Everything We Know About American Horror Story Season 13

Surprise, witches: American Horror Story is finally coming back, and Season 13 is shaping up to be the horror anthology’s biggest reunion yet.

Created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, American Horror Story debuted in 2011 with Murder House . Each installment has traditionally introduced a new setting, story, and collection of nightmares, albeit with many of the same actors returning in entirely different roles.

Over time, however, those supposedly standalone seasons have become increasingly connected. Apocalypse brought together characters and storylines from Murder House, Coven, and Hotel , revealing that virtually anything, or anyone, from the show’s past can return.

Season 13 is set to take that crossover approach even further. The new installment will bring back some of the franchise’s most recognizable stars and several beloved characters, including the witches of Coven . It will also end the show’s longest break between seasons following the conclusion of Delicate in April 2024.

Here’s everything we know so far about American Horror Story Season 13, including its premiere date, returning cast, filming status, and connections to past seasons like Coven .

FX technically ordered American Horror Story Season 13 over six years ago. In January 2020, the network renewed Murphy and Falchuk’s anthology for three additional installments , guaranteeing Seasons 11, 12, and 13 before Season 10 had even aired.

Season 11, the majorly underrated NYC , debuted in 2022, followed by Delicate in 2023. The latter installment, which starred Emma Roberts and franchise newcomer Kim Kardashian, was split into two parts because of the Hollywood strikes. Its final episodes eventually arrived in spring 2024.

Updates about Season 13 remained scarce until Halloween 2025, when Ryan Murphy Productions revealed an absolutely stacked cast and announced that the series would return in 2026. The teaser ended with text of the iconic Coven line delivered by Roberts' Madison Montgomery: “Surprise, bitch. I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me."

That initial announcement pointed to a Halloween 2026 return, but fans won't have to wait quite that long. American Horror Story : 13 , as FX is currently calling the installment, will premiere Sept. 24, 2026 on FX and Hulu. It will also stream internationally on Disney+.

Production began in New York City in April 2026 and continued into the summer. Set photos have since shown members of the cast filming throughout Manhattan, including in SoHo and Washington Square Park.

FX has not announced how many episodes Season 13 will contain. Recent installments have generally run between nine and 10 episodes, though the number 13 would certainly provide the show with an irresistible opportunity to return to the longer episode counts of its earliest seasons.

Season 13’s biggest selling point is undoubtedly its cast. Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Jessica Lange , Kathy Bates, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Gabourey Sidibe, and Leslie Grossman are all returning to the franchise.

Calling that lineup stacked would be an understatement. Collectively, those actors have appeared in nearly every era of American Horror Story. Peters, who last appeared in 2021's Double Feature , described the installment as a “greatest-hits season,” while Bates called it an “all-stars” reunion. Bates’ appearance may be brief, however: The Matlock star said she was returning to New York to film for only one day.

The biggest surprise by far is Lange, who had repeatedly said that her time on American Horror Story was over, in fact, as recently as March 2025, her exact words were "Oh Christ, no" when asked about a potential Season 13 return. Lange starred prominently in the show’s first four installments before stepping away after Freak Show , though she briefly returned as her Murder House character Constance Langdon in Apocalypse . Season 13 marks her first appearance in the franchise since 2018.

FX has not officially confirmed who Lange and Peters will play, though the shot of Lange that Murphy shared on Instagram marking the start of Season 13 filming certainly looks like Constance with her signature 1960s-style bouffant. Peters is rumored to be playing his Hotel character James Patrick March (who also appeared briefly in Apocalypse ), though that's thus far just fan speculation.

At least a few identities are no longer a secret. Paulson is returning as Cordelia Goode, while Roberts is once again playing Madison Montgomery. Set photos also revealed Frances Conroy as Myrtle Snow, Sidibe as Queenie, and Grossman as Apocalypse witch Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt. Bassett confirmed on the Disney Upfront red carpet in May that she was playing Marie Laveau, who first appeared in Coven .

John Carroll Lynch and Mat Fraser are reportedly returning as their Freak Show characters Twisty the Clown and Paul the Illustrated Seal, respectively. Mena Suvari, who previously appeared briefly as real-life murder victim Elizabeth Short (aka the Black Dahlia) in Murder House and Apocalypse , will also return, although her role has not been revealed.

Season 13 will feature plenty of fresh blood alongside the familiar faces. Filmmaker and professional provocateur John Waters confirmed that he has a “big new part” in the season, though he understandably could not offer any details. Paul Anthony Kelly, who broke out in Love Story , the first season of Murphy’s newest anthology series chronicling John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette’s romance, has also joined the cast in an undisclosed role.

Other new additions include Joey Pollari, Berto Colón, Avantika, model Alex Consani, and Grace Dumdaw. Charlie Carver, who played Adam Carpenter in American Horror Story: NYC , has also been spotted on set. Riverdale star Madelaine Petsch is also reportedly in the new season.

Ariana Grande was initially announced as part of the ensemble, which would have reunited her with Murphy after Scream Queens . However, the singer dropped out after production dates conflicted with her Eternal Sunshine tour. Grande did not film any scenes before leaving the project.

Murphy has not revealed a complete synopsis or even an official subtitle for Season 13. Still, one element is no longer in doubt: The witches are back.

Paulson’s return as Cordelia was announced with the tagline “The Supreme rises,” while Murphy confirmed that production had rebuilt the entire Robichaux Academy set. Roberts’ Madison, Conroy’s Myrtle, Sidibe’s Queenie, and Grossman’s Coco have also been photographed filming together in witchy black outfits on the streets of New York.

The group’s return makes Season 13 at least a continuation of the Coven storyline, although it remains unclear how directly it will follow Apocalypse . That installment significantly changed the witches’ history when Mallory (Billie Lourd) traveled through time, killed Michael Langdon before he could become the Antichrist, and prevented the apocalypse.

Mallory’s spell effectively rewrote the timeline, resurrecting several characters while leaving the Coven unaware of much of what had happened. With Lourd returning for Season 13, the show could finally explore what became of Mallory after she altered history, assuming Lourd is playing her again.

The other returning characters suggest that the story will reach well beyond Robichaux Academy. Twisty and Paul connect the season to Freak Show, while Lange could bring either Coven' s Fiona Goode or Murder House ’s Constance Langdon back into the fold. Peters has similarly played numerous characters who could fit into a crossover.

Season 13’s New York filming location may also be significant. Photographs from production show the Coven witches walking through SoHo alongside new cast members Avantika, Consani, and Dumdaw, potentially positioning them as a new generation of witches.

Lourd and Sidibe have offered only appropriately cryptic hints about how these pieces fit together. Lourd called the season “definitely different,” while Sidibe likened it to “a casserole of your favorite foods.” Considering the sheer number of returning actors, characters, and corners of the *AHS* universe apparently involved, that description feels pretty accurate.

Whether Season 13 becomes a full Coven sequel, an even larger Apocalypse -style crossover, or something stranger remains to be seen. But after more than two years away, American Horror Story is betting that its most feared number, and a reunion of nearly everyone fans have missed, will make for one hell of a comeback.

American Horror Story Season 13 premieres Thursday, September 24 at 9 p.m. ET on FX and Hulu,