Pilot (American Horror Story)
Encyclopedia
"Pilot" is the first episode and the series premiere of the television series American Horror Story
, which premiered on the network FX on October 5, 2011. The episode was co-written by series creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk
and directed by Murphy.
In the pilot episode, The Harmon family, Ben (Dylan McDermott
), Vivien (Connie Britton
) and Violet (Taissa Farmiga
), move from Boston to Los Angeles after Vivien has a miscarriage and Ben has an affair with one of his students. The family moves to a restored mansion, unaware that the home is haunted.
In the United States, the series premiere achieved a viewership of 3.18 million. The episode garnered a 1.6 rating in the 18–49 demographic, translating to 2.0 million viewers according to Nielsen Media Research
.
stares up at a mansion, as two boys approach the house. The young girl warns them that they will die if they enter the house. They ignore her and begin to vandalize the interior, armed with baseball bats. They go down to the basement, where they find body parts in jars. One of the boys decides to leave, but the other refuses to go with him. Realizing that his brother is missing, the boy who walked out of the house searches for his brother and finds him dying. An unseen figure approaches the boy, who screams in terror.
), a psychiatrist, struggles to regain the trust of his wife, Vivien (Connie Britton
) after having an affair with a younger woman. Still recovering from a recent miscarriage, Vivien senses that something is wrong with the house while dealing with intrusive neighbor Constance (Jessica Lange
) and her daughter Adelaide (Jamie Brewer), who has Down syndrome.
While investigating the attic, Ben and Vivien find a full-length leather "gimp" suit. Their daughter, Violet (Taissa Farmiga
), starts her first day at her new school and is terrorized by a group of girls.
Ben sees patients out of his home. One of those patients, a possibly psychotic boy named Tate (Evan Peters
), strikes up a relationship with Violet. But Tate goes too far while trying to help with her bullying problem. Violet tells him to leave and to never return, but it seems that something in the house is responsible for what happened.
Vivien rehires the old housekeeper, Moira (Frances Conroy
), whom Ben only sees as a young and seductive maid. Ben and Vivien fight over their problems before they make love.
Ben is approached by Larry (Denis O'Hare
), a horribly burned former owner of the house who murdered his entire family by fire after hearing voices. Larry warns Ben that if he doesn't get his family out of that house, they will all die. Ben becomes obsessed with burners in the kitchen and appears to be heading towards burning the house down. Thankfully, Constance stops him.
Vivien is approached by a person she believes to be Ben in the gimp suit, and she has sex with the stranger. Later on, she learns that she is pregnant.
Moira catches Constance taking Vivien's jewelry, and Constance gives her a cryptic warning: "Don't make me kill you again."
began production. Murphy wanted to do the opposite of what he’d done previously and thus began his work on the series. He stated "So we’re doing some squeaky clean, sweet, optimistic, non-cynical piece, I wanted to do something that sorta tapped into the different side of my personality." Falchuk was intrigued by the idea of putting a different angle on the horror genre, stating that their main goal in creating the series was to scare viewers. "You want people to be a little bit off balance afterwards", he said.
The dark tone of the series is mirrored after the ABC soap opera Dark Shadows
, which Murphy’s grandmother forced him to watch when he was younger to toughen him up. In addition, the series draws inspiration from classic horror films such as Roman Polanski's
Rosemary's Baby
and Stanley Kubrick's
The Shining
.
was announced as executive producer. Production on the series began in April 2011. On July 18, 2011, FX officially announced the project had been picked up to series. On August 3, 2011, it was announced that Tim Minear
, Jennifer Salt
, James Wong
and Jessica Sharzer had joined the series as writers.
was shot on location in a house in Country Club Park, Los Angeles, California, which serves as the haunted house
and crime scene in the series. Designed and built around 1908 by Alfred Rosenheim
, the president of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects
, the Tudor or Collegiate Gothic
-style single family home was previously used as a convent.
The series is filmed on sets that are an exact replica of the house. Details such as Lewis Comfort Tiffany stained glass windows, and hammered bronze light fixtures, were re-created to preserve the look of the house.
Prior to the series premiere, FX released several clues to shine light on the series. They were offered on the show's official YouTube
channel. Ten clues were released, entitled "Cello", "Baby", "Couples", "Coffin", "Lying Down", "Fire", "Stairs", "Melt", "Red Cello" and "Rubber Bump".
