Avengers of “American Horror Story,” assemble.

When does American Horror Story: 13 premiere? Everything we know about the “greatest-hits season” — and who’s returning

Avengers of “American Horror Story,” assemble.

By Allison DeGrushe

Allison DeGrushe

Allison DeGrushe is a timely SEO writer at **. She has been working at * *since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on Distractify.

EW's editorial guidelines

and Brianna Zigler

September 10, 2026 8:00 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Jessica Lange in ‘American Horror Story: 13’. Credit:

- *American Horror Story* season 13 is being described as the show’s “greatest-hits season.”

- *AHS* vets Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, and Jessica Lange are confirmed to star, while Ariana Grande recently exited the cast.

- The season will premiere on Sept. 24.

The number 13 is unlucky for some, but powerful to others. How does *American Horror Story** *see it?* *We’ll soon find out, as the FX horror anthology’s upcoming season will be, you guessed it, its 13th.

More than two years after season 12 concluded in April 2024, *AHS *co-creator Ryan Murphy teased that the horror anthology’s upcoming outing will be truly extraordinary. He even confirmed that it will herald the return of many beloved *AHS *alumni, including Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, and Jessica Lange, and that it will be a crossover event akin to the “Avengers of *American Horror Story*.”

“I didn’t want to just do a *Coven* reboot,” Murphy told *Vogue* in August 2026. “Everybody thinks that’s what it is; it’s not. I was very interested in the greatest villains we’ve done.” This season also notably marks Murphy’s first time in the *AHS* director’s chair since *Freak Show.*

Here’s everything we know about *AHS *season 13 so far, from the full cast to the release date.

What is *American Horror Story *season 13 about?

Jessica Lange in ‘American Horror Story: 13’.

Specific details haven’t been revealed yet, but a vague synopsis reads, “Bringing together an all-star cast, many of whom are reprising fan favorite roles, *American Horror Story: 13* continues to build on the anthology’s decades-long legacy that has been streamed more than 700 million hours across the globe and spawned a legion of dedicated fans.”

Fans got their first look at the new entry on April 6, when Murphy’s production company shared a sneak peek of Lange’s long-awaited return to the show.

“*American Horror Story*, Season 13,” reads the Instagram post’s caption. “Day One. The return of Jessica Lange!”

Every season of 'American Horror Story', ranked from worst to best

'American Horror Story' reveals 'Love Story' heartthrob's blond transformation

The photos show Lange standing in front of a large window. The actress, who’s appeared in five previous seasons of the anthology, is sporting a retro beehive, a blue dress, and black heels. The look gives major Constance Langdon vibes — and *Vogue* has since confirmed that Lange will reprise the *Murder House* character, along with her other previous *AHS* roles. Constance previously resurfaced in season 8, *Apocalypse*.

Before more details about the season emerged, some fans speculated that *AHS *season 13 could be a continuation of *Apocalypse* and *Coven, *the latter being the show’s third season. Why? Well, one Instagram user replied to the post asking for a “*Coven *[extension],” adding, “I need the witches in my life! Especially Angela Bassett as Marie Laveau.”

Murphy’s team replied with a single word: “Done.”

When *Vogue* probed Murphy for a hint about what the characters of *AHS *season 13 will be up against, he stayed mum but offered one tidbit: “In many seasons, the [characters] have battled the Antichrist. The only hint I’ll say is, ‘Let’s go above his pay grade for this.’ That’s my clue.”

Is there an *American Horror Story season 13 *trailer?

An official trailer for *AHS *season 13 arrived in September 2026, and it’s got a sneak peak at plenty of goodies that fans can look forward to ahead of the premiere. In addition to glimpses of Jessica Lange as Fiona Goode (*Coven*) and Elsa Mars (*Freak Show*), the trailer also features Evan Peters as Kai Anderson (*Cult*) and James Patrick Marsh (*Hotel*), Sarah Paulson as Cordelia Goode (*Coven*), Emma Roberts as Madison Montgomery (*Coven*), and John Carroll Lynch as the terrifying Twisty the Clown from *Freak Show.*

The trailer also reveals the season’s subtitle,* *which is simply *13,* and appears to indicate that the plot will center on the *Coven* characters, with Cordelia noting that she senses a harbinger of doom. March says at one point that it’s “witch-hunting season.”

Who’s in the *American Horror Story season 13 *cast?

Evan Peters and Billie Lourd in ‘American Horror Story: 13’.

