American Horror Story: Freak Show

The fourth season of the American horror anthology television series American Horror Story, subtitled Freak Show, is set in 1952 Jupiter, Florida, telling the story of one of the last remaining freak shows in the United States and their struggle for survival. The ensemble cast includes Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Michael Chiklis, Frances Conroy, Emma Roberts, Denis O'Hare, Finn Wittrock, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates and Jessica Lange, with all returning from previous seasons, except newcomers Chiklis and Wittrock. The season marks the first not to be strictly anthological, with Lily Rabe, Naomi Grossman, and James Cromwell reprising their roles from the series' second cycle, Asylum.

Created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for cable network FX, the series is produced by 20th Century Fox Television. Freak Show was broadcast between October 8, 2014, to January 21, 2015, consisting of 13 episodes. Like its predecessors, the season was met with positive reviews and consistently strong ratings. The premiere episode attracted a series high of 6.13 million viewers, making it the most viewed episode of the series. It ultimately became FX's most-watched program ever, surpassing its previous installment, Coven. The season garnered a total of twenty Emmy Award nominations, the most for any season of American Horror Story to date, including nominations for Outstanding Limited Series, and six acting nominations for Lange, O'Hare, Wittrock, Paulson, Bassett, and Bates. In addition, Paulson won for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie or Limited Series at the 5th Critics' Choice Television Awards.

Main

 * Sarah Paulson as Bette and Dot Tattler
 * Evan Peters as Jimmy Darling
 * Michael Chiklis as Wendell "Dell" Toledo
 * Frances Conroy as Gloria Mott
 * Denis O'Hare as Stanley
 * Emma Roberts as Maggie Esmerelda
 * Finn Wittrock as Dandy Mott
 * Angela Bassett as Desiree Dupree
 * Kathy Bates as Ethel Darling
 * Jessica Lange as Elsa Mars

Special guest stars

 * Wes Bentley as Edward Mordrake
 * Celia Weston as Lillian Hemmings
 * Gabourey Sidibe as Regina Ross
 * Matt Bomer as Andy
 * Danny Huston as Massimo Dolcefino
 * Lily Rabe as Sister Mary Eunice McKee
 * Neil Patrick Harris as Chester Creb

Recurring

 * Naomi Grossman as Pepper
 * Grace Gummer as Penny
 * Chrissy Metz as Barbara / Ima Wiggles
 * Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Angus T. Jefferson
 * Erika Ervin as Amazon Eve
 * Mat Fraser as Paul the Illustrated Seal
 * Jyoti Amge as Ma Petite
 * Rose Siggins as Legless Suzi
 * Ben Woolf as Meep
 * Lee Tergesen as Vince
 * John Carroll Lynch as Twisty the Clown
 * Skyler Samuels as Bonnie Lipton
 * Patti LaBelle as Dora Ross

Guest stars

 * Jamie Brewer as Marjorie
 * Mare Winningham as Rita Gayheart
 * Matthew Glave as Larry Gayheart
 * David Burtka as Michael Beck
 * Heather Langenkamp as a Tupperware Party Housewife (uncredited)
 * Angela Sarafyan as Alice
 * James Cromwell as Hans Grüper

Development
In November 2013, FX announced that the show had been renewed for a fourth season. Series co-creator Ryan Murphy hinted that clues about the fourth season would be hidden in the final episodes of the third season. In March 2014, the season was revealed to be set at a carnival, according to co-executive producer/writer Douglas Petrie. It was also revealed that Lange would be playing a role similar to Marlene Dietrich. Murphy revealed that the season would take place in 1950, adding: "If you look historically what happened in the year 1950, there's some more clues in that year. It's a period piece. We try and do the opposite of what we've done before. Jessica Lange has already started practicing her German accent, so I'm very excited!" Murphy indicated that this season drew inspiration from Tod Browning's Freaks and Herk Harvey's Carnival of Souls. This season featured the largest set ever constructed for American Horror Story, with Murphy stating: "We had to build an entire city. We built an entire huge compound, and then we had to build the interior of all those buildings on set. It's all, period. And it's all based on [production designer] Mark Worthington's immaculate research."

