UPDATED: Ryan Murphy announces additional cast on Twitter.
In June, American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy tweeted that the Murder House and Coven crossover would be this season’s story, and he later revealed the title: American Horror Story: Apocalypse. At an FX presentation for the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles on Friday, executive producer Alexis Martin Woodall and cast members Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates, Emma Roberts, Adina Porter, Billie Lourd, and Leslie Grossman opened up about the crossover.
Here are 11 things we know about American Horror Story: Apocalypse.
Paulson revealed that Jessica Lange, who played Constance Langdon in Murder House and Fiona Goode in Coven, would return for American Horror Story: Apocalypse.
“Jessica will be returning as Constance in an episode that I’m going to direct,” Paulson announced.
Guess who's coming back for AHS APOCALYPSE? Taissa Farmiga, Gabourey Sidibe, Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy and….Stevie Nicks. So thrilled the family is together again! #AHSApocalypse
— Ryan Murphy (@MrRPMurphy) August 7, 2018
Murphy later tweeted on Tuesday, August 7 that Taissa Farmiga, Gabourey Sidibe, Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy, and Stevie Nicks would also return and that Cody Fern (American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace) joins the cast as Michael Langdon.
Excited to announce Cody Fern will be playing the role of Michael Langdon in American Horror Story: Apocalypse. Premieres September 12 on FX. pic.twitter.com/kFYQ2GAncd
— Ryan Murphy (@MrRPMurphy) July 26, 2018
Paulson has been in every season of American Horror Story. She confirmed that she would return as both the witch Cordelia from Coven and as television personality Billie Dean Howard from Murder House. She also revealed that she’ll play a third character named Venable, which may be altogether harder than playing conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler in Freak Show.
Paulson will direct episode six. Evan Peters will also direct an episode yet to be determined.
“Our schedule’s a little in flux,” Woodall said. “That’s not a mystery. We don’t know exactly which one.”
The title of the season leaves a lot of possibilities open. The season begins with the end of the world, some 18 months from now, and goes from there.
“The story begins with the end of the world, and then our world begins,” Woodall said.
Given the characters of Murder House and Coven are ghosts and witches respectively, all of those characters could linger around after all of humankind is wiped out.
Paulson said, “It’s the apocalypse in the truest sense of the word.”
The original use of “apocalypse” was in the Bible, so if she means the Biblical apocalypse that would mean full rapture and hell on earth.
“It starts in the real world. It’s very tangible,” Woodall said. “What’s the fantasy of what comes next?”
Cordelia ended up the Supreme at the end of American Horror Story: Coven. Then the apocalypse happens, so she can’t even enjoy her reign.
“She is the Supreme for now,” Paulson said. “At the beginning of our story, that is the title she still holds. I don’t know how long that’s going to last. Enjoyment is not possible at this particular juncture in this story. She’s not running around like her mother snorting cocaine and throwing young witches up against the wall, though she may like to be.”
The AHS cast members who were in neither Coven nor Murder House revealed the names of their new characters for Apocalypse. Leslie Grossman plays Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt. Billie Lourd plays Mallory.
“Just Mallory,” Lourd said.
Adina Porter plays Dinah Stevens. Kathy Bates is playing a new character even though she was in Coven. With Madame Delphine LaLaurie decapitated and gone, Bates will play Ms. Meade.
Roberts returns as Madison Montgomery.
Madison was an outrageous character in Coven. Death wasn’t enough to keep her down, and she returned even more scheming than before. Roberts said she’s taking Madison to the next level in Apocalypse.
“I was told yesterday by the director to be bitchier,” Roberts said. “It’s delicious to get to play her again for sure.”
Peters was not on the panel, but his co-stars confirmed what Murphy revealed at a FYC panel earlier this year: Peters will play a hairdresser.
“He did my hair today,” Paulson joked.
Three of the Coven witches were on the panel, and they confirmed Lange would be playing her Murder House character, not Fiona. That doesn’t rule out the rest of the Coven. Stay tuned.
“[Murphy] invited all the witches to return,” Woodall said. “Whether or not they return is TBD.”
As the cast of American Horror Story: Apocalypse returned to the set to continue filming, FX publicist John Solberg announced that the network has picked up another season of AHS, which will make it a full decade’s worth of Horror from Murphy.
American Horror Story: Apocalypse premieres September 12 at 10 p.m. on FX.
