American Horror Story will return for its 13th season on September 24, 2026, featuring a massive crossover uniting every previous chapter of the horror anthology.
Showrunner Ryan Murphy confirmed that the new chapter, which premieres at 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time, will bring together characters from all past installments to confront an absolute evil. The season consists of 13 half-hour episodes broadcast on the FX television network and streaming on Hulu.
The broadcast schedule opens with three episodes on premiere night, followed by another three episodes one week later, before switching to a weekly rollout of two episodes per week. While the show will not appear on official Russian streaming services, professional voiceover versions are expected to be available.
Season 13 Crossover Details
Network FX initially approved a three-season renewal for the franchise in 2020, though filming for the 13th installment only commenced in April 2026. The official release date was announced in July 2026, marking the first new content since the season 12 finale aired in April 2024. Prior to the pause, new seasons had aired annually from 2011 through 2023, with the exception of 2020 due to the pandemic.
Murphy originally planned to continue the storyline from season 3, which had previously linked with season 8. However, the producer expanded the concept to incorporate elements from every chapter created since the show debuted in 2011.
Returning lead actors will take on multiple characters throughout the crossover. Sarah Paulson will portray six or seven roles, while Evan Peters will play five roles across the 13 episodes.
Returning Cast Members and Roles
The ensemble features main cast members playing figures from earlier storylines. Sarah Paulson returns as journalist Lana Winters from season 2 and witch Cordelia Foxx from seasons 3 and 8. Evan Peters reprises his roles as the ghost teenager Tate from season 1, student Kyle from season 2, and Hotel Cortez founder James Patrick March from season 5.
Jessica Lange returns to the franchise as neighbor Constance Langdon from season 1 and Supreme Witch Fiona Goode from season 3. Kathy Bates returns as slave owner Delphine LaLaurie from season 3, hotel manager Iris from season 5, and Roanoke colony leader Thomasin White from season 6.
Angela Bassett returns as voodoo queen Laveau from season 3 and vampire film star Desiree Dupre from season 5. Emma Roberts portrays witch Madison Montgomery from season 3 and camp counselor Brooke from season 9, while Billie Lourd plays witch Mallory from season 8 and counselor Montana from season 9.
Gabourey Sidibe returns as witch Queenie from seasons 3, 5, and 8. Leslie Grossman reprises her roles as socialite Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt from season 8 and camp director Margaret Booth from season 9.
Pop singer Ariana Grande was initially scheduled for a guest appearance in the season, but withdrew due to scheduling conflicts. Murphy said he loves and supports Grande, calling her potential role a major risk, but indicated he might revisit the idea for a future season depending on her availability.
Jessica Lange Reverses Departure Decision
Jessica Lange decided to rejoin the series despite previously stating she had permanently stepped away. Lange left the franchise after appearing in five seasons, and in February 2025, she told reporters she had not acted in the project for ten or twelve years and would not do so, insisting she would not return even if season 13 were the final chapter.
By October 2025, reports confirmed that Lange had reconsidered and agreed to star in the upcoming chapter. Lange previously won an Emmy Award in 2012 for her portrayal of Constance Langdon in the first season, while Lady Gaga earned the show its second Emmy in 2016 for her role as the vampire owner of the Hotel Cortez in season 5.
Anthology Franchise History and Plots
Created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, the 18-plus anthology series presents self-contained horror stories based on urban legends, historical events, and modern social commentary. First airing in 2011, episode runtimes typically span about 40 minutes. On Kinopoisk and IMDb, the series holds matching ratings of 7.9 out of 10.
Season 1 follows psychiatrist Ben Harmon, played by Dylan McDermott, his wife Vivien, played by Connie Britton, and their daughter Violet, played by Taissa Farmiga, as they move from Boston to a cheap Los Angeles mansion where over 20 brutal murders occurred. Violet falls in love with Tate Langdon, a violence-obsessed patient of Ben who is also the ghost son of their neighbor Constance, while former resident Larry and maid Moira also haunt the family.