.
based on 29 reviews. Ken Tucker
from Entertainment Weekly
awarded the pilot episode a B+, stating "AHS is pretty much all scare, all the time: a whole lotta screams, sex, jolts, mashed faces, psychotic behavior, and dead babies."
Chuck Barney of the San Jose Mercury News
said "Most TV shows, after all, quickly fade from memory. This one will haunt your dreams." Hank Stuever
from The Washington Post
said in his review that "Overdoing things is one of Murphy's trademark flaws, but this show has a captivating style and giddy gross-outs." IGN
TV's Matt Fowler wrote that the pilot episode contained a lot of "style over substance" but that it was also "totally watchable." Fowler went on to write that it was a “haunting, subversive television experiment” and enjoyed the references to Amityville Horror
, The Shining
and Twin Peaks
.
Not all reviews were favorable: Alan Sepinwall of HitFix
gave the series a D-, saying, "It is so far over the top that the top is a microscopic speck in its rearview mirror, and so full of strange sounds, sights and characters that you likely won't forget it - even though many of you will wish you could."
American Horror Story
American Horror Story is a horror-drama television series created and produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk. The series centers on the Harmon family: Ben, Vivien and their daughter Violet, who move from Boston to Los Angeles after Vivien has a miscarriage and Ben has an affair...
, which premiered on the network FX on October 5, 2011. The episode was co-written by series creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk
Brad Falchuk
Brad Falchuk is a television writer, director and producer. He is best known for his work on the television series Nip/Tuck, Glee, and American Horror Story.-Early life:...
and directed by Murphy.
In the pilot episode, The Harmon family, Ben (Dylan McDermott
Dylan McDermott
Mark Anthony McDermott , better known by his professional name of Dylan McDermott, is an American actor, known for his role as lawyer and law firm head Bobby Donnell on the television legal drama The Practice and his role in the series Dark Blue as Lt. Carter Shaw. McDermott currently stars in FX...
), Vivien (Connie Britton
Connie Britton
Connie Britton is an American actress. She is best known for the roles of Nikki Faber on Spin City and on Friday Night Lights as Tami Taylor. Her most notable films are Friday Night Lights and A Nightmare on Elm Street...
) and Violet (Taissa Farmiga
Taissa Farmiga
Taissa Farmiga is an American actress, best known for her roles in the FX TV series American Horror Story and the film Higher Ground. She is the younger sister of Oscar nominated actress Vera Farmiga....
), move from Boston to Los Angeles after Vivien has a miscarriage and Ben has an affair with one of his students. The family moves to a restored mansion, unaware that the home is haunted.
In the United States, the series premiere achieved a viewership of 3.18 million. The episode garnered a 1.6 rating in the 18–49 demographic, translating to 2.0 million viewers according to Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
.
1978
A young girl with Down syndromeDown syndrome
Down syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...
stares up at a mansion, as two boys approach the house. The young girl warns them that they will die if they enter the house. They ignore her and begin to vandalize the interior, armed with baseball bats. They go down to the basement, where they find body parts in jars. One of the boys decides to leave, but the other refuses to go with him. Realizing that his brother is missing, the boy who walked out of the house searches for his brother and finds him dying. An unseen figure approaches the boy, who screams in terror.
Present
The Harmon family moves from Boston to Los Angeles to escape their painful past, only to find that their troubles are far from over. Ben (Dylan McDermottDylan McDermott
Mark Anthony McDermott , better known by his professional name of Dylan McDermott, is an American actor, known for his role as lawyer and law firm head Bobby Donnell on the television legal drama The Practice and his role in the series Dark Blue as Lt. Carter Shaw. McDermott currently stars in FX...
), a psychiatrist, struggles to regain the trust of his wife, Vivien (Connie Britton
Connie Britton
Connie Britton is an American actress. She is best known for the roles of Nikki Faber on Spin City and on Friday Night Lights as Tami Taylor. Her most notable films are Friday Night Lights and A Nightmare on Elm Street...
) after having an affair with a younger woman. Still recovering from a recent miscarriage, Vivien senses that something is wrong with the house while dealing with intrusive neighbor Constance (Jessica Lange
Jessica Lange
Jessica Phyllis Lange is an American actress who has worked in film, theatre and television. The recipient of several awards, including two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes and one Emmy, Lange is regarded as one of the première female actors of her generation.Lange was discovered by producer...
