Nip/Tuck, Glee, and American Horror Story

FX shocked viewers in 2011 by announcing that the poor, unfortunate Harmon family was but the first in a revolving door of American Horror Story victims. It was an occasion for rejoicing, and not just because this meant the permanent shuttering of the first season’s absurdly crowded haunted house. American Horror Story co-creator Ryan Murphy is TV’s current king of diminishing returns, a writer whose flashy premises burn bright for one season, then fade away as characters die, get paralyzed (and then un-paralyzed), turn out to be serial killers, and/or engage in increasingly convoluted sexual exploits. The recurring reboot plan was perfect for a guy like Murphy, giving him endless chances at self-contained first seasons.



It seemed especially refreshing in the fall of 2011, when Glee (co-created by Murphy with Ian Brennan and AHS collaborator Brad Falchuk) was already showing signs of a third-season devolution. (Remember how Sam moved to Kentucky? But then he didn’t? And then the Christmas episode was a too-faithful homage to two terrible holiday specials?) It was a far cry from the first season of the show, which told New Directions’ comeback story with the verve of an underdog-sports movie; similar problems plagued Nip/Tuck, the Murphy jam that began as an examination of American superficiality and ended as The “How Deeply Can We Torture Matt McNamara?” Show. Both could’ve been fascinating single-season stand-alones—and, unfortunately, American Horror Story could’ve been, too. Midway through its fourth season, however, it seems like annual reinvention isn’t enough to keep each new reiteration from repeating the same themes, stock characters, and shock tactics. Maybe AHS should’ve stayed in that haunted house after all. [Erik Adams]