Season 2, set in 1964, centers on journalist Lana Winters exposing abuse inside Briarcliff psychiatric clinic, managed by stern Sister Jude and Dr. Arden, a former Nazi conducting human experiments. Lana meets Kit, an inmate accused of being serial killer Bloody Face who claims he and his wife Alma were abducted by aliens. Supervising psychiatrist Oliver Thredson, played by Zachary Quinto, is revealed as the real killer, and a devil possesses one of the nuns.
Season 3 takes place nearly 300 years after the Salem witch trials, following young witch Zoe, played by Taissa Farmiga, at a New Orleans academy alongside students Madison, Nan, played by Jamie Brewer, and Queenie. After Madison accidentally kills fraternity student Kyle, the witches resurrect him using black magic, while dying Supreme Witch Fiona Goode searches for her successor among the students.
Season 4, set in 1952 Florida, follows Elsa Mars leading a struggling freak show featuring bearded woman Ethel Darling, played by Kathy Bates, her son Jimmy with lobster claw hands, strongman Dell Toledo, played by Michael Chiklis, and his three-breasted wife Desiree. Elsa recruits conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler from a hospital after their mother's murder in exchange for silence.
Season 5 takes place at Los Angeles Hotel Cortez, run by the blood-drinking Countess, played by Lady Gaga, alongside manager Iris, addict Sally, and the ghost of serial killer founder James Patrick March. Detective John Lowe, played by Wes Bentley, enters the hotel while investigating a series of brutal homicides.
Season 6 uses a mockumentary format titled Roanoke to depict married couple Matt, played by André Holland, and Shelby Miller moving into a North Carolina woodland home built on land where 16th-century English colonists vanished. The couple faces attacks from figures in colonist attire and rains of human teeth.
Later Seasons and Behind the Scenes
Season 7 explores political turmoil in suburban Detroit following the 2016 presidential election, where Donald Trump's victory triggers severe phobias in progressive feminist Ally Mayfair-Richards while Republican Kai Anderson builds a political cult aiming for national leadership.
Season 8 depicts a nuclear apocalypse where survivors led by Wilhemina Venable and Miriam Mead shelter in underground bunkers before Michael Langdon, the Antichrist played by Cody Fern who was born in the season 1 finale, arrives to select individuals for a Sanctuary.
Season 9, set in 1984, follows counselors Brooke, Montana, Xavier, played by Cody Fern, Ray, played by DeRon Horton, and Chet, played by Gus Kenworthy, working at Camp Redwood, where sole survivor Margaret Booth, played by Leslie Grossman, runs the site as escaped killer Mr. Jingles, played by John Carroll Lynch, returns to repeat a 1970 massacre.
Season 10 splits into two novellas, featuring screenwriter Harry Gardner, played by Finn Wittrock, taking blood-sucking talent pills in Provincetown, Massachusetts alongside his pregnant wife Doris, played by Lily Rabe, and daughter Alma, played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong. The second novella follows college students discovering a historical government deal between President Dwight D. Eisenhower, played by Neal McDonough, and aliens.
Season 11 details 1980s New York police inaction during murders of minorities investigated by detective Patrick Read, played by Russell Tovey, and reporter Gino Barelli, played by Joe Mantello, while Dr. Hannah Wells tracks a fatal disease jumping from deer on Fire Island to humans. Season 12 focuses on actress Anna Victoria Alcott, played by Emma Roberts, experiencing mysterious interference during a pregnancy achieved through in vitro fertilization, while her husband Dexter, played by Matt Czuchry, attributes her concerns to stress.
Showrunners Murphy and Falchuk previously collaborated on Glee, Nip Tuck, and Scream Queens, with Murphy also creating the Monsters anthology with Ian Brennan. Actors Emma Roberts and Evan Peters, who portrayed a couple in season 4, dated off-screen from 2014 until 2019, an on-and-off relationship that included a 2013 incident in Montreal where Roberts was arrested following a hotel room altercation witnessed by a neighbor.
