Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson and the ‘Coven’ on What Brought Them Back to ‘American Horror Story’ — and If This Is the End
Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson have returned alongside other familiar cast members for the 13th season of *American Horror Story*, an all-star crossover that reunites its Coven witches. Their return helps set up the characters as central to a story about saving the world, and reflects the appeal of revisiting roles that can be brought back through the series’ supernatural twists.
Lange agreed after Ryan Murphy said she could play all four characters she had established in the show’s first four seasons; Paulson says she was ready to return once she heard Lange was involved. Billie Lourd, Gabourey Sidibe and Leslie Grossman also came back, with the cast saying Murphy persuaded them to join. They understood the season might be the franchise’s last, although Murphy has since said he would like to continue it indefinitely.
- The Coven returns for *American Horror Story* season 13.
- Jessica Lange asked to reprise all four of her earlier characters.
- The cast thought this might be the franchise’s final season.
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American Horror Story is a long-running television drama where each season presents a new self-contained story with different characters and settings. One of its most celebrated seasons was Coven, which aired several years ago and featured witches as its central characters, with Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson among the cast.
The current season is a crossover that brings back many of those original Coven actors to reprise their roles, reuniting the cast from years earlier. The reunion was organised by Ryan Murphy, the show's creator, who brought together Lange, Paulson and other cast members from the Coven season to continue the witches' story.
The reunion is significant because the cast members had moved on to other projects and careers after Coven aired, so their return to these roles marks a notable gathering. Discussions around the season suggest it may be the final one in the franchise, which has added particular significance to bringing together so many original cast members from one of the show's most popular seasons.