 Back in 2011, Ryan Murphy showed us his dark side after the campiness that was glee, and ever since we have been immersed in many different worlds containing the same massively talented cast. Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Matt Rogers and today I'll be counting down my favourite seasons of American Horror Story. Obvious spoiler warning. Now my last video, we talked about everything we knew so far about American Horror Story Season 8, Apocalypse. And you guys in the comments were ranking your favourite seasons and it got pretty heated, so I thought I'd weigh in. In my number 7 spot we have Roanoke. Now I could not overstate how controversial this season was, and I don't think I was alone when the first episode came on and there was no mention of American Horror Story, it seemed like a completely new TV show of its own. And as a fan of the usual opening titles, I was beside myself when they removed it. And it took a lot of getting used to to see Lily Rabe as a real life victim and then having a story reenacted by actors like Sarah Paulson. Now I think this could have been pulled off if unknown actors were playing the real life victims and then the actors we knew and loved were doing the reenactments. Because every time Lily's talking head came up it sort of took me out of the illusion of the show they were trying to create. I think I speak for everyone when I was hoping that my Roanoke nightmare wouldn't take up the full 10 episodes. But lo and behold in episode 5 they broke the fourth wall and the reenactment actors mixed in with the victims and it really got crazy. I must admit I did get chills when the disclaimer came up and said that everyone was going to die. Although that's probably as big of a spoiler as you can get it sort of set the mood for the following episodes and I actually thought the lack of predictability was one of the season's strongest points. Which left me thinking once the season wrapped up that I probably would have really liked this season if Murphy didn't slap the AHS title on it. And maybe have it as another separate show or even as a spin-off. It'd just help you come at it with an open mind rather than the preconceptions that you've built up from its predecessors. So a good season may be but just poorly executed. Next up we have Hotel. Now you guys are probably going to kill me for this but Hotel for me seemed like a sort of a shift in gears for American Horror Story. It felt like the atmosphere of the show really changed in this season and I don't know if it was because Jessica Lang was no longer with us which for me up to that point was the heart and soul of the show. It just felt different in the way it was shot and there was a lot of new additions to the cast notoriously all of them looking the exact same. I did like how they pushed a lot of boundaries further which anyone would think would be impossible at that point. But it's hard to push it much further than the first episode in that drill-dose scene. Lady Gaga did a great job especially for her first proper acting role but I hardly remember the events of this season apart from it taking a few cues from Murder House having its occupants stuck on the premises after being murdered there and I felt like the coven cameo just seemed like an afterthought. I'm currently in the progress of a rewatch so maybe that'll change my mind. Freak Show The fourth season really took a new direction to the three seasons before and it wasn't as much scary as it was creepy and uncomfortable. We took a look behind the scenes of Elsa's freak show in the dark past of its troubled stars. This was Lang's final season and although Elsa was a beautifully troubled ringleader it wasn't a memorable enough role to say goodbye to this iconic actress. Although I wasn't a huge fan of the freak show storyline the episodes that focused on particular freaks were unbelievably powerful. Probably one of my favorite episodes of any season of American Horror Story was Pepper's episode. That's the first and only time American Horror Story hit me that hard in the feels and who could forget this heartbreaking scene. And I'm a sucker for a sad ending so this ticked all my boxes but the season is a whole not so much. In fourth place we have Colt. After Rowan O'Colt was a refreshing return to AHS Roots and although the pilot episode set a weird tone with a melodramatic look at the 2016 election the season then started falling together and built a terrifying world of clowns and unholy gatherings. The acting from Paulson and Peters was superb and although the events that occurred were horrific I think it had a lot of us wanting to dedicate ourselves to Kai's cult. The only thing I think the season could have done without were the extra scenes fleshing out other cults like Lena Dunham's. It just felt like filler and didn't really add anything to the season in its entirety. We've come to my top three and in third place is Coven. Before season three we saw American Horror Stories a dark and serious anthology series. But when Coven came along although it kept the show's darkness it had a campier tone and made light of a lot of dark issues which some people didn't like but I think it worked. The sassy characters diffused the grave situations they found themselves in and this is when we first got Kathy Bates and wasn't she a godsend. This season also gave me my favorite Jessica Lane character Fiona Good. Fiona was the ruthless and irresponsible supreme of the dwindling Coven and owned every scene that she stepped foot in and her character arc was so well written seeing her in a prime and then slowly stripped of her power leaving her as a feeble skeleton. And I love that it was a huge topic of debate back then who the next supreme was going to be. But of course it ended with Cordelia in charge and with her came a promising future for the Coven. Now my number two spot goes to Murder House. Murder House is where it all started and it's almost impossible to fault. No one knew what to expect from Murphy's new show and American Horror Story really was the first of its kind a horror drama that was also set to be an anthology. I remember I was a teenager going to school back when this was airing and in Australia they put it on ridiculously late but I'd stay up every week and scare the absolute shit out of myself. The opening titles alone were the stuff of nightmares. But the ideas that were explored in season one had never been done before in the television medium and it seemed like the creators knew what it was from the very first episode. The characters were deep and relatable and the horrible things these people were doing somehow seemed justified but it sort of left me with a sick feeling in my stomach at the end of every episode and I loved every second of it. However I feel like the dislikes I go to pour in in a second my all-time favorite American Horror Story season is Asylum. Now listen it was a super close call between this and Murder House but I just found too many pros with asylum I just had to put it first. When season two started we really got a feel for what American Horror Story is. It was mind-blowing to see the same cast in completely different situations. The original casting director must have thought ahead and realized the versatility of these actors as I can't imagine anyone else in their place. One of the biggest highlights for me in Asylum was the expert storytelling. The asylum kept unraveling more and more layers of horrors and Lana is my favorite Sarah Paulson character by far. Her situation was so hopeless and then when you thought she was going to escape her situation only got worse and then when she escaped that it got even worse and she ended up back in the asylum. However all becoming a powerful story that would later make her famous. I love that death was personified by Francis Conroy all of her scenes were chilling but Lang's sister Jude her character was developed brilliantly and somehow you go from hating her to shedding a tear over her at the end. But by far the best part of this season and maybe of any season was the name game. I was binging this season and when this scene came on I genuinely thought I was going insane like the inmates in this asylum. It was just so dark and depressing and then all of a sudden there's this vibrant musical number. I probably rewatched that scene more times than I care to admit and shamefully I now know every word to that song. Murphy was previously known for Dlee so he obviously knows how to make a scene like this work and now I'm convinced every show needs a random musical number at some point. But that's it for my list at least until season 8 but I'm sure you guys have a lot to say so let me know what you think in the comments I'll be chatting with you there. But until next time thanks so much for hanging out and if you had a good time then spank that like button and if you subscribe during this video then walk on the board. This is Matt Rogers and that is all.