American Horror Story Favorite Reveals Why They Quit the Franchise (And Are Excited to Be Back in Season 13)

Ryan Murphy’s long-running horror anthology American Horror Story will be returning for its 13th season next year, and it’s stacked the cast in a major way for the big occasion. The show has featured a number of returning stars over the years, and several fan favorites are making their awaited returns in season 13. That includes one beloved star who appeared in many of the past seasons but chose to walk away and hasn’t been in the series since season 10. Now they are back in the mix, and they’ve finally revealed why they initially left the series.

When American Horror Story season 13 arrives next year, it will feature the anticipated return of Sarah Paulson to the franchise. Paulson was a staple of the series since the very first season, and after she took the lead role in season 2, she was a fixture of the show until she left in season 10. In an interview with Variety, she revealed how much the show changed her life, but also revealed that after 10 seasons, she was simply burnt out.

“There’s this phenomenon I’ve talked to other actors about that is really hard to describe unless you’re running through the woods simulating terror for six months out of the year, every year,” Paulson said. “Your body doesn’t know the difference between the real and imagined, at least not the way I work. If I’m terrified, I’m hyperventilating and I’m running from something, then I’m actually experiencing that.”

Paulson has stayed in touch with her series co-stars in the cast group chats, but now she will be reuniting on screen with Jessica Lange, Angela Bassett, Evan Peters, and Kathy Bates in season 13, and she couldn’t be more excited to jump back in.

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“I missed it, and I’m really looking forward to doing it again,” Paulson said. “It was like this dovetailing of my longing for it and the idea that I would be reunited with [all of them] just came together at the right time.”

Season 13 hasn’t revealed much in the way of details, but we do know that in addition to Paulson, Bassett, Bates, Lange, and Peters, the season will also see the return of Ariana Grande, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Gabourney Sidibe, and Leslie Grossman. There are also seemingly multiple connections to past seasons in terms of characters, as a line from Emma Roberts’ Coven character Madison Montgomery was featured in the teaser. The quote reads, “Surprise, bitch. I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me”, and you can check out the full teaser above.

American Horror Story season 13 is expected to debut in 2026.

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