) and her daughter Adelaide (Jamie Brewer), who has Down syndrome.
While investigating the attic, Ben and Vivien find a full-length leather "gimp" suit. Their daughter, Violet (Taissa Farmiga
Taissa Farmiga
Taissa Farmiga is an American actress, best known for her roles in the FX TV series American Horror Story and the film Higher Ground. She is the younger sister of Oscar nominated actress Vera Farmiga....
), starts her first day at her new school and is terrorized by a group of girls.
Ben sees patients out of his home. One of those patients, a possibly psychotic boy named Tate (Evan Peters
Evan Peters
Evan Peters is an American actor, best known for his roles as Tate Langdon in American Horror Story, Jesse Varon in the ABC TV series Invasion and as Cooper Day in The Days, also on ABC. He also had a recurring role in Disney Channel's show Phil of the Future as Phil's geeky friend Seth...
), strikes up a relationship with Violet. But Tate goes too far while trying to help with her bullying problem. Violet tells him to leave and to never return, but it seems that something in the house is responsible for what happened.
Vivien rehires the old housekeeper, Moira (Frances Conroy
Frances Conroy
Frances Conroy is an American actress. She is best known for playing Ruth, the matriarch of the Fisher family, on Six Feet Under, which earned her a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award.-Early life:...
), whom Ben only sees as a young and seductive maid. Ben and Vivien fight over their problems before they make love.
Ben is approached by Larry (Denis O'Hare
Denis O'Hare
Denis O'Hare is an American actor noted for his award winning performances in Take Me Out and Sweet Charity as well as the HBO television show True Blood. He is also known for his supporting roles in the films Charlie Wilson's War and Milk...
), a horribly burned former owner of the house who murdered his entire family by fire after hearing voices. Larry warns Ben that if he doesn't get his family out of that house, they will all die. Ben becomes obsessed with burners in the kitchen and appears to be heading towards burning the house down. Thankfully, Constance stops him.
Vivien is approached by a person she believes to be Ben in the gimp suit, and she has sex with the stranger. Later on, she learns that she is pregnant.
Moira catches Constance taking Vivien's jewelry, and Constance gives her a cryptic warning: "Don't make me kill you again."
Conception
Creators Murphy and Falchuk began working on American Horror Story before their Fox series GleeGlee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
began production. Murphy wanted to do the opposite of what he’d done previously and thus began his work on the series. He stated "So we’re doing some squeaky clean, sweet, optimistic, non-cynical piece, I wanted to do something that sorta tapped into the different side of my personality." Falchuk was intrigued by the idea of putting a different angle on the horror genre, stating that their main goal in creating the series was to scare viewers. "You want people to be a little bit off balance afterwards", he said.
The dark tone of the series is mirrored after the ABC soap opera Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
, which Murphy’s grandmother forced him to watch when he was younger to toughen him up. In addition, the series draws inspiration from classic horror films such as Roman Polanski's
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
Rosemary's Baby
Rosemary's Baby (film)
Rosemary's Baby is a 1968 American horror film written and directed by Roman Polanski, based on the bestselling 1967 novel Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin...
and Stanley Kubrick's
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
The Shining
The Shining (film)
The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, co-written with novelist Diane Johnson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Danny Lloyd. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. A writer, Jack Torrance, takes a job as an...
.
Development history
In February 2011, FX officially announced that it had ordered a pilot for a possible series from Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, with both Murphy and Falchuk writing and Murphy directing. Dante Di LoretoDante Di Loreto
Dante Di Loreto is an American writer and producer, best known for executive producing the 20th Century Fox series Glee.-Career:Prior to joining Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk to create Glee, Di Loreto produced several shows for cable and broadcast television as well as a selection of films...
was announced as executive producer. Production on the series began in April 2011. On July 18, 2011, FX officially announced the project had been picked up to series. On August 3, 2011, it was announced that Tim Minear
Tim Minear
Tim Minear is an American screenwriter and director. He was born in New York, grew up in Whittier, California, and studied film at California State University, Long Beach....
, Jennifer Salt
Jennifer Salt
Jennifer Salt is an American producer, screenwriter, and former actress.-Life and career:Salt was born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents were screenwriter Waldo Salt and actress Mary Davenport; her stepmother was the writer Eve Merriam...
