American Horror Story: Ranking Every Season Premiere From Worst To Best

While every television executive hopes to reinvent their show before a new season commences, it's fair to assume that no one puts in as much effort as Ryan Murphy and Brand Falchuk with American Horror Story. In spite of maintaining some of the same cast members, the hit anthology series feels totally fresh each and every year, as it sheds what has come before, instead focusing on what's to come in the future.

While it's true that certain seasons of the hit series have ran out of steam before they reach their conclusion, there's little denying that the show-stopping introductory hours of each respective outing always serve their purpose, reeling us in for what promises to be another twisted tale.

Now that Apocalypse has aired, we've eight opening instalments to analyse in detail. This list isn't an indication of which overall season is the greatest, as several of them dropped in standard following their opening instalments, but rather an in-depth look at the first hour of each year, analysing which one started off with the biggest bang.

As previously mentioned, American Horror Story certainly knows how to reel viewers in from the get-go, and Cult's premiere episode is proof of just that. The narrative - and its characters - are established almost immediately in Election Night, which introduces viewers to a world that is scarily similar to the one in which we're currently living.

Set during the 2016 presidential election, the focus of the episode shifts between two central characters. The first is anxiety-ridden protagonist Ally, who is distraught at learning Donald Trump has been elected president. These scenes are nicely juxtaposed with images of Kai Anderson, who has a very different reaction to the political event. It's an intense episode, especially because Kai's minions repeatedly use Ally's fear of clowns to intimidate her.

Using the current state of the world as the basis for a season of American Horror Story is an admirable move, but it's not one that pays off, as - even though it's grounded in our reality - Cult is too comedic for its own good. It's obvious that the showrunners wanted to satirically attack the state of the world - and in this they absolutely succeed - but that's not what AHS is meant to be.

Camp may be a common component for the show, but the tongue-in-cheek tone established in Election Night was a step in the wrong direction.