Ryan Murphy’s replacement for ‘American Horror Story’ does something AHS never did

While Ryan Murphy’s new show grotesque not recapture American Horror Storys cult success, the series is attempting something that the anthology show never quite managed. According to The Hollywood ReporterAlmost a fifth of scripted television shows from 2019 to 2020 were police dramas. The police drama has been one of the most popular formats in American television history since 2019. Trawl began in 1951, so it is no surprise that Ryan Murphy’s new series grotesque is based on the format. What is surprising is how long it took for the legendary television producer to be able to use this decades-long trend to his advantage.

While each season of American Horror Story all of the show’s performances vary greatly in tone and style. Some are largely period pieces, such as Season 4 Freak Show or season 2 asylumwhile others are mockumentaries, like the one from season 6 Roanoke. American Horror Story Season 12 was a (relatively) direct version of Rosemary’s Baby but only two years earlier, in season 10 Double program split its episodes into two separate stories about vampires and aliens. Despite all these different thematic focuses, the franchise never came close to being the longest-running popular format on television.

Grotesquerie has more cop show elements than American Horror Story

Even American Horror Story: NYC wasn’t as mysterious as Grotesquerie

American Horror Story never successfully mixed supernatural horror with police dramaalthough the show tried this at least twice. Most seasons of the series, from season 3 onwards Witches’ Circle to Season 9 1984focus more on something completely supernatural, like witches or an unstoppable slasher villain. But after American Horror StoryWith ratings dropping and the season 12 finale receiving the worst reviews ever, Murphy decided to take a new approach in his upcoming series. grotesque is a new horror show starring Ryan Murphy, but from the first trailer to the synopsis, it is also a police series.

Although American Horror Story Season 11 New York City – The most beautiful cities and Season 7 cult Both focused on less supernatural storylines, but neither of these outings ever focused on the cops solving their mysteries. In contrast, the main character of grotesque is Niece Nash’s Detective Lois Tryon, a troubled cop who teams up with a young nun to solve a series of gruesome murders. Judging by Murphy’s previous horror series, the story based on this premise will likely get more convoluted and convoluted as the series progresses. However, there is no denying that grotesque mimics the format of a police series in some ways American Horror Story I never could.

Grotesquerie borrows more from another successful horror show than AHS

Murphy’s latest series owes a creative debt to True Detective

If any, grotesque sounds much more like True Detective as American Horror Storyespecially given the ritual crimes and the main character’s struggle with alcoholism. grotesque Ryan Murphy’s penchant for stunt casting is being revisited, and it’s safe to assume that a series with Travis Kelce among the stars will probably be less self-serious than the grim, oppressively dark True Detective Season 1. However, both the pictures of grotesqueThe trailers and promotional posters as well as the synopsis of the show are heavily influenced by the acclaimed first season of the HBO hit.

grotesque seems to be an attempt to remove the kitschy, more audience-friendly elements of American Horror Story with the police procedural framework of True DetectiveMurphy’s new show looks dark and brutal, but American Horror Storys dark sense of humor will likely come through in the series. grotesqueThe unusual pairing of a policeman and a young nun is already more bizarre than True Detective‘s pair of combative, grey-haired policemen and grotesqueThe trailer promises more twisted, supernatural horror moments than the low-key HBO show has ever portrayed.

Ryan Murphy’s Grotesquerie already has a completely different tone than AHS

Murphy’s previous horror series has the wrong style for Grotesqueries story

Whether American Horror Story Season 13 is the last appearance of the long-running series, it is already clear that grotesque will be very different from Murphy’s first horror series. American Horror Story often gets into pretty silly, explicitly supernatural territory, while grotesque seems to be taking itself a little more seriously. Admittedly, it is not yet possible to say how far it will go into outright horror grotesque is compared to True Detectivewhich flirted with horror sequences but remained surprisingly grounded in the end.

However, grotesque‘s creative debt to True Detective will likely curb Murphy’s wilder flourishes and make sure that the show never gets too absurd. Murphy’s shows usually start out relatively straightforward, but then become more surreal and ridiculous as they go on, but grotesqueThe police series formula could limit the potential for bizarre digressions and unconventional subplots. Only time will tell if grotesque can avoid these pitfalls American Horror Story falls, or whether the new police series format of the upcoming horror/thriller hybrid will not be able to keep the notorious excesses of Ryan Murphy in check.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter