Is American Horror Stories on Hulu for kids?
By Tiara Starks
Ever wondered if American Horror Stories, the spin-off to the FX series franchise American Horror Story, is a show that can be viewed by the whole family? Is the spin-off American Horror Stories suitable for kids?
The FX on Hulu anthology series, which was also created by the American Horror Story creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, premiered on Jul. 21, 2021. It was renewed for its second season which premiered exactly a year from the first season.
Each episode in the series centers around a different short horror story, such as the resurfacing of a fictional horror movie that uses subliminal images, the return of the “Rubber Man” suit from season 1 of the original series, and the introduction of new scare-worthy characters.
The franchise itself can be characterized as wildly popular which means that there’s a dedicated fanbase who is in-tune with the show’s characters, sequence of events, and its themes. Does this mean that American Horror Stories is suitable for kids to stream at home?
To find out if American Horror Stories is for kids, come reading down below.
Is American Horror Stories suitable for kids?
American Horror Stories is rated TV-MA, meaning that more often than not, you’re likely to see a plethora of scary, disturbing, and graphic scenes that include sexuality, strong language, and violence.
The show also features a lot of teen sexuality and fetishism, which is not the ideal media to expose a child to prematurely.
The show does not promote any overtly positive messages or positive role models which may also act as a signal to most parents to have their children avoid this series. Even though it’s described as a horror-comedy, the levity that’s brought in to the show isn’t without cursing and other forms or profanity that young children should not be privy to if they’re under the age of 17.
In terms of the language being used, be prepared to hear large amounts of cursing throughout the season.
The answer to the question ‘Is American Horror Stories suitable for kids?’ can be up for debate but a parent or guardian of a younger parent should proceed with caution. If a child has the emotional intelligence to distinguish what is fake from what is real, they will most likely have a better experience watching the series since they understand that what’s happening in the show, won’t happen in real life.
Parents and guardians should think twice about tuning into this show if any young children are around. That being said, my personal recommendation is that children 16 and younger shouldn’t watch the series unless parents can identify that their child has a high level of emotional intelligence and are aware of the impact a show that depicts gruesome violence and sex has on developing minds.
American Horror Stories releases episodes every Thursday exclusively on FX on Hulu