Ryan Murphy revealed the news on Thursday.
Ryan Murphy is making good on a promise to American Horror Story viewers.
The eighth season of his FX horror anthology will feature the highly anticipated crossover of earlier seasons Murder House and Coven. The co-creator and showrunner announced the news on Twitter on Thursday, referencing his witches from Coven.
“The Coven/Murder House AHS crossover season won’t be happening next year…because it’s happening THIS YEAR. AHS #8 WITCHES RULE THIS SEPTEMBER,” he said in the post.
In January, Murphy had said season eight would not be the crossover season, and that it instead would likely be the theme for season nine. (The series has been renewed through 2019.) At the time, he said not all of the actors were available, even though they had already outlined the crossover season, and that the eigth season would be set in the “near-distant future.”
Now, it appears the actors are on board. The prolific TV creator has been promising that an upcoming season of AHS would see the worlds from the first and third seasons collide. Confirmed for the eighth season, so far, are Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters and Kathy Bates, along with Cheyenne Jackson, Billy Eichner, Adina Porter, Leslie Grossman and a new face to the franchise, Joan Collins.
Paulson and Peters, who are each set to make their directorial debuts with season eight, both co-starred in Murder House and Coven. Bates co-starred in Coven. Leading lady Paulson, especially, is no stranger to playing multiple roles throughout the franchise. After playing conjoined twins in season four’s Freak Show, she reprised her Murder House character, Billie Dean Howard, for season five’s Hotel; she again pulled double duty to bring back Lana Winters, her role from season two’s Asylum, alongside her Roanoke characters. The main characters, including Peters, had dual roles in Roanoke.
Of the upcoming season, Murphy has promised fan-favorites will return — Jessica Lange would be a big one — and has called the season a “heightened” one: “It’s not necessarily as real and grounded as the past season. We’re sort of getting back to Asylum and Coven. That’s the tone of it.”
Murder House, which aired in 2011, starred Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott in the starring roles, along with Taissa Farmiga and Peters, with Paulson in a smaller role. Coven, which aired in 2013, starred former leading lady Lange along with Paulson, Bates, Farmiga, Peters, Emma Roberts, Angela Bassett and Gabourey Sidibe, among others.
Murphy has also suggested that Lady Gaga, who co-starred in the later Hotel and Roanoke seasons, would play a part in the Murder House–Coven crossover season after revealing in Roanoke that her character was the original “supreme” witch from Coven.
Filming on the new season was set to begin around June 16 and will return in September on FX.
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