The Iconic ‘AHS’ Line Jessica Lange Hated So Much, She Refused a Second Take

American Horror Story: 13 brings back the “greatest hits” from the show’s history, according to Ryan Murphy. And they’re doing so with “callbacks” to some of the show’s most beloved scenes, including Jessica Lange‘s iconic delivery of, “I can’t spend eternity here; it reeks of fish and cat piss. What is this… knotty pine?!” from Coven. While fans love that line, Lange hated it, Murphy revealed to TV Insider at the American Horror Story: 13 premiere on September 23. He also revealed that the “knotty pine” line is the only take in existence, because Lange refused to say it twice.

American Horror Story Season 13 brings back a litany of the show’s long-time recurring ensemble members as their most iconic characters, including Lange, in her first appearance since her cameo in Apocalypse (Season 8). Prior to that, Lange’s last full AHS season was Season 4, Freak Show.

Sarah Paulson, Angela Bassett, Evan Peters, Gabourey Sidibe, Frances Conroy, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, and Leslie Grossman are also among the returning cast, and they’re all playing characters from past seasons, and potentially some new ones.

Murphy told TV Insider that the recurring stars know their characters so well, they often offered different lines on the set of Season 13 when they felt the script didn’t align with their character. It’s a welcome collaboration for Murphy, who trusts his cast implicitly. They made suggestions “all the time” in this season and seasons past, Murphy said, “and we always say, ‘OK!'”

Fiona was SICK “KNOTTY PINE” pic.twitter.com/F0N51VJbK6

— Xay (@hoodopulence) August 16, 2024

“Sometimes they refuse to say things, and I have to go on set and beg them to,” he shared. “Many, many times in the history of this show, I’ve been called to set because Jessica’s like, ‘I don’t like that, I don’t want to say that.’ ‘Knotty pine’ is a perfect example of that.”

That line, spoken by Lange’s Coven character Fiona Goode, is high on the list of the actor’s greatest line deliveries in the series, and Murphy said that shocks her to this day.

“I knew it was good, and she did not like it. She said, ‘OK, I’ll give you one take.’ And she did one take, and that’s the take that’s in the show,” Murphy said. “She and I laugh now, because she’s like, ‘Why is that a thing?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know, I always thought it would be.’ We recreate that scene and more this season. We do a lot of that this season with our greatest hits, callbacks, and things like that.”

Murphy said that his American Horror Story cast has “more ownership of the characters than I do.”

“Sarah Paulson has a lot of ideas about Cordelia. Jessica has a lot of ideas. Angela Bassett knows exactly what she wants Marie Laveau to be, and on and on and on,” said Murphy. “So at this point, they’re in charge. They figure out what they want to do. We write a blueprint or a script, and they figure it out with us. They’re collaborators.”

Prepare for cat piss and knotty pine 2.0 in American Horror Story: 13, premiering September 24 on FX.

American Horror Story: 13, Premieres Thursday, September 24, 9/8c, FX