*AHS *season 13 is bringing back several veterans of the series, including Lange, Paulson, Peters, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Roberts, Billie Lourd, Gabourey Sidibe, and Leslie Grossman. Many of these actors will also be playing multiple characters, including Lange, Paulson, Peters, and Lourd.

However, Paulson will be the actor taking on the most roles, with six on her plate. Lange, on the other hand, will be portraying all four of her *AHS* characters, and Lourd will be playing two: Mallory from *Apocalypse* and Winter Anderson* *from *Cult*.

Bassett shared her excitement at the LACMA Art + Film Gala in November 2025, admitting she’d always “hoped” to return to the series. “But as who?!” the two-time Golden Globe winner teased. “There’s still such mystery!”

Jessica Lange and Angela Bassett in ‘American Horror Story: 13’.

In January 2026, Peters, who also worked with Murphy on *Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story*, opened up to *The Hollywood Reporter* about why he came back. “First of all, it’s working with Ryan again, but second of all, he’s assembled the cast from all the different seasons,” he said.

“It’s sort of an alumni, and we’re all getting back together to do this greatest-hits season. So we’ll see what he writes and what it brings,” he continued. “But just the chance to be able to work with Sarah, Jessica, Kathy, Angela again and everybody involved. I’m interested to see what the scenes are and how it all plays out.”

Peters will play five characters, including Tate Langdon, James Patrick Marsh, and Kai Anderson — a task that Murphy thought could prove tricky while shooting. “The person who I think had the hardest time was Evan, because in one scene he had to play Tate/Rubber Man and Kai,” Murphy explained to *Vogue. “*So he had to have a conversation with himself. And I thought it was like, ‘Oh, this is going to be trouble.’ But Evan is such a pro that I think it only took two takes.”

When asked if Lange’s return caught him by surprise, Peters said, “Yes! Yeah, Ryan knows how to have those dinners. He will get you in a second. I was definitely shocked, but thrilled, honestly.”

That reaction makes sense, considering less than a year earlier Lange had laughed off the idea of returning to *AHS*. “Oh Christ, no. I mean, I haven’t done it for more than 10 years, 12 years, so, no, I’m not doing it,” she stated. However, she had clearly changed her tune by the time Murphy reached out to her about starring in season 13. She told him “‘Sign me up. I’d love to do it,’” he revealed to *The Hollywood Reporter *in August.

John Waters in ‘American Horror Story: 13’.

In February 2026, cult film icon John Waters revealed that he’d also joined the cast of *AHS *season 13. Speaking at a Valentine’s Day spoken-word show in his hometown of Baltimore (per the *Baltimore Fishbowl*), he announced, “I can’t say what role, but I have a big new part in *American Horror Story*.”

Ever the jokester, Waters added, “I’m typecast. I’m always either the devil or Chucky’s father… I’ve always been trying to steal Vincent Price’s career.”

The trailer also highlights more additions to the cast, like *Riverdale’s* Madelaine Petsch, Orlando Jones as Papa Legba, Paul Anthony Kelly (from Murphy’s *Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette*) playing a mysterious blond, Mena Suvari reprising her *Murder House* role as Elizabeth Short, a.k.a. the Black Dahlia, and Joey Pollari as Ben DeSoto, whose character Murphy describes as the “anchor” of the new season.

Is Ariana Grande in American Horror Story season 13?

Ariana Grande was initially announced as part of season 13, but exited the project in July 2026, citing scheduling conflicts with her Eternal Sunshine Tour. She also decided to step back from the public eye following the end of her tour in September.

In an interview with *The Hollywood Reporter,* Murphy talked about Grande’s exit and made clear that he didn’t take it personally. “I love Ariana Grande,” Murphy said. “We’re great friends. I had an idea and I came to her and she, very immediately, said, ‘I’m not sure because I think I’m going on tour.” I don’t think the tour had been announced, and she had obviously just finished the *Wicked* movie. So when it came time to do that episode, I called her up and she was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to juggle the tour with this.’”

However, Grande’s character may still end up appearing in a future season. “I said, ‘OK, if you can’t, we can push to another season.’ She said, ‘Great,’” Murphy explained.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

Is there a release date for *American Horror Story *season 13?

The cast of ‘American Horror Story: 13’.

*American Horror Story* season 13 will premiere on Thursday, Sept. 24, at 9 p.m. ET on FX and Hulu.

Where can I watch American Horror Story?

*American Horror Story *is currently available to stream on Hulu.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Horror”