‘American Horror Story’ Season 13: Which Fan Favorite Characters Are Returning?

American Horror Story Season 13 started as a return to the Coven season, but now it seems to be shaping up to be more of a mixtape of the greatest characters to ever form a coven, work in a circus, or survive a downtown Los Angeles hotel or the apocalypse. And with this greatest hits playlist of a season comes a flurry of fan-favorite characters that audiences can’t wait to see return.

Currently, the list of returning actors for Season 13 is both massive and fantastic, with returning favorites that include Sarah Paulson, Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Evan Peters, Emma Roberts, Angela Bassett, Billie Lourd, Gabourey Sidibe, John Carroll Lynch, Mat Fraser, Mena Suvari, Zach Villa, and Seth Gabel, as well as new AHS castmembers Ariana Grande (who was in Ryan Murphy‘s Scream Queens), Paul Anthony Kelly (from Murphy’s Love Story), John Waters (a.k.a.. the Pope of Trash), Berto Colón, Joey Pollari (Monster: The Ed Gein Story and The Beauty), Madelaine Petsch, and more.

By the looks of the cast, it appears to be a fan-favorite all-star mashup of all the best seasons. The cast, the confirmations, and the Instagram posts lean towards a return to the witchier, more magical, and bonkers seasons of AHS, much to the delight of fans who favored those seasons.

“I know which ones the fans liked the most. They love Murder House, Asylum, Coven, Freak Show, and they loved Cult,” Murphy told Variety about what to expect.

Murphy also explained that some actors will be playing multiple characters from the past. “Some of them will be playing two characters from two different seasons in the same scene. Evan was, at one point, playing two different characters and talking to himself. So it was really fun and tricky to make, and I loved that. I’ve edited almost all of them, and I think they’re really good.”

Here is a look at a few of the returning players.

American Horror Story, Season 13, September 2026, FX