ABSTRACT
As a gay teenager in Indianapolis, Ryan Murphy always felt like an outsider. While Popular only lasted two seasons, it served as Murphy's crash course in, not only running a writers' room, but also in being supervising producer and co-showrunner. Popular challenged him to reconcile his ambitious desires with his artistic needs and cemented his subsequent career trajectory. Audiences were accustomed to watching shows about eternally well-intentioned doctors diagnosing and curing. American Horror Story also has its roots in the shame of body image. The horror genre emerged from adolescents being horrified by the changes in their bodies, from acne to errant hairs sprouting up. Netflix bested HBO by circumventing the pilot process and green-lighting a show straight to full series order. Most writers and directors in Hollywood work as outsiders until they achieve enough clout to become insiders. The Feud: Bette and Joan series was inspired by a screenplay Murphy had discovered from The Black List, years earlier.
