Posts tagged FX
American Horror Story: What Did You Make Of That Season Finale?
Dec 22nd
It truly is the time for show finales on our screens at the moment, as the year winds down and some of our favorite shows come to a close.
Last night it was the turn of American Horror Story, the gothic supernatural series that’s been scoring sizzling ratings for FX, and has already been commissioned for a second season. But what did you think of the show’s season finale?
I’ve been a fan of American Horror Story all season long, though I’ll be honest, it isn’t my favorite show on TV. I don’t think the series is as good as The Walking Dead, as ridiculously entertaining as Revenge or as smart as Mad Men or Game Of Thrones.
What Horror Story has done well is create – and sustain – a wonderful atmosphere of dread across the series. This is one seriously twisted show and probably the scariest TV series ever. From the famous ‘rubber man’ to the dismembered babies in the basement to the vengeful Hayden, Horror Story is a truly nasty show. And those opening titles – oh boy!
But I’m also starting to feel that American Horror Story is starting to get kind of crowded now. There are simply so many More >
Ratings Roundup: 20th November 2011
Nov 20th
Winners and Losers From The Last 7 Days
WINNERS
AMERICAN HORROR STORY: Another great week for FX’s American Horror Story, as the scariest show on TV continues to grow into a smash hit for the network.
This week’s episode, largely centering around Jessica Lange’s Constance and featuring a scene that doubtless made every guy watching wince – pulled in 3.06 million viewers and a 1.8 18-49 share, making it the most watched cable show on Wednesday night in both total viewers and demo share.
What’s more American Horror Story has been growing every week and has now almost reached its premiere levels (3.18 million). And with three episodes left in the current season there’s every chance Horror Story will set record ratings by the end of its run.
Great news for creator Ryan Murphy, especially as his OLD series, Glee, is struggling big time over on Fox. Despite plenty of press coverage and some heavily hyped episodes, Glee remains yesterday’s show – this week barely rising above the 7 million mark to 7.08 million viewers and beaten in total viewers by fellow Tuesday night shows Last Man Standing (9.06 million) and Body of Proof (9.76 million). Now that’s scary.
More >
Richard Recommends: American Horror Story
Nov 2nd
The Fall season is in full swing now – and what a season it’s been so far!
I don’t know about you but I’m feeling pretty spoiled for choice at the moment when it comes to TV shows – with a pretty stacked DVR that fills up every day. It’s quite a job keeping on top of all the great shows out there.
Best night of the TV week has to be Wednesdays – with Modern Family, Suburgatory, Revenge and The X Factor all essential viewing. And then there’s American Horror Story – the deliciously dark treat from FX that’s arguably the scariest TV show ever created!
I’ll be honest and admit that I was a little skeptical about Horror Story when I first heard about the show – mainly because of the series creator Ryan Murphy. Murphy’s Glee went off the rails alarmingly quickly and Ryan himself is a polarizing figure who doesn’t exactly do himself any favors in the PR department. I worried that American Horror Story would be too ridiculous and over the top and ultimately collapse under the weight of its own craziness.
Ratings Roundup: 23rd October 2011
Oct 23rd
Winners and Losers From The Last 7 Days
WINNERS
HORROR TV: It’s been a big week for horror on TV as Halloween approaches and ratings for scary series continue to rise
First up of course is The Walking Dead. AMC’s zombie epic blasted back onto our screens on Sunday night with an amazing 7.25 million viewers and an eye popping 3.8 18-49 demo number (a further 2.17 million watched the encore showing immediately after the show). That’s the biggest 18-49 rating for a cable drama series EVER!
Meanwhile over on FX, American Horror Story is proving to be quite the hit. After a predictable week 2 decline, this week Story bounced back, up over 100,000 in viewers, and scoring 2.58 million and a 1.5 18-49 share. Plus with reviewers and audiences starting to embrace the show – and an Entertainment Weekly cover this week – look for American Horror Story to continue to grow in the weeks to come.
And finally, we’ve The Vampire Diaries over on The CW. This week the teen friendly vampire drama managed 3.03 million viewers and a 1.4 18-49 share – the ONLY show on The CW all week to climb above the 3 million mark (most of the CW shows can’t even bring More >
Ratings Roundup: 8th October 2011
Oct 8th
Winners and Losers From The Last 7 Days
WINNERS
AMERICAN HORROR STORY: I think we all saw this one coming!
After all the pre-publicity hype and hoopla, American Horror Story finally launched this week, scoring 3.18 million viewers and a 1.6 18-49 rating for FX. That’s the best cable demo score of the night and good news for FX, following the failure of their last big drama, Lights Out.
Since Halloween is just around the corner I could see the Horror Story ratings staying strong. But reviews were definitely mixed – and though I liked the show, I would certainly admit it’s not for everyone. That was one seriously dark and twisted premiere.
