I’m opening with a confession. I didn’t expect to be writing this review just yet. I thought I’d finish American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace first. But four episodes in and it was just too dark. It is not Friday night fare. I will finish it, but in a different time slot.

So American Horror Story: Freak Show rode to the rescue. It might sound odd as a choice considering how I have just spoken about not wanting anything to dark. But AHS at least gives a dash of camp fun in among the bloodshed. Even some dark humour as well. There is something to break it up and preventing an unrelenting tone.

The plot of this season of the franchise focuses on the freak show ran by wannabe star Elsa Mars (Jessica Lange in a swansong performance). She hires suspected murderers Dot and Bette, siamese twins, to draw in the punters to her show, but is upstaged by them. Hunting for the murderers are the cops, and when one gets too close he is killed by another of the freaks. Oh, and there is a psycho clown killing and kidnapping people. Throw in a strongman who is also on the run from the law and you have essentially a circus of criminals.

You may be wondering where the fun is. Well, for a start Lange plays Elsa perfectly. Still dreaming but jaded, there is a sharp wit to her masking a sadness. The back and forth between the very different twins is also playfully caustic. True, it lacks the out-and-out dark humour of Coven or Apocalypse. But then we are dealing with a very different beast.

The only true darkness is in the Twisty plotline and to a certain degree the Del one. Obviously the threads will wax and wane throughout the season, but I hope they don’t come to dominate over other, more well-rounded stories. Let us see Elsa take centre stage as much as possible.

It’s because of my aversion to constant misery I will avoid some seasons. Asylum may be the most-highly regarded, but I still don’t see a reason to experiment with it. For now Freak Show fits just fine.