American Horror Story: Which season does Sarah Paulson wish she’d skipped?
By Mads Lennon
Sarah Paulson might have appeared in most seasons of American Horror Story, but just like fans, she has a hierarchy of stories she liked best and at least one she wished she had skipped.
While chatting with Scott Feinberg on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, the actress revealed that she would probably place the horror anthology’s sixth season at the bottom of her ranking. Paulson went on to star in the Roanoke season right after playing Marcia Clark in the first season of American Crime Story during the show’s first season, The People vs. O.J. Simpson.
The main issue for the award-winning actress is that she felt Roanoke didn’t challenge her in terms of her acting ability the same way playing Marcia did on the other FX anthology show.
She admitted to Feinberg that she just did not care about that season at all and was “so underwhelmed by the whole experience because I felt like I had entered into a new place inside of myself in terms of what I thought possible, in terms of what I might be willing to see if I can do.”
Paulson added that she felt “trapped” by her contractual obligations to American Horror Story, and despite how much she’d always loved it, she wished she had asked creator Ryan Murphy to let her sit that season out.
"“I know people will get mad at me for saying it, but for me, this was post having played Marcia and it was what I went to do right after finishing Marcia.”"
American Horror Story: Roanoke is one of the most divisive seasons of the show
Despite Paulson sounding rather guilty about her feelings regarding that particular season of the show, she’s far from alone in her feelings. Among the many ranks people have made to rate the various seasons of American Horror Story, Roanoke often comes in at the bottom.
The season was loosely inspired by the infamous 1580’s Roanoke Colony disappearance. It also took on a more experimental tone as the first part of the season is presented in a documentary-style called My Roanoke Nightmare. While critics mostly approved of the season, fans had a far more mixed reaction.
Hopefully, Paulson will have a better experience in the upcoming tenth season, Double Feature, which she’s returning to after taking a break from the show’s ninth season.
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Do you agree with Sarah Paulson’s opinion on American Horror Story: Roanoke? Which season was your least favorite? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
American Horror Story Season 10 premieres August 25 on FX.