasons of the show, I don't think it's for you.

I liked season 3, but I'm not crazy enough to claim it's as good as the other seasons. I'm super psyched for this season, though, it's giving me Carivale vibes.

Yes. I loved the characters and the setting and the premise of season three, but I hate the execution.
 

Mononoke

Banned
The premise seems inviting... I liked the first few episodes of the first season, but hated where the story went. I might try season 2.

Maybe watch 2-3 episodes? I would say, Season 2 goes bonkers. But it's a bit more grounded for what it's going for. I would say it has a much more mature/dark tone. Whereas Season 1 was unapologetically shocking to be shocking. It was about throwing shit at the wall and seeing what would stick.

Season 2 can also come off the hinges, but again it's a lot more focused I would say than Season 2. That said, whether you like 2 or not depends on if you like the setting for the story. The style/tone and genres they tackle. SO that's why I say just give the first 2-3 episodes a shot. You might like it.
 

Nemesis_

Member
I think that Season 2 is overall my favourite. It's tone and setting is just so much better developed and executed compared to the first and second season. The first season comes after that. Both just had a good idea of what they were, I felt.

I enjoyed the ride of Coven but I didn't feel like it was focused enough and they could've easily cut one or two of the storylines or even merged them together. The entire Kyle/Zoe storyline was absolutely useless outside of giving Evan Peters a role and making it more confusing to guess who the Supreme could be.

I recently rewatched all of these with a friend who hasn't seen them and it's really great how the team comes up with a different aesthetic and even a different score/soundtrack to suit each season. It really gives everything a fresh new look.

Ryan Murphy is returning to direct the pilot for this one, something he hasn't done since the first season. I'm expecting yet another dramatic shift of tone.

Can't wait for my favoyrite show to come back! :D It seems that we know a lot more for this season than the other ones, let's hope it'll be more focused.

I've purposely omitted some information from the OP because I have a feeling, with the way characters are introduced, that relationships between them won't be as clear. So I tried to keep it as spoiler free this time around. Of course, if you look at the promotional pictures, you'll probably work stuff out. But yeah.... :p

I'm interested to see how Frances Conroy does this time around. Myrtle was a very over the top kind of character and her characters seem to shift the most from season to season. I feel like there's definitely more to Gloria than her just being an over protective, wealthy woman. But we'll see.
 
At the very least, it's another old-timey season like Asylum, and Asylum had some really impressive production design.

So even if the season ends up being not great, it should be interesting to look at, unlike Coven, which was dull as dishwater outside of the LaLaurie flashbacks (which were great).
 
Coven was weak overall but I felt that it was saved by the ending. Whereas I felt that Haunted House made me want to kill the entire Harmon family + Tate then kill them again so they can't show up as ghosts.

Asylum was the superior season despite the weird-ass and irrelevant alien abduction plot.

For me: 2 >>>>>>>>>>>>>> 3 >> taking a dump >> 1

Season 2 Theories/Spoiler.

I think people grossly misunderstand Season 2 when they mention all the ridiculous, out of place, stuff.
I've always gone with the working assumption that the entire season, "flash forwards", "Bloody Face" and all, were the inventions of an untrustworthy narrator, our journalist who obsessively "fantasized" the vast majority of the events we see.

I see it as her imagining how her expose will make her a super-star journalist, and everything post her arriving is pure fabrication (and thus occasionally non-sense, or writer's flight of fancy).

I think the show ending on a coda of her arriving at the Asylum points toward this pretty directly.
 
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