Ryan Murphy shows are known for being visually striking, and for often including the same company of actors time and time again. Chief among them is Sarah Paulson, who has starred in most of the seasons of American Horror Story (which is streaming with a Hulu subscription). She’ll be back for the upcoming Season 13, but explained the reason why she needed to take a break from the terrifying anthology series.
Fans were hyped when the AHS Season 13 announcement revealed that many of the OG actors were returning, including both Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson. The latter actress was noticeably missing for the past two seasons NYC and Delicate, and in an interview with Variety the Glass actress explains why she took that sabbatical from the series, offering:
There’s this phenomenon I’ve talked to other actors about that is really hard to describe unless you’re running through the woods simulating terror for six months out of the year, every year. Your body doesn’t know the difference between the real and imagined, at least not the way I work. If I’m terrified, I’m hyperventilating and I’m running from something, then I’m actually experiencing that.
Honestly, this tracks. Being an iconic Scream Queen is tiring work, as its an inherently physical job. And Paulson’s body doesn’t know that it’s all pretend, resulting in exhaustion for her mind and body. As such, she decided to step away from American Horror Story for a few years. Luckily she’ll be back with a vengeance with the mysterious 13th season.
Part of why Paulson became such an icon in AHS is how different her characters have been throughout the years. And for some seasons like Hotel she’s played multiple characters in the same season. Through it all we’ve seen her scream, cry, run, and be murdered along the way. Talk about heavy work.
Aside from AHS, Paulson has also worked with Ryan Murphy on American Crime Story and, more recently the Hulu show All’s Fair, which has been trashed by critics but quite popular on the streamer. Later in the same interview, Paulson explained why she wanted to return to the horror anthology series, saying:
I missed it, and I’m really looking forward to doing it again. It was like this dovetailing of my longing for it and the idea that I would be reunited with [all of them] just came together at the right time.
Looks like the cast of AHS 13 has helped get her psyched, as she’ll be reunited with frequent collaborators Jessica Lange, Emma Roberts, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Billie Lourd and more. So on top of having the time away from the show, she’s seemingly happy to get the old band back together.
There was no American Horror Story this year for Halloween, but Season 13 is expected to arrive next fall as part of the 2026 TV schedule. Hopefully we get information about its theme and release date sooner rather than later.