“Welcome to the greatest show on Earth,” declares Elsa Mars, played by Jessica Lange, as she greets the audience in the new official trailer for American Horror Story 13, and never has that line sounded more fitting. The thirteenth season of Ryan Murphy‘s series is set to bring back on screen a remarkable number of characters and performers already seen in previous installments. The result is a spine-tingling reunion, with Coven’s witches, and the characters from Murder House, Freak Show, Hotel, and Cult ready to share the same nightmare. The new season will premiere in the United States on September 24, 2026, while in Italy a Disney+ release date has not yet been set.
American Horror Story 13: Coven witches return, and more
The trailer devotes substantial space to the Coven protagonists. We see Sarah Paulson in the role of Cordelia Goode, Angela Bassett as Marie Laveau, and Emma Roberts again as Madison Montgomery. Gabourey Sidibe returns as Queenie and Jamie Brewer as Nan. But the most anticipated return is probably Jessica Lange once more as Constance Langdon, the unforgettable lead of Murder House. Lange won’t be the only link to the older seasons. Evan Peters returns as Kai Anderson, straight from Cult, but his involvement seems even more peculiar, as the actor will also portray other characters in the saga.
If the witches weren’t enough, the trailer also features one of the series’ most unsettling characters: Twisty the Clown, played by John Carroll Lynch in Freak Show. His return is accompanied by images of eerie creatures, terrifying animals, and atmospheres decidedly nightmarish. Alongside Twisty, Mena Suvari appears as the Black Dahlia, along with numerous other familiar faces.
American Horror Story 13 Will Be Like the Avengers
Showrunner Ryan Murphy explained the nature of this enormous crossover, which he himself has described as a kind of “Avengers” of American Horror Story. “Everyone thinks it’s a Coven continuation, but it isn’t,” he said. The goal, therefore, is not to tell a new story exclusively tied to witches, but to bring together characters from different seasons to face a definitive evil.
The mystery of Season 13 is the plot
Despite the trailer revealing a wealth of details, the plot of American Horror Story 13 remains enveloped in mystery. Among the elements that have emerged so far is a mysterious Manhattan mansion that is destined to become a new cursed site in Murphy’s universe. The Robichaux Academy for Exceptional Girls set—the witches’ school from Coven—has also been rebuilt. The number 13 may also play a role in the story. In the trailer, John Waters warns Kai and Winter that the number signifies “instability” and “chaos.”
A Cast Full of Returns
Beyond the leads already mentioned, the cast also includes Kathy Bates, Billie Lourd, Leslie Grossman, Joey Pollari, Avantika, Elle Chapman, Berto Colon, Alex Consani, Frances Conroy, Mat Fraser, Seth Gabel, Orlando Jones, Paul Anthony Kelly, Tig Notaro, Madelaine Petsch, Fedor Steer and Zach Villa, as well as John Waters. In short: the thirteenth season seems determined to transform the entire history of American Horror Story into one single, vast universe.
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