American Horror Story: Freak Show is the fourth season of the FX horror anthology television series American Horror Story. It premiered on October 8, 2014 and concluded on January 21, 2015. The season is mainly 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.
Returning cast members from the previous season of the series include: Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Frances Conroy, Denis O'Hare, Emma Roberts, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Jessica Lange, Grace Gummer, Gabourey Sidibe, Danny Huston, Jamie Brewer, and Mare Winningham, along with new cast members Michael Chiklis and Finn Wittrock. Ben Woolf also makes his return to the series. In the seventh season, Twisty the Clown makes an appearance. This is the first season of the series that is not strictly anthological, with Lily Rabe, Naomi Grossman, and John Cromwell (as a younger Dr. Arthur Arden) reprising their roles from the series's second cycle, Asylum.
Like its predecessors, Freak Show was met with mostly positive reviews, and consistently strong ratings, with the premiere episode attracting a then series high of 6.13 million viewers. 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, Finn 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.
Video American Horror Story: Freak Show
Plot
In Jupiter, Florida in 1952, German expatriate Elsa Mars (Jessica Lange), is the ambitious owner of one of the last struggling freak shows in the United States, entitled "Fräulein Elsa's Cabinet of Curiosities," and is seeking her own fame and stardom. She recruits conjoined twin sisters Bette and Dot Tattler (Sarah Paulson), whose two heads share one body, as new members of her troupe after being identified by the police as fugitives since Bette's recent murder of their overprotective mother during an argument. When the sisters arrive, they were welcomed by their fellow freaks; Elsa's subordinate and confidante Ethel Darling (Kathy Bates) the bearded lady, her lobster-handed son Jimmy Darling (Evan Peters), Paul the Illustrated Seal (Mat Fraser), the giantess Amazon Eve (Erika Ervin), the legless Suzi (Rose Siggins), pinheads Salty and Pepper (Christopher Neiman and Naomi Grossman), the youngest Meep (Ben Woolf), and the dwarf performers: ex-convict Toulouse (Drew Rin Varick) and Elsa's most significant companion Ma Petite (Jyoti Amge) who is the smallest of the group.
During the troupe's first performance with the twins, the only spectators in the audience were wealthy socialite widow Gloria Mott (Frances Conroy) and her spoiled, mentally unstable son Dandy (Finn Wittrock), who displayed an unhealthy fascination for the freaks. Other new members of the troupe include Dell Toledo (Michael Chiklis), a strongman who was Ethel's ex-husband and Jimmy's biological father; and his three-breasted wife Desiree Dupree (Angela Bassett). Elsa's jealousy and cruelty towards everyone in the troupe leads her to make selfish decisions to achieve her personal desires.
Maps American Horror Story: Freak Show
Cast and characters
Main
- Sarah Paulson as Bette and Dot Tattler
- Evan Peters as Jimmy Darling
- Michael Chiklis as 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
Recurring
- John Carroll Lynch as Twisty the Clown
- Skyler Samuels as Bonnie Lipton
- Grace Gummer as Penny
- Naomi Grossman as Pepper
- Patti LaBelle as Dora
- Jyoti Amge as Ma Petite
- Major Dodson as Corey Bachman
- Erika Ervin as Amazon Eve
- Mat Fraser as Paul the Illustrated Seal
- Christopher Neiman as Salty
- Rose Siggins as Legless Suzi
- Ben Woolf as Meep
- Kathy Deitch as Young Ethel
- Edward Gelhaus as Younger Dell
- PJ Marshall as Detective Colquitt
- Wes Bentley as Edward Mordrake
- Celia Weston as Lillian Hemmings
- Dalton E. Gray as Mike
- Jerry Leggio as Dr. Bonham
- Gabourey Sidibe as Regina Ross
- Lee Tergesen as Vince
- Danny Huston as Massimo Dolcefino
- Chrissy Metz as Barbara / Ima Wiggles
- Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Angus T. Jefferson
- Neil Patrick Harris as Chester Creb
- Angela Sarafyan as Alice
- Jamie Brewer as Marjorie
- Shauna Rappold as Lucy Creb
- Drew Rin Varick as Toulouse
- Heather Langenkamp as Female Toulouse
Guest stars
- Matt Bomer as Andy
- Lily Rabe as Sister Mary Eunice McKee
- Matthew Glave as Larry Gayheart
- Mare Winningham as Rita Gayheart
- John Cromwell as Young Arthur Arden
- David Burtka as Michael Beck
Episodes
Production
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 will be playing a role similar to Marlene Dietrich. Murphy revealed that the season will 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 draws inspiration from Tod Browning's Freaks and Herk Harvey's Carnival of Souls. This season features 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 Desiree Dupree and Ethel Darling, 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 antagonist during the season, Twisty the Clown. In August 2014, 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 was unable to 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 marks the first time a character appears 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.
Reception
Critical response
American Horror Story: Freak Show received a Metacritic score of 69 out of 100 based on 19 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 79% approval rating with an average rating of 7.29/10 based on 32 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 used in the season was made available for digital download on services such as iTunes and Amazon.com after the episode in which it appeared aired, except the cover of David Bowie's '"Heroes"' performed by Jessica Lange at the climax of the season finale "Curtain Call".
References
External links
- Official website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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