No, you can’t have Jessica Lange back for “American Horror Story.” But Ryan Murphy just got you Kathy Bates.
The actress will be returning for the upcoming eighth installment of his FX horror anthology series, as a lead alongside Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters ,a person with knowledge of the production told TheWrap.
Entertainment Weekly first broke the news in an interview with Murphy published Tuesday.
“Kathy and Sarah Paulson have a lot of great stuff to get to do,” Murphy told EW. “So, with Evan Peters, the three of them are the leads this year.”
Bates last appeared in “AHS: Roanoke,” the franchise’s sixth installment. She didn’t make it into the seventh and most recent season, “AHS: Cult,” due to her filming schedule with Netflix comedy “Disjointed.” But that series didn’t get renewed for a second season by the streaming service, so she’s free to join whatever nightmare Murphy has cooked up for you next.
The producer also may or may not have given EW scoop on the possible title for Season 8: “Radioactive.”
“I heard about that rumor,” Murphy said, when asked about the theories swirling online. “Well, that’s based on a fact that we’ve cleared a lot of titles for that show. It’s an interesting idea. I can neither confirm nor deny.”
Murphy revealed the first details about Season 8 of the FX anthology series during the Television Critics Assocation’s winter press tour in January. The creator confirmed it will take place 10 to 20 years in the future and will be a “projection” story. Even though the next season is set in the future, Murphy says that’s not necessarily the installment’s theme.
“It’s still topical, but [set in] the future, which I’ve never done… I think people will like it,” Murphy told TVLine. “It’s different from what we’ve done before.”