How Ryan Murphy’s “Coven” of Actresses Was Born
When Jessica Lange was cast in the pilot of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s FX series American Horror Story, the two-time Academy Award winner had not done a major motion picture in five years. Lange, who turned to television for better roles, likely had no idea how successful her stint on AHS would become. In fact, in the early 2010s, a film actor’s choice to do television was often seen as a sign of desperation and failure. However, for Lange, working with Ryan Murphy ended up becoming the key to a major career revival. She would go on to be a series regular in four seasons of the anthology, which is currently in pre-production for its thirteenth season all these years later. “I feel like Ryan, who I think is a genius, gave me four of the best characters I’ve ever played over my entire career,” Lange told The Wrap in 2015.
It’s true that a whole new generation of audiences became aware of actresses like Jessica Lange through their work on American Horror Story, myself included. In those early seasons, Murphy wrote juicy, singular characters for mature women. Yet part of what was so fresh and exciting about his formula was the special way in which Murphy would capture the depth and range of these actresses from season to season. For instance, when Kathy Bates joined AHS in season three, she played a diabolical socialite who was brought back to life in contemporary New Orleans. The following year, she returned to the show to play a totally different character: A bearded lady with an unidentifiable accent.
Murphy’s so-called “coven” of actresses became the modern television equivalent of a traveling theater troupe. These performers would frequently go on to win awards for their work, which likely motivated them to sign on to collaborate with Murphy again and again, regardless of how outlandish the concept might have been. Sarah Paulson alone has portrayed over ten characters on Murphy-produced shows, including a young Nurse Ratched, conjoined twins, and the real-life Marcia Clark.
How Murphy’s Formula Soured
Ryan Murphy’s formula of casting the same group of actresses in different types of roles has continued into the 2020s. However, what once seemed groundbreaking and endlessly fascinating became increasingly stale and redundant. One possible explanation for this is that Murphy’s shows became less critically acclaimed. By the time he moved from FX to Netflix, Murphy’s programs during this time (The Politician, Hollywood, and Monster) became more commercially successful due to the streaming platform’s broader audience. Unfortunately, the quality of his series declined significantly and even became subject to widespread derision online.
Still, Murphy has shown no signs of stopping any time soon. Monster just released its third season about Ed Gein, which currently holds a 20% on Rotten Tomatoes. He has several shows in development, including a new anthology in the works called American Love Story. And, of course, there’s All’s Fair, which seems to be Murphy’s latest attempt to recycle his tired formula of assembling an ensemble of great actresses to out-sass each other onscreen.
The decreased quality of Murphy’s shows is certainly one problem that has contributed to his now exhausted formula. It also does not help that Murphy has grown accustomed to stunt casting, having recently cast non-professional celebrities like Addison Rae, Travis Kelce, and unlicensed lawyer Kim Kardashian in various roles. By chasing headlines in this way, Murphy is cheapening the actual talent on his roster. Pairing Kim Kardashian with Glenn Close is not going to make the former become more of an actress, and it’s not going to help revitalize the latter’s career.
This is why the casting of All’s Fair comes across as a waste of great talent instead of the “must see” ensembles Murphy used to receive praise for assembling. What once seemed like a calling card for underserved actresses to remind audiences why they’re so great has now become an alluring trap, wherein gifted female performers are stuck with subpar material and untrained celebrity co-stars.
via @AllsFairNews