The most in-demand horror series in the US going into October was FX’s American Horror Story, which had 26.4 times the average series demand for the month. This show has become a standard for the horror genre on TV, reaching a level of demand well ahead of other shows in the genre. Coming up on its 11th season premiere on October 19th, it has had an impressively long run to perfect its formula and build a fanbase.
Looking at recent season premieres of American Horror Story, Season 8 (Apocalypse) hit the highest level of demand right after its season premiere (60x). Season 9 (1984) grew in demand to the middle of its season when it set a record high demand for the show. The tenth season (Double Feature) had a noticeably subdued level of demand but the upcoming eleventh season (NYC) is showing strong demand in the lead-up to its season premiere.
Currently demand for the show is tracking closely with where it was in the lead up to Season 8’s record premiere. Twelve days ahead of the Season 11 premiere, demand for the show is already at 40x. The release schedule for Season 11 will be unique with two episodes released each week instead of the usual single episode per week cadence. The effect of this will be to cut the season length in half so it will be interesting to see if the show attracts twice the amount of audience attention but for half as long. Previous seasons of the show have lost steam in the second half of their release so this could be a savvy move to maximize audience engagement over a shorter time period.
The anthology format seems to be a natural fit for horror series. Including American Horror Story, half of the most in-demand horror series last month were anthologies. Each episode of Creepshow centers on a different setting and plot while Castle Rock changes its story each season. The Haunting of Bly Manor is part of Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting anthology series on Netflix. Aahat was the only international series to make it into the ranking. It is an Indian horror anthology series that originally premiered in 1995 but has been brought back in recent years.
Hannibal was the second most in-demand horror series for the month despite having concluded in 2015. The show’s dedicated community of “Fannibals” has helped keep interest in the show alive well after its finale. Both The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Lovecraft Country wrapped up in 2020 and still have a solid level of demand around 11x. Only time will tell if demand for these shows holds up for as long as Hannibal.
