The ensemble cast includes Zachary Quinto, Joseph Fiennes, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Lily Rabe, Lizzie Brocheré, Dylan McDermott, James Cromwell, and Jessica Lange, with all returning from the first season, except newcomers Fiennes, Brocheré, and Cromwell.
Created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the cable network FX, the series is produced by 20th Century Fox Television.
Like its predecessor, the second season was well received by television critics, particularly for the performances of Lange, Cromwell, Quinto, Paulson, Peters and Rabe.
As a result, the season garnered seventeen Primetime Emmy Award nominations, more than any other show, including Outstanding Miniseries or Movie, and four acting nominations for Lange, Paulson, Cromwell, and Quinto, with Cromwell winning for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.
Despite being formally anthological, some of the cast members reprise their roles in the fourth and the sixth seasons, Freak Show and Roanoke, such as Rabe, Naomi Grossman, Paulson, and James Cromwell, portraying Sister Mary Eunice McKee, Pepper, Lana Winters, and a young version of Dr. Arthur Arden, also known as Hans Grüper, respectively.
[14] In May 2012, Murphy revealed that the setting for the second season would be an institution for the criminally insane that Jessica Lange's character operates in the 1960s,[16] called Briarcliff Manor and located on the East Coast.
"[21] In August 2012, Murphy announced the season's new name by stating, "We picked 'Asylum' because it not only describes the setting – an insane asylum run by Jessica Lange's character which was formerly a tuberculosis ward – but also signifies a place of haven for the unloved and the unwanted," he said.
"[26] At the PaleyFest 2012, Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, and Lily Rabe were confirmed to return as main cast members for the second season.
[16] It was reported in March 2012 that Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine was in final negotiations to appear in the second season and that he would play Leo, a "contemporary character and half of a couple called "The Lovers," according to Tim Stack of Entertainment Weekly.
[33] In June 2012, Joseph Fiennes joined the main cast as Monsignor Timothy Howard, a possible love interest for Jessica Lange's Sister Jude.
[40] In August 2012, Blake Sheldon was cast in the dual role of Devon and Cooper – both described as "tall, thin and psychopathic."
[42] Mark Margolis recurred as Sam Goodwin, while David Chisum and Amy Farrington guest-starred as a caring husband and a troubled mother, respectively.
[43] In mid-October, Ian McShane joined the season in the recurring role of Leigh Emerson, a psychotic man who murders people while wearing a Santa Claus suit; he has a vendetta against Sister Jude.
[24] The exteriors for the second season were filmed in Hidden Valley, Ventura County, California, a rural area outside Los Angeles.
The website's consensus reads, "American Horror Story: Asylum crosses boundaries to shock and scare with sexy subplots and some innovative takes on current social issues.
"[49] James Poniewozik, from Time, said of the early episodes of the second season, "AHS: Asylum feels like a more focused, if equally frenetic, screamfest.
"[50] Maureen Ryan of The Huffington Post said, "It's to the credit of Asylum's writers, directors and cast that the emotional pain of the characters often feels as real as their uncertainty and terror.
"[51] However, Verne Gay of Newsday gave the season a C grade, writing that it "has some good special effects, just not much of a story to hang them on.
"[52] Linda Stasi of the New York Post thought this season was "over the top", stating, "I need to enter [an asylum] myself after two hours of this craziness.