Tonight: The Return of American Horror Story

Being a fan of a Ryan Murphy-created TV show is frustrating.  I'm not aware of any other series that has see-sawed week to week from brilliant to awful, as much as a Ryan Murphy show.  Nip/Tuck, as a whole, was an extremely entertaining show, but it was never consistent.  Glee shares the same problems: characters come and go from episode to episode, complete storylines disappear and truly touching moments are negated by truly stupid ones.

Murphy may have created a workaround with American Horror Story by having each season be a self-contained story.  The inconsistencies are not be as noticable in one 12-episode arc as they are in a continuing series.  Don't get me wrong, they're still there; you just don't have as long to stew about them.  It also doesn't hurt that the subject matter is a haunted house or asylum instead of "real life" plastic surgery or high school.

I loved the first season of American Horror Story and could hardly wait for each new epsisode.  (It's one of the few shows I'd watch "live" instead of days later on my DVR.)  It was just so... out there.  Even though it was on basic cable, I often wondered how they got away with some of the things they showed.  Truly compelling mysteries unfolded.  While answers to some questions it raised came at unexpected times, it masterfully created even more.

Another huge benefit of self-contained seasons is that you can do anything you want with the characters.  There are real consequences for each one because anyone could die (or worse).  Nothing limits the creative possibilities.  For the second season, American Horror Story: Asylum, the actors who had the most interesting roles are returning.  But they'll be different characters.  And I have to say, it would be a game-changer for me if the amazing Jessica Lange was not coming back.

Dylan McDermott and Connie Britton, as good of actors as they may be, will not be missed in season two.  I want to see if Lange, as well as Evan Peters (Tate Langdon in season one), Lily Rabe (Nora Montgomery), Sarah Paulsen (medium Billie Dean Howeard) and Zachary Quinto (Chad Warwick) can create new characters as compelling as those from last season.  Plus, I want to see the new characters that actors James Cromwell, Joseph Fiennes, Adam Levine, Chloe Sevigny and Clea Duvall bring to life.

I think I'm more excited about the return of American Horror Story than I was on Sunday about The Walking Dead.  But I remain cautiously optimistic.  Although season one was incredible, I have to remember that it is a Ryan Murphy show.  Season two could be another story entirely... in more ways than one.