How American Horror Story Fans Would Rewrite Roanoke

Love it or hate it, "American Horror Story" fans have a lot to say about the show's 6th season, "Roanoke." On one hand, some fans and critics applauded producer Ryan Murphy's break from the show's typical format as a breath of fresh air for the franchise. On the other, fans were upset by the tonal changes and lack of an opening theme song — which had, until that point, been a staple for the show since Season 1.

The divisive season is the subject of much online discussion on the show's subreddit, r/AmericanHorrorStory, where threads like "Do people really hate Roanoke" and "Is Roanoke worth watching?" are quite common to come across. 

Recently, on a thread by user OedipusCapulet asking, "How would you rewrite a season?" fans chimed in with suggestions for each of the nine seasons so far. From minor changes that would tighten up existing storylines to full-on revisions, fans were happy to share their ideas on improving the show. Unsurprisingly, "Roanoke" was brought up.

So, how would "American Horror Story" fans rewrite "Roanoke"?

Earning 20 upvotes, user MonicaBe said, "Personally I'd do Roanoke as a 12 episode season. Still split in half, but I'd do the first half entirely set in the past with the actual colony, then (the) second half would be the modern day show within the show."

As everyone always says, hindsight is 20/20 — but there's something to this concept. MonicaBe's proposal of splitting up the season more cleanly could have certainly helped clear up confusion with the synchronous stories on "Roanoke." As the Redditor said, the first half could focus on the brutal historical colony and set up what happened to the modern-day characters, then the second half could focus on the sleazy show business side of "My Roanoke Nightmare" and the brutal fate of it's cast. If done this way, the mid-season twist would've been even more shocking, and the storyline would've been easier to follow. In fact, the mixed timeline is something that "American Horror Story" fans have often cited as one of the key issues that plagued the "Roanoke" season, even though the various twists themselves are certainly clever. Screen Rant, for instance, once ran the headline that "Roanoke's confusing timeline ruined the season,"

The split season concept that the Reddit user suggested is something the show's 10th season will be exploring in "American Horror Story: Double Feature." The upcoming season will feature two mini-seasons in one, which Murphy described on his Instagram as "double the viewing pleasure," with one half supposedly set on the sea, and the other on the sand. 

Season 10 of "American Horror Story" will premiere on August 25, 2021.