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 . '' Additionally , Kathy Bates and Lady Gaga won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award , respectively , for their performances . Jessica Lange . Between 2011 and 2014 , she won her first Screen Actors Guild Award , fifth Golden Globe Award , and second and third Emmy Awards for her performances in the first and third seasons of FX 's horror anthology series American Horror Story ( 2011 -- 2015 ) . 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 .