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- Ryan Murphy, who created “Glee,” “American Horror Story,” “American Crime Story,” and “Feud” has been working with Fox for years.
- He credits Fox executives for his successful career in television.
- On the Television Critics Association press tour, Murphy said that he is hopeful about Disney’s acquisition of Fox, but admitted that it terrified him at first.
- Murphy is hopeful because he thinks Disney CEO Bob Iger has done a tremendous job with Pixar and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Star showrunner Ryan Murphy is optimistic about Disney’s acquisition of Fox, which he’s been working with for years.
At the Television Critics Association press tour, Murphy told Lucas Shaw of Bloomberg that because of Fox’s support of his career there, he’s “hopeful” about the Disney acquisition, but he’s also “very emotional.”
In December, Disney agreed to acquire 21st Century Fox’s film studio and a large chunk of its television production assets for $ 52.4 billion. The package includes a collection of pay-TV channels like FX and National Geographic as well as entertainment properties like the X-Men, “The Simpsons,” and “Avatar.”
Murphy’s career in television has boomed over the past decade, and specifically the past five years. While some of his shows like “Glee” and “American Horror Story” are campy, they tell stories about diverse characters that are culturally relevant, like 2017’s “Feud: Bette and Joan,” which shed a light on the mistreatment of women in Hollywood.
Murphy started with Fox in 2003, when he co-created the show “Nip/Tuck” for FX. Murphy told Bloomberg that before that, he’d been told that he was “unemployable.”
But “Nip/Tuck” was a success, and paved the way for “Glee” and “American Horror Story,” which led to “American Crime Story” and “Feud: Bette and Joan.” “American Horror Story,” which premiered in 2011, arguably started the trend of anthology series like “Fargo” and “True Detective” that aren’t miniseries, but tell a different story every season.
Murphy said he has been surrounded by people at Fox who have always encouraged him to follow his interests and passions, specifically noting John Landgraff who runs FX and Dana Walden, who runs Fox.
When he heard about the Disney deal, Ryan said he was worried at first and wondered, “Am I going to have to put Mickey Mouse in ‘American Horror Story?'”
But Murphy said that Disney CEO Bob Iger was encouraging and kind, and let him know that the reason Disney acquired Fox was because it was interested in what was already there — not in transforming it. “Iger has done a tremendous job taking over communities and keeping those communities intact — like Pixar and Marvel,” Murphy said.
Murphy said it’s a great time to be a creator, and that no matter where he is, he wants to continue hiring more women and minorities, and fighting for women to get equal pay.
“I want to continue wherever I go,” he said.
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