Casting
Ryan Murphy confirmed that Jessica Lange would be returning for a fourth season, although said to be in a reduced capacity. She portrayed Elsa Mars, the owner of the freak show. In November 2013, Murphy said he approached Kathy Bates and Angela Bassett to return. Bassett later confirmed in an interview with Access Hollywood that she would be indeed coming back. They portrayed Ethel Darling and Desiree Dupree, respectively. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sarah Paulson revealed she would be returning, possibly for a main role, which was later revealed to be the conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler. It was announced at the PaleyFest 2014 that the cast members present at the panel would all be returning for the fourth season in some capacity, including Denis O'Hare (Stanley), Emma Roberts (Maggie Esmerelda), Frances Conroy (Gloria Mott), Evan Peters (Jimmy Darling), and Gabourey Sidibe (Regina Ross). Jamie Brewer was also added to the present roster, although Murphy later indicated Brewer may not appear during the season. She was later confirmed to portray the ventriloquist dummy Marjorie after appearing in a promo for the final episodes. Additionally, Michael Chiklis was announced to play the father of Peters' character and ex-husband of Bates' character, the strongman Dell Toledo. Finn Wittrock was the last lead actor joining the cast. He portrayed the psychopathic Dandy Mott.

In July 2014, TVLine reported that Wes Bentley would appear in the season' two-part Halloween episode as Edward Mordrake. At the Comic-Con 2014, it was announced that John Carroll Lynch would portray one of the central antagonists during the season, Twisty the Clown. In August 2014, R&B singer Patti LaBelle joined the cast for a four-episode story arc as the mother of Sidibe's character, named Dora, the Motts' housekeeper. Also in August 2014, it was revealed that Matt Bomer would be guest-starring in one episode as Andy, Dell's secret lover. Murphy took to his Twitter account to announce that the world's smallest woman Jyoti Amge has joined the cast as Ma Petite. Murphy had written a role specifically for Coven alum Leslie Jordan, but he did not appear on the show due to scheduling conflicts.

In September 2014, it was reported that Asylum alum Naomi Grossman would return to portray Pepper, which marked the first time a character appeared in multiple seasons of the series. Lily Rabe also reprised her Asylum character Sister Mary Eunice McKee in the tenth episode, "Orphans". Mare Winningham made an appearance in the same episode, as Pepper's sister Rita. Neil Patrick Harris guest starred in two episodes as Chester, who takes over the freak show when Elsa leaves for Hollywood. Harris' husband, David Burtka, appeared in the season finale as Elsa's husband.

Filming
At Paley Center for Media's 2014 PaleyFest event, Ryan Murphy announced that the season's filming would take place again in New Orleans, Louisiana, although the show's setting is in Jupiter, Florida. The premiere episode was directed by co-creator Murphy, his first effort since the pilot. Principal photography for the season began on July 15, 2014. Production on the season concluded on December 19, 2014.

Marketing
A video released in July 2014, entitled "Fallen Angel", was reported by many news sources to be an official Freak Show trailer. The video – which featured the American Horror Story title card – was later taken down after FX confirmed it was fan-made. Before the debut of the fan-made video, FX had not released any official trailers concerning the upcoming season. The first official teaser was released on August 20, 2014, entitled "Admit One".

As with previous seasons, FX released a series of teaser trailers on the show's YouTube page. FX also used the marketing hashtag #WirSindAlleFreaks in the German language, and its English translation #WeAreAllFreaks.

Critical response
American Horror Story: Freak Show has received mostly positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, it scored a 69 out of 100 based on 19 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 77% approval rating with an average rating of 7.29/10 based on 35 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Though it may turn off new viewers unaccustomed to its unabashed weirdness, Freak Show still brings the thrills, thanks to its reliably stylish presentation and game cast."

Awards and nominations
In its fourth season, the series was nominated for 76 awards, 21 of which were won.

Soundtrack
Every cover song performed in Freak Show was released by 20th Century Fox TV Records in online music stores following the broadcast of the episode in which it appeared, except the cover of David Bowie's "Heroes", performed by Jessica Lange in "Curtain Call."