American Horror Story (Series; FX)

Credits: Filmed in Los Angeles by Ryan Murphy Prods. in association with Twentieth Century Fox Television. Executive producers, Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Dante Di Loreto. 60 MIN.With: Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott, Jessica Lange, Dennis O'Hare, Taissa Farmiga, Evan Peters, Frances Conroy, Alexandra Breckenridge, Jamie Brewer.Although there have been successful horror anthologies, episodic television has a frightening track record with the genre, largely because suspense is so difficult to sustain. Yet given its theatrical popularity and "The Walking Dead's" success, it makes sense for somebody like FX to try. Enter "American Horror Story," a stab (heh heh), from "Glee's" Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, at recycling jump-out-at-you conventions, which in its own way displays excesses similar to later seasons of Murphy's signature FX offering, "Nip/Tuck." The creative team's fondness for the material appears unquestionable; whether they can exorcise what ails their show remains the real mystery. Of course, for such a series to work (and past attempts, like CBS' "American Gothic," didn't), there has to be a solid character foundation. In this case, it's the Harmon family: Seeking to save a marriage fractured by a miscarriage and infidelity, psychologist Ben (Dylan McDermott), wife Vivien (Connie Britton) and bratty teenage daughter Violet (Taissa Farmiga) head West, from Boston to L.A. Why is this old house they've found so cheap? Because a murder-suicide occurred in the basement, the realtor explains. But hey, the place is half the price of other homes in the neighborhood, and for that money they'd have to live in the valley -- which is really scary. So in they move, only to be warned by their neighbor with Down's syndrome (Jamie Brewer), "You are going to die in there" -- which, in its vague echoes of lines from "The Exorcist" and "Poltergeist II," represents the first homage of many in Murphy and Falchuk's script. The main problem with a haunted-house series is making things scary without becoming so alarming the family flees screaming into the night in episode one. A second hour, however, rather than offering clarity or reassurance, only reinforces these doubts. Creatively unleashed, the producers have concocted a sure-to-be-polarizing introduction that's a truly weird, David Lynch-style experience -- complete with bondage outfits, satanic images and the creepiest opening-title sequence ever. Beyond the central family, everyone seems to have checked in from "The Shining's" Overlook Hotel -- from the wild-eyed former actress next door (Jessica Lange, oddly channeling her work in "A Streetcar Named Desire") to the spooky maid who, in the pilot's niftiest device, appears one way (Frances Conroy) to Vivien and another (Alexandra Breckenridge) to Ben. "AHS" derives inspiration from so many horror films there's some fun in simply identifying those moments. But there's also a surreal quality that feels wildly overdone -- and periodically risks tumbling from inspiring fright into inducing giggles. Britton is a strong yet vulnerable lead, and the couple's marital woes feed into the tumult of their unsettling surroundings. By contrast, the daughter's troubles fitting in at her new school and interaction with a disturbed boy feel like unpleasant dead ends. For FX, there's merit in trying to elevate the storytelling level in modern horror films from what has too often devolved into torture porn and splatter. And as a proliferation of reality TV programs demonstrate, people still love ghost stories. "Horror Story's" spirit-guides Murphy and Falchuk certainly silenced naysayers with "Glee." Nevertheless, any more missteps and this wispy specter will descend the stairway to silliness -- at which point, it'll be hard to prevent the fat lady from singing. Contact Brian Lowry at brian.lowry@variety.com

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Fake Empire Comedy Among Latest Pilot Script Sales

Known primarily for its hourlong series, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage’s Fake Empire has sold a half-hour comedy pitch to Fox. The single-camera comedy about three childhood friends who are all now fathers with teenage sons, will be written by Barry Schwartz who will co-executive produce. Fake Empire’s Schwartz, Savage and Len Goldstein will executive produce for Warner Bros. TV. Fake Empire has 3 series on the air this season, NBC’s dramedy Chuck and the CW dramas Gossip Girl andHart of Dixie. On the feature side, Schwartz, repped WME and the Gotham Group, soldBromance to Montecito and DreamWorks and Parents Weekend to Kopelson Entertainment. Writer-director Nancy Hower and her writing/producing partner, actor John Lehr, have sold a half-hour comedy pitch to NBC. Titled Retreat, the project is set in a corporate retreat. The sale was made based on a demo Hower and Lehr shot, which Hower directed and Lehr starred in. The demo, made in association with EUE/Screengems, was probably helpful, as the duo uses a hybrid scripted/improv style where their scripts are incredibly detailed but dont feature any dialogue. ABC has bought an untitled time travel drama project from writer Scott Veach, with ABC Studios and Warren Littlefield producing. This marks a reunion of all parties. Last year, Veach, repped by CAA and Leverage, and Littlefield developed a drama for ABC and ABC Studios based on the book City of Dreams.

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Demi and Ashton: A Peek Back

and Demi Moore When Demi Moore and started dating in 2003, some fans looked askance at their May-December romance. Nevertheless the energy couple experienced, marriage to two yrs later. On Saturday, Kutcher, 33, and Moore, 48, marked their sixth anniversary - although various websites reported they spent it apart and possess elevated the risk of divorce.Are Demi Moore and separating?No matter outcome, for the moment you'll be able to try taking some trip lower memory lane with this particular photo galleries: using the yearsDemi Moore with time

New Kristen Stewart As 'Snow White' Photos Emerge

FROM MTV MOVIES: Kristen Stewart looks like she's ready for battle. Some photos of the "Twilight" star on the set of "Snow White and the Huntsman" have hit the Internet. In them, Stewart is wearing her previously teased armor as she films scenes at Marloes Sands Beach in Pembrokeshire Wales, U.K., this week. Photos on Screenrant.com show the actress riding a white horse alongside a group of extras dressed as medieval soldiers. They are riding through the water for what appears to be some sort of battle scene. In some on-set candids, the ponytail-sporting actress laughs and walks around the set of the Rupert Sanders-directed flick. Stewart recently debuted her longer locks for the film at London Fashion Week. No signs of co-stars Charlize Theron (the Evil Queen), Chris Hemsworth (the Huntsman) or Sam Claflin (Prince Charming) in the new photos. The film is expected to open June 1, 2012. Read the full story at MTV Movies!

