Claim: American Horror Story's first season was retroactively subtitled Murder House.

American Horror Story is an American anthology horror television series created and produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk . Described as an anthology series , each season is conceived as a self-contained miniseries , following a disparate set of characters and settings , and a storyline with its own `` beginning , middle , and end . '' Some plot elements of each season are loosely inspired by true events .   The first season , retroactively subtitled Murder House , takes place in Los Angeles , California , during the year 2011 and centers on a family that moves into a house haunted by its deceased former occupants . The second season , subtitled Asylum , takes place in Massachusetts during the year 1964 and follows the stories of the patients and staff of an institution for the criminally insane . The third season , subtitled Coven , takes place in New Orleans , Louisiana , during the year 2013 and follows a coven of witches who face off against those who wish to destroy them . The fourth season , subtitled Freak Show , takes place in Jupiter , Florida , during the year 1952 and centers around one of the few remaining American freak shows . The fifth season , subtitled Hotel , takes place in Los Angeles during the year 2015 and focuses on the staff and guests of a supernatural hotel . The sixth season , subtitled Roanoke , takes place in Roanoke Island , during the year 2016 and focuses on the paranormal events that take place at an isolated farmhouse .   The only actors to appear in all iterations of the show so far are Evan Peters , Sarah Paulson and Lily Rabe .   The series is broadcast on the cable television channel FX in the United States . On November 10 , 2015 , the show was renewed for a sixth season , and premiered , for the first time out of October , on September 14 , 2016 . On October 4 , 2016 , the series was renewed for a seventh season , which is set to premiere in September 2017 . On January 12 , 2017 , the series was renewed for an eighth and ninth season .   Although reception to individual seasons has varied , American Horror Story has been overall well received by television critics , with the majority of the praise going to the cast , particularly Jessica Lange , who won two Emmy Awards , a Golden Globe Award , and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performances . Additionally , Kathy Bates and Lady Gaga won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award , respectively , for their performances . The series draws consistently high ratings for the FX network , with its first season being the most-viewed new cable series of 2011 .