Consider yourself warned. “American Horror Story” (9 p.m., FX) is not only the creepiest show of the year; it’s also the one show people will (or should) be talking about tomorrow. If this series doesn’t generate water-cooler buzz, then America no longer has a cultural water-cooler of common conversation. But that’s another story.

Fresh from “Friday Night Lights,” Connie Britton plays Vivien, the troubled wife of Ben (Dylan McDermott), a psychiatrist who can’t seem to help his own spouse recover from a difficult miscarriage. Things get worse after she catches him in bed with one of his students. In a gesture of healing, Ben suggests that the family move to Los Angeles.

Unluckily for them, they move into a very haunted house. Let’s start with the neighbors, including Constance (Jessica Lange), a failed actress with a daughter with Down syndrome whom she refers to as “the mongoloid.” Both mother and daughter are deeply in touch with the evil of the place, as viewers will discover almost immediately.

The place also comes with a permanent maid, Moira (Frances Conroy, “Six Feet Under”). In a terrific twist, most folks, including Vivien, see Moira as an older Irish woman, but to Ben, she’s a fetching, come-hither vixen (Alexandra Breckenridge). And that’s just the beginning of his delusions.

There’s also a subplot about their troubled teen daughter, Violet (Taissa Farmiga), who takes up with one of Ben’s more twisted and dangerous patients (Evan Peters) when she’s not battling cruel cliques in the school corridors.

It would be unfair to say much more other than to call “Horror Story” an ambitious attempt to reinvent the genre. While most haunted house stories feature long periods of inaction and suspense, “Horror Story” presents an onslaught of unsettling surprises and emotionally overwhelming moments.

Just when you think you’ve adjusted to the spooky atmosphere, Ben and Vivien engage in a powerful and raw argument about marital betrayal that certainly transcends the horror genre.

• Assembled from footage both new and familiar, featuring original and archival interviews, “George Harrison: Living in the Material World” (8 p.m., HBO) recalls the “quiet Beatle” with great affection. This two-part film, directed by Martin Scorsese, concludes Thursday.

Tonight’s other highlights

• Boot camp commences on “The X Factor” (7 p.m., Fox).

• Jean Smart and Alfred Molina return to guest-star on “Harry’s Law” (8 p.m., NBC).

• Claire fights for a stop sign on “Modern Family” (8 p.m., ABC).

• Amy Sedaris guest stars on “Raising Hope” (8:30 p.m., Fox).

• After a museum becomes a crime scene, one artist’s “body of work” falls under suspicion on “CSI” (9 p.m., CBS).

• Kyle MacLachlan guest-stars as a politician under the microscope on “Law & Order: SVU” (9 p.m., NBC).

• Emily targets the district attorney who framed her father on “Revenge” (9 p.m., ABC).

• “South Park” (9 p.m., Comedy Central) celebrates its 15th season.