American Horror Story was once considered revolutionary television. When the Ryan Murphy-produced series first debuted on FX back in 2011, it was one of its kind. It was a provocative and sexually-charged horror series unafraid to push the boundaries of cable television.
And in its early seasons, the show could even be genuinely scary. Some were doubtful of the show's continued success when the creators announced their plans to turn it into an anthology, but the decision turned out to be the best thing for the show and wound up popularizing anthologies as a whole.
For a while, American Horror Story reigned as top dog in the world of horror television, but the show's time in the limelight has long since passed. The series is meant to have a 13th (and maybe final) season, but I think American Horror Story's death knell rang a long time ago. Anymore and we're just beating a dead horse... over and over and over again.
There have been debates about which season of the show is the best since the early days and people love to rank them, but most fans can agree that the show has only decreased in quality over the years. Even with its inconsistencies and faults, American Horror Story used to be original and unique, powered by dynamic performances from stellar actors like Jessica Lange, Angela Bassett, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, and more.
One of the show's biggest problems is that it's really not original anymore. Murphy has a tendence to reuse ideas, character archteypes, and storylines in his other shows. They've all begun to blend together with his signature style which sometimes just feels like a gory Glee remaster.
In short, there's just no need for American Horror Story to continue producing seasons. I see the appeal of a final 13th season from a horror fan's perspective, but Delicate was one of the worst yet. It seems like the production team has gotten too caught up in stunt casting (Kim Kardashian, really?) to recognize what makes good storytelling anymore.
We deserve more original horror television shows, just better ones. And there are some great ones out now that do it a lot better than American Horror Story. So, I say let it die and take the spinoff series with it.
Even former star Lange has made it clear she has no interest in returning, and it hasn't been the same since she left, so I think it's time to call it a day.