The American Horror Story Episode That Was Too Dark Even For FX
Naturally, for an anthology series with the word "Horror" smack dab in the middle of the title, FX's "American Horror Story" sits in an extremely dark corner of the television world. The first season alone was subtitled "Murder House" and featured themes of adultery, child abuse, school shootings, and suicide. The show's mix of campy tone with its gruesome subject matter has been the true uniting aspect of each installment of the anthology, arguably even more than the crossovers between the various seasons.
Co-created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, "American Horror Story" has been a wild success for FX since it began airing a decade ago, even helping to give birth to sister anthology shows like "American Horror Stories" and "American Crime Story." You could even argue that the "how far will they go" feeling of the show's content is one of the things that has given the series the longevity to last for 10 seasons and counting.
Still, there was one "American Horror Story" episode that made even FX, the network that aired "Nip/Tuck" and "The Shield," a bit anxious.
An FX executive was worried that Asylum was getting too heavy
While giving an interview to Entertainment Weekly in 2013, "American Horror Story" co-creator Ryan Murphy recalled one instance in the series' second season, "Asylum," where he received a pointed note from FX executive John Landgraf.
"The only disagreement I had this whole last season was around episode ten," Murphy explained. "[FX CEO] John Landgraf said, 'I just want to tell you one thing: I'm feeling that it's really heavy, and I want to make sure some of those characters have a happy ending.' So I wanted to make sure, particularly that Jessica's character was well taken care of at the end of that run."
Even by "American Horror Story" standards, Episode 10 of "Asylum," titled "The Name Game," is a harrowing hour that features, among other things, sexual assault, Sister Jude (Jessica Lange) having electroshock therapy, the aftermath of a crucifixion, and finally, Dr. Arden (James Cromwell) immolating himself in the furnace where the possessed Sister Mary Eunice (Lily Rabe) was cremated. After all that, it's hard to blame Landgraf for feeling like the misery was overkill, even if "Asylum" is one of the most acclaimed seasons of the series (per Rotten Tomatoes).
However, even with this small bit of pushback from FX, Murphy said of the series, "It's always a very pleasant, wonderful experience to [make the] show, it's never been difficult, not for one minute."