There’s at least one more season of American Horror Story on the horizon and details about the upcoming Season 13 are starting to come in.
It’s difficult for any television series to sustain itself for a dozen seasons, but American Horror Story has experienced a particularly fascinating trajectory that’s often more chaotic than it is creative. Regardless of one’s opinion on American Horror Story – its current state or the series in general – there’s no denying that it ushered in a new wave of anthology storytelling that’s still popular a decade later. There’s been an increasingly blasé approach to American Horror Story seasons that it’s sometimes easy to forget about the tremendous pomp and circumstance that surrounded the early seasons and how each year’s theme would be teased and revealed like a major event. American Horror Story’s production and promotion has become more perfunctory, but a final season is often a good way to rejuvenate a project and bring it back to its roots.
In January 2020, American Horror Story, hot off the heels of AHS: 1984’s success, was renewed for three more seasons. This resulted in AHS: NYS, AHS: Delicate, and the upcoming 13th season. Production for the 13th season is not yet underway, which has prompted some big questions regarding what many fans have presumed to be American Horror Story’s final season. Concluding with a foreboding 13 seasons seems all-too appropriate for a horror series that’s as campy as American Horror Story.
Many details about American Horror Story season 13 – including theme – have yet to be revealed. However, there are a few things that are known and some other possible presumptions.
What’s Been Confirmed About ‘American Horror Story’ Season 13?
News on American Horror Story Season 13 has been very mum. That being said, this is a series where there are certain constants that are usually in play. American Horror Story has established quite the repertory of actors who are frequently just as important to the season as the writing and theme. While it may seem like a given that certain cast members will be involved, Ryan Murphy revealed to Variety that he “was talking to Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters” about the new season. This isn’t a firm confirmation, but at least an indication that two of American Horror Story’s most reliable actors will be back. Hopefully other familiar faces like Taissa Farmiga, Lily Rabe, Denis O’Hare, and Emma Roberts are also along for what could be the show’s farewell season.
Curiously, one OG American Horror Story cast member and Ryan Murphy mainstay has seemingly confirmed that she won’t be along for Season 13. Jessica Lange was asked about the prospect of her returning for the show’s final season and glibly responded, “Oh Christ, no…I’m not doing it.” Lange cited the fact that it’s been over a decade since she was last on American Horror Story as the primary reason here. Lange, in all likelihood, is being honest. However, it wouldn’t be the first time that an actor plays coy about a surprise appearance. Lange has continued to work with Murphy on productions like The Politician and Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, the latter of which even treated Lange’s appearance as a surprise. There’s clearly no bad blood between Lange and Murphy.
What Might Be On The Table For ‘American Horror Story’ Season 13?
There’s been no clear indication of what might be American Horror Story’s guiding theme in Season 13, although there have been some veiled hints in the past. Murphy was vocal following American Horror Story’s Murder House and Coven crossover season, AHS: Apocalypse, that this wasn’t the last that audiences had seen of the Coven witches. There was an indication that the witches could return in Season 13, but these comments were made all the way back in 2018. It’s very possible the bloom is now off the rose and there’s less value in the concept. There’s also only so much that can be done in a post-Apocalypse timeline, as much as audiences would get a kick out of seeing Cordelia Goode, Madison Montgomery, and Zoe Benson again.
There have also been times in the past where Murphy attempted to crowdsource potential American Horror Story themes. In 2021, Murphy held an online poll regarding possible themes for a future season that fans could vote on. These included, Sirens/Merfolk, Werewolves, Cryptids/Mythological Horror, Wild West/Civil War, October/Halloween, and Salem. In the end, “Bloody Mary” and “Plague” emerged as the two finalists. Despite the poll, none of these potential themes – even the finalists – became future American Horror Story seasons (although Bloody Mary is the focus of a second season American Horror Stories episode). There’s the potential that one of these ideas, like “Sirens,” is turned to in the final season. For what it’s worth, Paulson herself said that her vote was for “AHS: Sirens,” during the poll.
There have been increasingly ambitious attempts regarding how to mix things up with each American Horror Story season, whether it’s Roanoke’s mid-season twist, Double Feature’s split narrative, or Delicate’s shift to a new showrunner and a story that adapts novel source material. In this respect, it wouldn’t be out of place for American Horror Story to turn to its episodic spin-off, American Horror Stories, for seasonal inspiration. There are several American Horror Stories episodes that feature characters from American Horror Story that are treated like expansions to their seasons. However, the reverse approach could also be taken. There are some especially strong American Horror Stories installments that American Horror Story could turn into a full season. There is of course the risk that these strong ideas lose their edge when they’re extended into a full season, but there’s a lot of rich material the team could pull from here.
What Does The Ideal Final Season Of ‘American Horror Story’ Look Like?
American Horror Story has tackled the majority of genre tropes over the course of 12 seasons. In this respect, it can be difficult to figure out how to top past ideas and what would make for an appropriate final season. American Horror Story could really play into the superstitious nature of the number 13 and treat the season like a tribute to Final Destination or slashers where characters from every previous season are being eliminated. There’s even the potential to riff on the never-trendier multiverse concept as multiple Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, and Emma Roberts characters confront and compete against each other for supremacy in some apocalyptic Battleworld setting.
The last thing that American Horror Story needs to do is put more fuel on the multiverse fire, but this is a unique series that actually has the opportunity to do something original and reflexive with its anthology format. In fact, the show’s final season has the potential to tie everything together with a meta angle that’s akin to Wes Craven’s New Nightmare or some of the rumors that have circled Scream 7. A final season that’s set in the “real world” and follows Ryan Murphy and company as they set out to film the definitive season is exactly the type of self-indulgent gonzo subversion that the series loves. Everyone could play heightened versions of themselves as the season explores and pokes fun at American Horror Story’s legacy and the cast’s relationship with it all.
There’s also the possibility that Season 13 won’t be American Horror Story’s end. The series has only been renewed this far and increasing apathy – and a busier schedule on Murphy’s part – has bolstered the belief that FX won’t renew the series for more. After all, Murphy’s new Grotesquerie is something that he wants to keep running and it could become his new horror outlet on FX. American Horror Stories may be in limbo, but Feud, American Crime Story, and American Sports Story are still presumably producing new content to keep Murphy busy at FX, in addition to his recently announced The Beauty adaptation. Murphy is overbooked, but he clearly has a friendly relationship with FX.
American Horror Story Season 13 could be the end for now, but Murphy would likely have the freedom to do another season – or miniseries – several years down the road, on his own schedule, if he were so inclined to do so. If anything, the series might even benefit from a few years of hibernation before it returns with a greater sense of purpose.
Whatever is in store for American Horror Story Season 13, it’s sure to be some of the season’s most talked about television – for both better and for worse.
We’ll continue to report further American Horror Story Season 13 details as they develop.
