American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy has opened up about the “thrilling” new season, with the boss declaring that the upcoming 13th season it will be a “tribute” to the entire series so far.
The highly-anticipated instalment is set to premiere next month, with Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Billie Lourd, Emma Roberts, Kathy Bates, Gabourey Sidibe, Angela Bassett, Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange and Leslie Grossman all returning.
In the new season, the returning cast members are set to reprise several of their previous roles, with Lange set to play all four of her characters from previous seasons. Paulson will play six of her characters, and Peters will play five.
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Likening the line-up to the Avengers, Murphy said this season will see all the characters coming together to defeat the ultimate evil, teasing (via The Hollywood Reporter): “This season is a tribute to all of the seasons, which we’ll never do again. But it was fun.”
“It was like getting the band back together and once they got on the set with me, it was like we never stopped making this,” he added. “Most of them had accents and they instantly fell back into their characters. It was fascinating and thrilling.”
Despite the star-studded nature of the cast, Murphy reasoned that Lange was the key figure in the line-up, and even admitted that he “probably wouldn’t have done” the season if she hadn’t agreed to return.
Though Murphy is the series creator, he has often dipped in and out of the horror anthology. For the 13th season, however, he is firmly back in the fold after directing the pilot episode, a move which was very much welcomed.
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“I loved doing this season because I had not directed an [episode] since Freak Show,” he recalled. “I directed the pilot this year, and I just love the process of going to all the cast members, all of whom are very busy, and saying, ‘Hey, can we get the band back together?'”
Despite the stacked cast, there was one departure from the series, with Ariana Grande having to exit the show due to a scheduling conflict. The singer, who appeared in the Wicked franchise, is embarking on a world tour soon.
American Horror Story airs on FX and streams on Disney+.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.