“American Horror Story: Apocalypse” premiered last Wednesday, down 17.5 percent in total viewers compared to the start of “Cult” — the Ryan Murphy anthology series’ previous installment — marking the least-watched of all “AHS” debuts, according to Live+3 numbers.
Season 8’s 10 p.m. premiere telecast scored 5.7 million total viewers and 3.5 million viewers in the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic, when counting three days of delayed viewing from Nielsen. Adding in two encore telecasts and all linear and non-linear data available (not including VOD), “Apocalypse”s premiere rose to 7.8 million overall sets of eyeballs in L+3 numbers.
The FX series was the No. 1 show for the evening in the 18-49 range and the most-watched basic cable program of the night. The season opener was also the second-most-watched program of 2018-to-date in the key demo and in total viewers, coming in behind “The Walking Dead.”
Last September, the premiere of Season 7 aka “Cult” drew 6.91 million total viewers and 4.56 million among adults 18-49, in Live+3 numbers. Adding in two encore telecasts and all non-linear data available, the seventh season premiered to 9.01 million viewers.
That number was down 24 percent in overall eyeballs against the 2016 start of “Roanoke” (Season 6) and 29 percent in the key demo.
In live-plus-same-day ratings, “Apocalypse” scored 3.08 million total viewers, also down against “Cult”s debut in that metric, which brought in 3.93 million total viewers in L+SD.
That makes “Apocalypse” the lowest-rated “AHS” season opener in preliminary numbers too, below “Murder House” (Season 1), which landed 3.18 million viewers in 2011, and “Asylum” (Season 2), which put up 3.85 million viewers in 2012.
As TheWrap exclusively reported, “Apocalypse” — a crossover between “Murder House” and “Coven” — will be 10 episodes long. Yes, that means this installment will tie with “Roanoke” for the shortest season yet.
“Apocalypse” stars a slew of franchise alums, including Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates, Leslie Grossman, Billy Eichner, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Frances Conroy, Taissa Farmiga, Adina Porter, Cheyenne Jackson, Gabourey Sidibe, Lily Rabe, Stevie Nicks, Dylan McDermott, and, as TheWrap exclusively reported, Connie Britton.
Oh, and let’s not forget the biggest surprise return of all: Jessica Lange. Add to that series newcomers Joan Collins and Cody Fern as Michael Langdon aka the Antichrist and you have a recipe for a true world-ender.
“American Horror Story: Apocalypse” airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on FX.
'American Horror Story' Seasons Ranked, From Campy to Creepy (Photos)
The countdown to the end of the world has begun -- so naturally the TheWrap is going to spend our final few hours ranking the first seven seasons of "American Horror Story" from the most outlandish to the truly stomach- churning. And because the next installment in Ryan Murphy's FX anthology series, titled "Apocalypse," is a mashup between "Murder House" and "Coven," these listings should give you an idea of where Season 8 will fall when it debuts Wednesday. Click through the gallery to see our definitive rankings.
Murphy brought Lady Gaga in to lead the fifth season, set at a hotel in California that is truly inhospitable to its living -- and dead -- guests, after franchise alum Jessica Lange exited the series at the end of "Freak Show." So, yeah, "Hotel" is -- and probably always will be -- the campiest of all the seasons, given the over-the-top headliner brought in to carry the narrative.
The third installment, a story of past and present witches in New Orleans, was Jessica Lange at her Jessica Lange-iest. The queen of Murphyland played the "Supreme" aka the head of the titular coven, who is fighting to remain in control as her body deteriorates. And she went toe to toe with newcomer Emma Roberts -- a cocky young witch looking to dethrone her elder -- which brought all the camp up to 11.
A season that centered around the 2016 presidential election was bound to be a little melodramatic, given the real-life events it had as a jumping-off point. Things get real dark -- but then Evan Peters (bumped up to lead alongside Sarah Paulson for the first time) rubs Cheetos all over his face and Billy Eichner makes his debut. So it oscillates wildly between horrifying and hilarious.
"Roanoke" was a unique season, a story-within-a-story that does the job of linking all the previous years together, therefore officially declaring a shared "AHS" universe. But because of the way the season was broken up, it jumped between horrific events in the past and more mundane incidents in the present. So "Roanoke" goes right here in the middle.
The camp of "Coven" disappeared come the fourth season, when Murphy brought things back to reality with his cast of freaks. It was a season filled with more internal fears, centered around characters with external features that set them apart from the rest of society. But it was also Lange's farewell installment, so she got to chew the scenery -- and sing more than one song -- as Elsa Mars, the flamboyantly costumed leader of the outcasts.
"Asylum" was, as the on-the-nose title suggests, set in an insane asylum -- in the '60s, meaning out-of-date treatments and mindsets about the mentally ill. The season also pulled in a religious motif that would send shivers down the most lapsed Catholic's spine.
The one that started it all ends this list as the creepiest of the creeps. The episodes follow the Harmon family as they move into the titular dwelling, completely unaware of all the bloodshed it's seen before them. "Murder House" ends with the whole clan dead, stuck inside their forever home -- with Michael Langdon aka the Antichrist (whom Connie Britton's character Vivien died giving birth to) alive and well, growing up right next door. Oh and...
... come "Apocalypse," Michael is an adult, played by Cody Fern, and rocking a seriously extra 'do. And it's literally the. end. of. the world. So, yeah, at the moment we'd say the mashup of Season 1 and Season 3 is going to be a real coin-flip between camp and creep.
As Ryan Murphy’s ”Apocalypse“ approaches, TheWrap looks back at FX anthology series’ seven previous installments
The countdown to the end of the world has begun -- so naturally the TheWrap is going to spend our final few hours ranking the first seven seasons of "American Horror Story" from the most outlandish to the truly stomach- churning. And because the next installment in Ryan Murphy's FX anthology series, titled "Apocalypse," is a mashup between "Murder House" and "Coven," these listings should give you an idea of where Season 8 will fall when it debuts Wednesday. Click through the gallery to see our definitive rankings.
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