Will American Horror Story: Cult be a ratings winner for FX?
One thing that has become a staple of the American Horror Story franchise over the years is that some of their seasons tend to be trail off of a cliff in the ratings as they progress. They get off to a great start, but then start to slide after around Halloween leading out to the rest of the season. Some of these viewers switch over to watching on DVR, while others just get their fill and leave. Strangely, many of these viewers do tend to come back for the premiere of the next season, but we’re not so sure that they will for Cult for a number of different reasons.
If there is one thing that may be holding this season of the show back more so than anything, it’s probably just that it’s politically divisive when it comes to its content. You are talking about a season of this show based on the 2016 Presidential Election, and if you lean liberal, you may already feel like the real American Horror Story is around you and not be all that interested. Meanwhile, if you’re conservative you may consider this show the product of the Hollywood elite and not tune in at all, assuming that it’s going to bash you. We’ve heard that the series takes shots at both parties, but the reality here is that either way, there may be people out there understandably sick of politics.
One other thing worth noting? American Horror Story: Cult doesn’t necessarily have the same top-tier cast that we’ve seen of some previous seasons. Sure, it does have known names like Billy Eichner, Colton Haynes, and Lena Dunham joining in on the craziness, but the past two seasons had Lady Gaga and, before that, Jessica Lange for the first four seasons. There was a lot of power and name value in those people, and Cult hasn’t really been even promoted using some of the names we just mentioned. Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, and Cheyenne Jackson are big draws for fans of the franchise, but we’re not sure about newcomers.
Our American Horror Story: Cult ratings expectation
American Horror Story: Roanoke averaged in the live+same-day figures around a 1.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic, a very nice figure that was even up slightly from Hotel the year before. We do think that there will be more viewer erosion this time around, and with that our sentiment is that Cult will probably average around a 1.4. It’ll get off to a hot start, but if something about the show doesn’t work, expect some viewers to jump ship. With some seasons, it happens more than others. (Look at Hotel.)
What are your personal American Horror Story: Cult ratings expectations? Be sure to share some of your thoughts on that subject below! (Photo: FX.)