The Best And Worst Shows On TV In 2016
By Sundi Rose
Photo: FX Network
10. American Horror Story: Roanoke
I know I’m probably going to get a little blowback for this, but this season of American Horror Story wasn’t just bad, it was downright awful. This anthology series has a tendency to start out super strong, and then midseason, the wheels will completely come off the bus.
I was enthused about the novelty of the theme this season. Roanoke is mysterious enough to get us intrigued but familiar enough to be universally appealing. If this show had just been about this American legend, I would’ve been a happy critic. However, the framed story within a story, within a story was unnecessarily convoluted and distracting. The reenactments, the cliched characters, Sarah Paulson’s dreadful accent — it was just throwing bad effort after good.
Design a show about the Butcher and her clan of colonial followers, and give me an adjunct plot about the Polks in the woods. This could’ve been captivating television. As it stands, it was silly and without much purpose.
I’ve learned to offer Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk a lot of latitude when it comes to camp, gore, and the suspension of my disbelief. But I won’t ever be able to forgive them for wasting Lady Gaga in a show that could have saved (like Hotel).