What is American Horror Stories? (And is it worth watching?)

From the producers of the popular American Horror Story anthology comes a new set of American Horror Stories. Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk have found a way to spin-off the original series, which premiered exclusively on FX on Hulu on July 15, 2021.

“How do you create a spin-off of American Horror Story?” If you’re wondering that, good. So was I was. That means we’re not alone.

I mean, as a fan of American Horror Story, I was excited when I saw the trailer for American Horror Stories, but I was also confused. It looked like American Horror Story in every sense, but what did it mean by “stories”? What was it going to be about? The origin story of Rubberman? That’s what it looked like a little.

Well, now that I’ve had a chance to watch, I get it. Actually, I binged the first four episodes. I was away when it first premiered. But once I got back, I was eager to check it out and get my AHS fix —or at least give it a whirl— in this new offering until the tenth season of AHS comes out. (Which it will be doing on August 25.)

But since I already said I binged all the episodes that were available so far, that’s a big clue about whether I liked them or not. Oh yeah. I very much did.

Let’s take a look at how it differs from the original but also still stays the same.

American Horror Story vs. American Horror Stories

If you’re familiar with American Horror Story, then you already know that each season is its own tale. They center around a central theme, usually exploring a popular horror trope in a new way.

For instance, season 1 was “Murder House” (haunted houses), season 2 “Asylum” (mental institutions), season 3 “Coven” (witches”), etc.

Many of the actors have appeared in multiple seasons, just playing new characters each season. Which has been a lot of fun for fans.

American Horror Stories follows the same general principle of telling a horror story, but rather than doing it over an entire season, it covers a new one each episode.

Except for episodes 1, 2, and 7, the actors are also different in each episode too. However, some are recognizable faces that have also appeared in seasons of American Horror Story, such as Matt Bomer, Naomi Grossman, John Carrol Lynch, and Billie Lourd.

And some are new to AHS but are scary movie royalty, like Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog, Swamp Thing, Escape from New York) and Danny Trejo (From Dusk Till Dawn, Anaconda, Machete). Seeing them in their episodes (“Drive In” and “The Naughty List,” respectively) was a huge thrill and just made the series even more fun.

The Intros

One of my favorite parts of American Horror Story is the introduction sequence. I think they’re technically called “title sequences.” Basically, the part that tells all the actors, producers, directors, writers, etc. with the theme music and chilling visuals.

Anyway, American Horror Stories has new ones themed to each new episode. (Episodes 1 and 2 share the same one, though, since it’s a two-part episode.) That was a lot of fun to discover too.

Air Dates

American Horror Stories has seven episodes. One and two aired starting Thursday, July 15. The last one will air on Thursday, August 19. (And then season 10 of American Horror Story, AHS: Double Feature, premieres on FX on August 25 and the next day on FX on Hulu.)

American Horror Stories Trailer

For More Info

Visit https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/american-horror-stories.

Check-In

Are you an American Horror Story fan? Are you watching this new spin-off series too?