10 Worst TV Performances Of 2016
4. Kathy Bates - Agnes Mary Winstead (American Horror Story: Roanoke)
When it comes to American Horror Story, campy, over-the-top performances are to be expected. There's been a lot of rough acting in American Horror Story over the years, but Kathy Bates performance as Agnes Mary Winstead in the most recent season Roanoke is easily the worst of the bunch.
It's kinda complicated since she also portrays a character called The Butcher in My Roanoke Nightmare, which is a made-for-television documentary that exists within the American Horror Story universe, so I'm basically compiling these two characters into one performance.
Bates' performance is everything you'd expect: an attempt to be dark and threatening that comes across as ridiculous, with a healthy dollop of melodrama heaped onto every single scene. And whatever accent she's trying to do, well...she really shouldn't.