Sarah Paulson To Direct On American Horror Story Spinoff Series

FX is betting big on the American Horror Story franchise once they can finally get production going once again. A tenth season of the flagship series is in the works while a spin-off anthology is also in the works. The later, titled American Horror Stories, will see series co-creator Ryan Murphy reunite with one of his muses on the series, Sarah Paulson; but this time it won’t be in front of the camera. According to Deadline Paulson is in line to direct one of the episodes of the spin-off, marking her second time as director for the franchise (Paulson helmed the highly anticipated “Return to Murder House” episode in American Horror Story‘s eighth season).

“The state of the world and California aren’t having their finest moments in dealing with this virus,” Paulson said during the Netflix TCA panel today, detailing plans for American Horror Stories and American Crime Story: Impeachment. “Both productions will be shooting in Los Angeles. We were less than two weeks from starting Impeachment. I heard rumors of October, then 2021. A lot of rumors, no facts.”

The American Horror Stories spinoff will consist of short, one-hour stories that are contained to single episodes, rather than full seasons. Deadline notes that each of the episodes will be self contained “ghost stories,” but details about what Paulson’s episode will include were not revealed.

“We couldn’t be more excited about our roster of new and returning shows slated through next year,” Eric Schrier, President, FX Entertainment said when the series was ordered. “It has been an extraordinary time for FX over these past three months with the launch of FX on Hulu, which has transformed our business. We believe the continued strength of our original series coupled with the growing awareness of FX on Hulu as our streaming platform will make the FX brand stronger and more relevant and accessible than ever before.”

American Horror Story proper will return for its tenth season in 2021, having been delayed a calendar year from its initial premiere window. Paulson will step in front of the camera for the tenth season along with the franchise return of Evan Peters, having been absent from last year’s AHS: 1984 despite appearing in every previous season. They’ll be joined in the new season by fellow returning cast members Kathy Bates, Leslie Grossman, Billie Lourd, Adina Porter, Lily Rabe, Angelica Ross, and Finn Wittrock. Newcomers to the tenth season will include former child star Macaulay Culkin, who reportedly has an “insane” role in the season.