American Horror Story Season 12 Improved A Terrible Trend (But I’m Still Worried For Its Future)

While American Horror Story season 12 did improve on one season 11 issue, Delicate still kept a bad streak alive for the long-running horror anthology series. Every season of American Horror Story is different, but all of these outings have a few things in common. For one thing, most seasons feature recurring guest stars and cast members. For another, American Horror Story also often reuses specific characters or otherwise clarifies that all its stories take place in a shared universe. Furthermore, even the show’s darkest seasons share a sense of humor and American Horror Story’s uniquely campy tone.

For the most part, season 12 continued to keep these trends alive. Unfortunately, American Horror Story: Delicate‘s ending was one of the show’s worst outings in years and managed to earn the lowest IMDb rating of any episode in the series so far. Despite the problems with American Horror Story: Delicate‘s finale, I didn’t hate everything about season 12. The plot’s re-working of Rosemary’s Baby was occasionally fun and inventive, and the pacing was more patient than many earlier, more chaotic outings. Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian was an unexpected highlight as the heroine’s catty agent Siobhan Corbyn.

American Horror Story: Delicate’s Ratings Were Higher Than Season 11

NYC Hit A Series Low For American Horror Story

One crucial area where American Horror Story: Delicate improved on its predecessor was in its ratings. American Horror Story season 12’s ratings were better than season 11’s viewership numbers, although only marginally. American Horror Story: NYC’s average viewership per episode was 0.27 million, while Delicate brought this back up to 0.30 million. For a frame of reference, it is worth noting that the show’s pilot commanded an audience of 3.18 million back in 2011. Admittedly, streaming services have reshaped the landscape of television ratings in the years since, but the drop-off in American Horror Story’s viewership still worries me.

Delicate’s premiere earned 0.45 million viewers in September 2023, a number that just about beat season 11’s premiere audience of 0.38 million. Considering how high profile Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story Stunt casting of Kim Kardashian was in Delicate, this was something of a dispiriting beginning. As the season continued, American Horror Story: Delicate regained an average of 0.0.3 million viewers more than its predecessor. This sounds impressive, but season 10 had an average viewership of 0.65 million, or over double Delicate’s average audience. This made me realise how big American Horror Story season 13’s problems are.

American Horror Story: Delicate’s Ratings Were Still Concerning

The Horror Anthology Series Once Earned Millions Of Viewers

A look back on earlier seasons proves that American Horror Story season 13 has some major obstacles to overcome. Season 3’s average viewership was a whopping 4 million, while even season 8 averaged 2 million five years later. The drop that struck me was the one between seasons 9 and 10, from 1.32 million to 0.65 million. Although this was not the biggest drop the series ever suffered between seasons, it is the season that saw the show’s average viewership dip beneath 1 million. American Horror Story season 9 was great, but even its improvements on season 8 couldn’t bring back viewers.

It is difficult for a series to regain viewers after a major drop-off, and it seems almost impossible for American Horror Story to ever enjoy the ratings success the series once boasted. American Horror Story‘s decline in viewership was relatively gradual, with 2016’s season 6 gaining a few more viewers than season 5 before season 7 saw this number drop again. I believe that American Horror Story could win back casual watchers, but the show’s status as an institution may work against it in this regard. Once seen as edgy, American Horror Story is now well-established.

American Horror Story’s Ratings Could Impact Its Future

The Horror Anthology Series May Struggle To Attract Viewers

Season 6 regaining viewers proves that American Horror Story’s critical reception does sometimes align with its viewership numbers. While American Horror Story season 5 wasted great characters on a slow, messy story, season 6 regained viewers with a sharp, meta season that played with the found footage format. As such, the fact that Delicate’s ending was so critically abhorred makes me worry about season 13’s viewership.

However, all hope is not lost. I noticed that American Horror Story’s spinoff American Horror Stories hasn’t been canceled yet, and Ryan Murphy has another horror series coming out this year in Grotesquerie. This could bode well for the future of the show. American Horror Story’s season 12 stunt casting wasn’t enough to win back a million viewers per episode, but the outing did drag up the ratings of the series. I can’t see how American Horror Story is likely to over attract as many viewers as the show once could, but its end is not necessarily in sight yet.

American Horror Story

Cast

Denis O’Hare , Emma Roberts , Dylan McDermott , Joseph Fiennes , Gabourey Sidibe , Taissa Farmiga , James Cromwell , Angela Bassett , Zachary Quinto , Sarah Paulson , Jamie Brewer , Evan Peters , Lizzie Brochere , Kathy Bates , Jessica Lange , Michael Chiklis , Connie Britton , Lily Rabe , Franches Conroy

Release Date

October 17, 2012

Seasons

12

Franchise(s)

American Horror Story

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