10 Amazing Comeback Seasons That Saved Dying TV Shows

American Horror Story is a show that prides itself on shaking things up. With each season focusing on completely different characters, situations and terrors, it's of course expected that the show is going to change. Whilst the first three seasons were all stunning and well executed, Season Four: Freak Show saw a major drop in quality. Season Five: Hotel then returned the show to form with some solid mystery and great performances (Lady Gaga, anyone?).

Then came Season Six: Roanoke. You can be forgiven for thinking Freak Show wasn't great, and for thinking that after Hotel everything was right with the world again. Because it's safe to say that next to no one was expecting the show to stoop to this level of disappointment.

Roanoke, all told, was a mess. The characters were sloppy, the plot weak and forgettable, and the split between documentary and found-footage horror was poor at best. It maintains the cool and gloomy aesthetic of AHS, sure, but with no substance and characters who fall flat from the get-go.

Season Seven: Cult was originally advertised as a response to the election of Donald Trump, prompting moans throughout the fandom. But no one was expecting what they got: a tightly-written, mostly horror-less entry full of clowns, paranoia, insanity and rage. Evan Peters was better than ever as Kai Anderson (amongst others) and Adina Porter was on fiery form.

Despite some ham-fisted political generalisations, the intensity, powerhouse performances and change in tone make Cult a much-needed addition to the show.