Sarah Paulson Finally Names Her Least Favorite American Horror Story Season
After years as American Horror Story’s defining scream queen, Sarah Paulson finally names the season that missed the mark for her — and breaks down why it never worked.
Sarah Paulson has been a core piece of American Horror Story for so many seasons that she basically feels baked into the DNA of the show. So when she names the one season she would happily skip, ears perk up. And yes, it is one of the fandom’s perennial debate magnets.
"This is going to be controversial because a lot of people love it. But I’m going to vote Roanoke."
Paulson dropped that on Watch What Happens Live on November 4 when Andy Cohen asked which AHS season she liked the least. He looked a little stunned; she laughed it off and made it clear the season just wasn’t for her. Predictably, fans immediately split into their usual camps about where Roanoke sits in the AHS hierarchy.
Why Roanoke was a swing — and why it divides people
Season 6, titled Roanoke, zigged where the show usually zags. Instead of the classic AHS structure, it went full mockumentary with a series-within-the-series called My Roanoke Nightmare. Lily Rabe plays Shelby Miller, who recounts her run-ins with the paranormal. Paulson plays Audrey Tindall, the actress portraying Shelby in the reenactments — a very AHS nesting-dolls setup — and she even pops back up as her Asylum character, Lana Winters, in the finale.
- Season: 6, aka Roanoke
- Format shift: mockumentary/re-creation style under the banner My Roanoke Nightmare
- Main thread: Shelby Miller’s story (played by Lily Rabe)
- Paulson’s role: Audrey Tindall, the actress playing Shelby in the reenactments
- Fan treat: surprise finale cameo from Paulson’s Asylum icon, Lana Winters
- Why it’s polarizing: some dug the found-footage vibe; others missed the more gothic, character-driven flavor of Murder House and Coven
Paulson is an Emmy winner and one of the franchise’s signature faces, so her take naturally hits a nerve. But if you’ve been around the AHS block, you know Roanoke has always been one of those seasons people either evangelize or side-eye.
As for whether she’ll come back to the Ryan Murphy anthology? When Cohen asked, she kept it brief: "Maybe." Consider the door cracked, not closed.