, James Wong
James Wong (producer)
James 'Jim' Wong is a Cantonese-American television producer, writer, and film director notable for his screen works of The X-Files, Space: Above and Beyond, Millennium, Final Destination 1 & 3, The One, and the remakes of Willard and Black Christmas along with writing partner Glen...
and Jessica Sharzer had joined the series as writers.
Casting
Casting announcements began in March 2011, with Connie Britton first to be cast, portaying female lead Vivien Harmon. Denis O’Hare joined the cast in late March as Larry Harvey. Jessica Lange joined the cast in April as Constance, marking her first regular role on television. Dylan McDermott was cast as the lead Ben Harmon in late April. His character was initially described as "a handsome and masculine but sensitive therapist who loves his family but has hurt his wife." In May, Taissa Farmiga and Evan Peters were the last actors to be cast, portraying Violet Harmon and Tate Langdon, respectively.Filming
The pilot episodePilot (American Horror Story)
"Pilot" is the first episode and the series premiere of the television series American Horror Story, which premiered on the network FX on October 5, 2011...
was shot on location in a house in Country Club Park, Los Angeles, California, which serves as the haunted house
Haunted house
A haunted house is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property...
and crime scene in the series. Designed and built around 1908 by Alfred Rosenheim
Alfred Rosenheim
Alfred Faist Rosenheim, F.A.I.A. was an American architect and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. He was one of the leading architects in Los Angeles, California in the early part of the 20th Century. His major works include the H.W...
, the president of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
, the Tudor or Collegiate Gothic
Collegiate Gothic in North America
Collegiate Gothic is an architectural genre, a subgenre of Gothic Revival architecture.-History:The beginnings of Collegiate Gothic in North America date back to 1894 when Cope & Stewardson completed Pembroke Hall on the campus of Bryn Mawr College...
-style single family home was previously used as a convent.
The series is filmed on sets that are an exact replica of the house. Details such as Lewis Comfort Tiffany stained glass windows, and hammered bronze light fixtures, were re-created to preserve the look of the house.
Promotion
As part of the promotion for the series, FX launched a "House Call" campaign, in which viewers at home could sign up and come face-to-face with a character from the series.Prior to the series premiere, FX released several clues to shine light on the series. They were offered on the show's official YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel. Ten clues were released, entitled "Cello", "Baby", "Couples", "Coffin", "Lying Down", "Fire", "Stairs", "Melt", "Red Cello" and "Rubber Bump".
Ratings
In its original American broadcast, the premiere of American Horror Story was seen by an estimated 3.18 million household viewers and gained a 1.6 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
.
Reviews
The pilot episode scored 61 out of 100 on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
based on 29 reviews. Ken Tucker
Ken Tucker
Ken Tucker was an English footballer who played as a left winger....
from Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
awarded the pilot episode a B+, stating "AHS is pretty much all scare, all the time: a whole lotta screams, sex, jolts, mashed faces, psychotic behavior, and dead babies."
Chuck Barney of the San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Mercury News is a daily newspaper in San Jose, California. On its web site, however, it calls itself Silicon Valley Mercury News. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group...
said "Most TV shows, after all, quickly fade from memory. This one will haunt your dreams." Hank Stuever
Hank Stuever
Hank Stuever is an American journalist who writes about popular culture for the Style section of the Washington Post. In 2009, he became one of the paper's TV critics. He is a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing, in 1993 and 1996...
from The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
said in his review that "Overdoing things is one of Murphy's trademark flaws, but this show has a captivating style and giddy gross-outs." IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
TV's Matt Fowler wrote that the pilot episode contained a lot of "style over substance" but that it was also "totally watchable." Fowler went on to write that it was a “haunting, subversive television experiment” and enjoyed the references to Amityville Horror
The Amityville Horror (1979 film)
The Amityville Horror is a 1979 American horror film based on the bestselling 1977 novel of the same name by Jay Anson. It is the first movie in the Amityville Horror franchise....
, The Shining
The Shining (film)
The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, co-written with novelist Diane Johnson, and starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Danny Lloyd. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. A writer, Jack Torrance, takes a job as an...
and Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
.
Not all reviews were favorable: Alan Sepinwall of HitFix
HitFix
HitFix, or the HitFix.com is an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information and providing reviews and critiques of film, music and television...
gave the series a D-, saying, "It is so far over the top that the top is a microscopic speck in its rearview mirror, and so full of strange sounds, sights and characters that you likely won't forget it - even though many of you will wish you could."