American Horror Story 13 Brings Back Sarah Paulson, Jessica Lange and Its Most Iconic Characters
American Horror Story 13 brings Sarah Paulson, Jessica Lange, Angela Bassett and more back for 13 episodes, with a major LGBTQ+ legacy behind it.
Sarah Paulson, Jessica Lange, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd and Gabourey Sidibe are among a huge returning cast for American Horror Story: 13, which begins on Disney+ in the UK on September 25, 2026.
Instead of quietly moving into another completely separate chapter, season 13 is bringing characters from across the anthology together.
Some of American Horror Story’s biggest characters are back
Disney has confirmed the return of Constance Langdon, Cordelia Goode, Madison Montgomery, Marie Laveau, Rubber Man, Twisty the Clown and Kai Anderson, with further surprises still being held back.
That immediately connects the new season to Murder House, Coven, Freak Show and Cult, creating what could become one of the biggest crossover events in American Horror Story history.
Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Gabourey Sidibe, Leslie Grossman, Joey Pollari and Jessica Lange headline the cast.
Thirteen episodes for season 13
FX has leaned fully into the number. American Horror Story: 13 contains 13 half hour episodes. UK viewers get the first three on Disney+ on Friday, September 25, followed by another three episodes the following Friday.
Two episodes will then arrive each Friday until the thirteenth and final episode lands in the UK on October 30, just before Halloween.
The American premiere takes place one day earlier on September 24, which explains why some international episode listings show dates a day ahead of the confirmed UK Disney+ schedule.
Filming has also brought the production to New York, with season 13 scenes photographed during production in Manhattan.
American Horror Story has a long LGBTQ+ history
For LGBTQ+ viewers, the returning faces arrive with more than nostalgia behind them.
American Horror Story has repeatedly put LGBTQ+ stories and characters into major roles. Sarah Paulson’s Lana Winters in Asylum remains one of the most memorable, while Hotel introduced Denis O’Hare’s Liz Taylor, a transgender woman whose story became one of that season’s emotional highlights.
American Horror Story: NYC went considerably further, focusing heavily on gay men in 1980s New York and using horror to explore the fear surrounding the emerging AIDS crisis.
Season 13 also includes openly LGBTQ+ performers such as Tig Notaro and John Waters among its enormous cast. That continues a connection with LGBTQ+ actors, characters and storytelling that has existed throughout much of the programme’s run.
Watch the official trailer:
One of television’s biggest horror franchises returns
The wider franchise already has a remarkable record. Disney says American Horror Story has received more than 100 Emmy nominations since its 2011 launch and has been streamed for more than 700 million hours globally.
All 12 previous seasons are currently available on Disney+ in the UK, giving viewers plenty of opportunity to revisit the characters who are about to return.
That may prove useful because season 13 is clearly reaching deep into the show’s history rather than pretending everything that came before no longer exists.
For long term fans, seeing Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Angela Bassett, Evan Peters and others back together is a major event. For LGBTQ+ audiences, it also brings back a series that has spent more than a decade making LGBTQ+ characters part of mainstream television horror.
American Horror Story: 13 begins on Disney+ in the UK on September 25, 2026, with three episodes available immediately.
All previous seasons are also available to stream now. Keep checking SoapLandTV for more LGBTQ+ television and film coverage.
