has unveiled the first official trailer for American Horror Story: 13, and the upcoming season looks set to bring the anthology series’ sprawling mythology together in a way fans have never seen before.
Described as an enormous crossover event, the new season appears to unite characters and storylines from several previous instalments of American Horror Story, setting the stage for what could be one of the show’s most ambitious chapters yet.
The trailer promises plenty of supernatural chaos, sinister mysteries and familiar faces, with Jessica Lange making her highly anticipated return to the franchise alongside a host of other returning characters.
Lange reprises her iconic role as Constance Langdon from Murder House, marking her first appearance in the series since 2018. However, that’s not the only character she will portray this time around, with the actress reportedly returning as four of her most recognisable AHS characters.
The new season also marks the acting debut in the franchise for legendary filmmaker John Waters, who appears as the mysterious Mr. Phibes. The trailer gives audiences a glimpse of Waters dressed in a bloodied white suit and wielding a knife.
The footage begins with Lange’s Elsa Mars from Freak Show introducing viewers to what she calls the “greatest show on Earth.” Things quickly take a much darker turn when Evan Peters’ Hotel character James March declares that it is “witch-hunting season.”
That warning appears to spell trouble for the witches of Coven, with Sarah Paulson’s Cordelia Goode sensing that something sinister is coming.
The trailer subsequently becomes a whirlwind of familiar faces and references to previous seasons. Among the characters glimpsed are Twisty the Clown, Rubber Man, Marie Laveau, Madison Montgomery and Kai Anderson, bringing together elements from Murder House, Coven, Freak Show and Cult.
The scale of the crossover has previously been compared by creator Ryan Murphy to Marvel’s Avengers, with the returning characters coming together to confront a much larger threat. Rather than simply revisiting familiar characters for nostalgia, the season appears to be building towards a conflict involving multiple corners of the American Horror Story universe.
Adding to the anticipation is the season’s unusual format. American Horror Story: 13 will consist of 13 half-hour episodes, giving the series an opportunity to tell its sprawling crossover story across a more condensed running time.
The new season will premiere on FX and Hulu on September 24, 2026.
With Jessica Lange back, John Waters joining the AHS universe and characters from across the anthology’s history converging in one story, American Horror Story: 13 could become one of the most significant seasons in the show’s history.