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Bana boards 'Brilliant'

BanaEric Bana is at discussions to star inside the Lakeshore Entertainment gem-heist thriller "Brilliant." Robert Luketic ("Legally Blonde," "The Ugly Truth") is aboard to direct with Gillian Gorfil (producer on "Blood stream Gem") penning the script, her first feature writing credit. Pic involves just a little-time criminal who joins accomplished thieves in the gem heist. Gorfil, Sidney Kimmel, Gary Lucchesi and Tom Rosenberg will produce. Bana, who's repped by WME, was last noticed in the primary focus spy thriller "Hanna." Contact Justin Kroll at justin.kroll@variety.com

Programming Note: Daniel Kraus's Preacher Premieres Sunday

Perhaps you recall Daniel Kraus, the author and filmmaker behind the WORK Series — a quartet of documentaries that includes the underrecognized masterpiece Musician and continues Sunday with the world premiere of Preacher. Kraus sends word that this entry in his franchise of vocational voyeurism will the last for the foreseeable future, so do yourself a favor and tune in to the Documentary Channel at 8 p.m. You can check out the trailer here, too; I promise it runs laps around Machine Gun Preacher. [Documentary Channel]

Nervous nets shuffle segs

ABC has chosen to change the running order of a few episodes of rookie shows including Pan Am. Other nets are doing the same. NBC has reordered the episodes for debuting laffer "Up All Night."Sometimes the best way for a TV series to tell its story is out of order. As networks try to make the best impression with new series each fall, execs occasionally make the tough call to air them with episodes out of sequence -- even when it risks confusing their storylines early in their run.ABC disclosed that the second and third episodes of new dramas "Charlie's Angels" and "Pan Am" will be trading places. While it hasn't been announced yet, a third ABC series, rookie comedy "Suburgatory," will also swap its third and second episodes. NBC half-hour "Up All Night" has exchanged its third and fourth segments.Changing the order of episodes is nothing new in primetime. Because conventional industry wisdom dictates that a series' audience level is set in stone within its first three episodes, frontloading the most compelling installments becomes paramount.But for a drama series like "Pan Am," a 1960s-era evocation of the airline's early days with some serialization in its plot, the writers' conception of how their story will unfold is forced to change. "They sit in a room and plan out arcs for the season and talk about how those episodes build," said Channing Dunghey, senior VP drama development at ABC. "And we set out with the intention of those unfolding in that direction, but that's not always the case."To wit, ABC confirmed what was initially slated to be the third episode of "Pan Am" had to be re-edited to eliminate references to plot points raised in the episode originally scheduled to precede it.Another source suggests that there's been much internal debate at ABC about what aspect of "Pan Am" is its strong suit: the romantic lives of its characters or the tonally different espionage element. Dunghey denied any such consideration prompted shuffling for "Pan Am"; she declined to elaborate citing sensitivity regarding revealing storylines ahead of broadcast.Reshuffling is a less disruptive proposition to TV shows with more self-contained storylines such as procedurals like "Angels" and sitcoms like "Suburgatory," which are developed to have episodes that are often deliberately interchangeable.But even "Angels" nearly made a very risky reshuffling. A source familiar with the "Angels" production plans said the net considered having an episode other than the pilot serve as the premiere episode because of concerns that the cast chemistry deemed crucial to the series' appeal hadn't sufficiently gelled enough to serve as a fitting introduction for viewers.Sources say CBS has long informed producers with series in its primetime lineup to avoid serialization in the first five or six episodes of a season in order to provide the network with flexibility in scheduling. Of course, that's easy for a net with a sked comprised almost entirely of procedurals and sitcoms. But sometimes even liberal manipulation of a show's narrative timeline doesn't get in the way of viewers' enjoyment. Last season, ABC midseason entry "Happy Endings" was rife with disjointed plot developments because the network aggressively reordered the lineup to get what it thought were the best episodes out first. For instance, episodes originally slated to run second and third ended up airing 10th and 11th (out of 13).But regardless of the flipping, "Endings" wasn't affected. The series drew enough ratings and buzz to not only get a second-season order but transfer to a plum timeslot following hit "Modern Family." TV history is littered with examples of short-lived shows that underwent episode reshuffling. Whether that precipitated or forestalled their demise is subject to interpretation; even whether failed shows undergo reshuffling at any greater rate than successful ones is subject to debate.Sometimes a swap isn't necessarily the result of a creative choice. Episode flipping has become more common in recent years due to a production technique being utilized more often in the TV business known as "cross boarding": shooting scenes from two or more different episodes in one day because they share a common setting. That cost-conscious move can sometimes bring later episodes to completion before ones that precede it, resulting in some ad hoc resequencing.Picking the right follow-up episode can be critical should ABC find itself in the enviable position of having a ratings windfall for either premiere. Have an episode that doesn't feel tonally consistent with the pilot -- which can be tricky in the early days of a series' run when it is still trying to find its creative voice -- and all those fickle viewers that turned out can be turned away.Too many series in recent years that enjoyed strong initial interest have found their fortunes reversed quickly enough to last just one season or even less. Contact Andrew Wallenstein at andrew.wallenstein@variety.com

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