What’s The Worst Season Of American Horror Story? Sarah Paulson Weighs In

Sarah Paulson may be returning to “American Horror Story” for its star-studded 13th season, but there’s one installment of the FX anthology series that she’d rather not revisit.

During her Nov. 4 appearance on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live,” Paulson received a predictably shady viewer question: “What would you rank as your least favorite season of ‘American Horror Story’?”

“This is going to be controversial because a lot of people love it,” Paulson admitted, taking a much-needed sip of her drink. “But I’m going to vote … Roanoke.” When host Andy Cohen expressed genuine surprise at her response, Paulson simply said, “It wasn’t for me.”

To be fair, “American Horror Story” fans have always been divided over “Roanoke.” The show’s sixth season took a major creative swing, taking the form of a docuseries called “My Roanoke Nightmare.” Lily Rabe starred as Shelby Miller, a woman who actually experienced the supernatural occurrences, while Paulson was Audrey Tindall, the actress playing Shelby in the show’s reenactments. The finale also reunited viewers with a much older version of Paulson’s “Asylum” character Lana Winters, who interviewed the survivors.

If you ask us (and you didn’t), “Roanoke” isn’t deserving of all the hate. Following the conclusion of “Delicate” in 2024, TVLine ranked all 12 seasons of “American Horror Story,” placing “Roanoke” right in the middle at No. 7. Did it lack that certain extra spice found in the show’s first few seasons? Perhaps. But when you compare it to some of the later seasons, especially the aforementioned “Delicate,” it was practically a masterpiece.

Following Paulson’s truth bomb about her least favorite “American Horror Story” season, Cohen asked if she’d ever return to the franchise, apparently unaware that Ryan Murphy revealed the Season 13 cast list (including Paulson) as a Halloween surprise. When Paulson replied with a wink and a “yes,” Cohen amended his question, asking if Paulson is going to return, to which she responded with a coy “maybe.”

Now that we’ve heard from Paulson, tell us: what’s your least favorite season of “American Horror Story”? And do you understand where she’s coming from about “Roanoke”? Drop a comment with your thoughts below.