Darkroom
Starring: Helen Hunt, Billy Crystal, Claude Akins, June Lockhart, Brian Dennehy, Richard Anderson, Carole Cook, Lawrence Pressman
First Aired: November 7, 1981
Number of Seasons: 1
Estimated Production Cost: $300,000 per episode*
Darkroom, which aired from November 27, 1981 to January 15, 1982, appears to have been a source of inspiration for AHS. Darkroom is a thriller that aired on ABC and was produced by Universal. It contained anthological storylines. Each episode had two horror/thriller plots. James Coburn hosted the wraparound for the episode. Each story in Darkroom included new performers (different than AHS). There were seven episodes and sixteen segments in the show. Helen Hunt, Billy Crystal, Claude Akins, June Lockhart, Brian Dennehy, Richard Anderson, Carole Cook, Lawrence Pressman, and a slew of other notable actors starred on Darkroom.
Darkroom
Ben Jerrod
Starring: Michael M. Ryan, Anderson Richards, Lyle Talbot, Isabel Randolph
First Aired: April 1, 1963
Number of Seasons: 1
Estimated Production Cost: ?
In the spring/early summer of 1963, the serial Ben Jerrod ran for a few months. It was a landmark show since it was the first daytime drama to be shown in color. It aired on April 1, 1963, the same day as The Doctors and General Hospital. The show lasted one season and consisted of 65 half-hour episodes. The show aired on NBC and had a relatively brief run when compared to other daytime dramas. Two months on the air is extremely brief in the world of soap operas. Michael Ryan, who later went on to work on the soap Another World, starred in the show.
Ben Jerrod
