American Horror Story is a television series.
American Horror Story is an American anthology horror television series created and produced by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk . Described as an anthology series , each season is conceived as a self-contained miniseries , following a disparate set of characters and settings , and a storyline with its own `` beginning , middle , and end . '' The fourth season , subtitled Freak Show , takes place in Jupiter , Florida , during the year 1952 and centers around one of the few remaining American freak shows . American Horror Story : Freak Show is the fourth season of the FX horror anthology television series American Horror Story . Kathy Bates . Bates ' television work has resulted in 14 Emmy Award nominations , two of which were for her starring role on the television series Harry 's Law , and most recently a win for her highly praised appearance in the third season of FX horror-thriller series American Horror Story , where she portrayed the real life socialite Madame Marie Delphine LaLaurie .