THE X FACTOR: It’s been quite an up and down ride for the Simon Cowell talent fest. After sky high expectations at the start of the Fall season, Cowell’s ego came crashing down to earth after the X Factor premiere attracted with just 12.5 million viewers – well below the 20 million the British talent judge had hoped for and his chief rival, American Idol.
Coming Soon: American Horror Story
Oct 3rd
When Does It Start: Wednesday 5th October at 10pm EST on FX
In A Nutshell: Haunted houses get the TV treatment… is this the new True Blood / Walking Dead?
What’s It About: Meet the Harmon family – whose lives are about to get a whole lot weirder!
Dad Ben (Dylan McDermott) is a psychiatrist who’s recently been caught cheating on his wife Vivien (Connie Britton). Together the two have a teenage daughter called Violet, and decide to move from Boston to Los Angeles to patch up their fractured relationship. But their new home is anything but a peaceful retreat… it’s full of secrets and horrors – many of a sexual nature. Get ready for lots of dead babies, sex, jolts and psychotic behavior… courtesy of Glee and Nip/Tuck boss, Ryan Murphy.
First Look: American Horror Story
Aug 19th
Here’s another show I’ve VERY excited about for the Fall – and which I think has the makings of a huge hit for FX.
Check out the just released teaser for American Horror Story, the new series that aims to do for haunted houses what The Walking Dead did for zombies and True Blood did for vampires.
Horror Story stars Dylan McDermott and Connie Britton as Ben and Vivian, a couple who move into a new house with their kids, after Ben commits adultery. But the house seems to know exactly what’s on the family’s minds and feeds on their fears…
Also along for the ride is Jessica Lange – who clearly realizes after Grey Gardens that all the best roles for women are on TV these days. Plus look out for Francis Conroy from Six Feet Under as the couple’s housekeeper and Denis O’Hare aka King Russell from True Blood.
As you probably know, American Horror Story is Executive Produced by Ryan Murphy of Glee infamy. Let’s just hope this show’s a little more consistent and less erratic than the fast fading Fox hit.
Have to say though – this trailer does look terrific – and as a big horror fan, I’m certainly excited for the series’ potential…
American Horror Story More >
Ratings Roundup: 9th July 2011
Jul 9th
Winners and Losers From The Last 7 Days
WINNERS
AMERICA’S GOT TALENT: Now we’re talking!
It’s already been a great ratings season so far for America’s Got Talent but on Tuesday night AGT received a supersized summer boost as the warm weather favorite scored its highest ratings in FIVE YEARS!
Yep, Tuesday’s 2 hour Vegas special, unveiling many of the Top 48, scored 15.78 million viewers and a 4.6 18-49 rating, tying the series high set by the show’s opening episode way back in 2006!
My theory – America’s Got Talent has been building momentum for a while now, aided by the addition of the very likable Howie Mandel to the panel and last year’s discovery of a bona fide star in the form of Jackie Evancho. Plus after a long holiday weekend with very little fresh programming on network TV, I think viewers were hungry for new entertainment.
Now the question is whether AGT will continue to bank high numbers as we go into the live shows… we’ll see!
Ratings Roundup: 25th June 2011
Jun 25th
Winners and Losers From The Last 7 Days
WINNERS
GAME OF THRONES: I guess America has a thing for dragons!
After weeks of growing buss and steadily building audiences, Game of Thrones ended its run with 3.04 million viewers and a 1.4 18-49 share, a season high for the show and a strong result for subscription network HBO.
Thrones wasn’t the top scripted cable show of the night – that honor went to Falling Skies (below) – but considering the number of homes HBO is available in these are still great numbers. And with True Blood back this weekend and a second season of Boardwalk Empire on the way, the future is looking rosy for the network once again. Look for Game of Thrones to jump even higher in its second season as people discover the show on DVD and the word continues to spread. Remember True Blood only became a breakout hit in Season 2 itself…
FIRST LOOK: LIGHTS OUT
Sep 19th
Check out this advance look at Lights Out, the new boxing drama coming in January to FX.
Lights Out stars Holt McCallany as Patrick ‘Lights’ Leary, a former world boxing champion, now retired who’s been diagnosed with dementia as a result of his activities in the ring. Stacy Keach play’s Patrick’s former trainer, and father… and from the trailer it’s pretty clear the show is going to show the underside of the boxing world…
I must admit I’m not a huge boxing fan – although bizarrely I actually do enjoy boxing (though I’m pretty terrible and always end up with a bleeding nose!) so I’m not sure the show is for me. But if Lights Out plays to the same audience who love FX’s Sons Of Anarchy and Rescue Me, it could be a sizable hit. FX has clearly gained momentum with its macho dramas, exploring male-dominated worlds, and Lights looks very much along those lines…
On the downside FX is still smarting from the failure of Terriers, which continues to sink in the ratings, and also decided not to renew Damages earlier this year, after three lowly rated seasons. With this in mind, Lights Out could go either way…
I’m also puzzled by the casting of More >
