The network announced its intention to bring back the Primetime Emmy Award-winning series for another season of gory, scary stories this week, with a 2016 premiere planned for the untitled sixth season.
Currently in the midst of a fifth season titled American Horror Story: Hotel, the series is enjoying one of its best seasons so far from both a critical standpoint and a ratings perspective. The premiere of Hotel was the second most-watched program in the network’s history — ranking only behind the premiere of last season’s American Horror Story: Freak Show.
“With the sixth installment coming next year, American Horror Story has unquestionably joined the ranks of television’s landmark series,” said John Landgraf, CEO of FX Networks and FX Productions, in a statement accompanying the announcement. “From Murder House to Hotel, AHS has pioneered a new television form as well as becoming FX’s highest rated show — while also pushing every conceivable boundary of creative excellence and audacity. This is even more remarkable because Ryan [Murphy] and co-creator Brad Falchuk tear up the playbook every year, challenging the entire creative team to come up with something even more spectacular, frightful and entertaining. You could not ask more of an artist, their team, or a series and with every new installment they deliver.”
Over the course of its run, American Horror Story has earned 71 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and 13 wins, as well as seven Golden Globe Award nominations and one win, and three Screen Actors Guild Award nominations and one win. Series veteran Jessica Lange has been one of the most frequent recipients of awards, with featured and supporting roles in each season of the series so far.
An anthology series that tells a different, long-form story using much of the same cast each season, American Horror Story kicked off with a haunted-house theme its first season, then moved on to a troubled mental institution beset by dark forces. The third season chronicled the fate of a modern-day coven of witches, while the fourth season featured a traveling carnival’s “freak show” as it dealt with threats from both a conservative town in the ’50s and hidden, supernatural threats. The current season is set in a hotel filled with dark, sinister forces and presents pop artist Lady Gaga in a featured role.
The sixth season of American Horror Story has yet to receive a title, but is expected to premiere in 2016.
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