Sarah Paulson has hinted that this season of American Horror Story may be her last. American Horror Story, the Ryan Murphy anthology series where each season tells its own distinct story, has been running on FX since Murder House in 2011. Although each season is independent, they frequently cross over with other American Horror Story seasons and usually feature many of the same cast members playing different characters.
Paulson has been with American Horror Story from the very beginning, appearing in every season except 1984, the ninth season which aired in 2019. She returned for the tenth season, Double Feature, which is currently airing on FX. This season she plays Tuberculosis Karen and Mamie Eisenhower, bringing her number of AHS characters up to about 14 (in season 6, Roanoke, she played a character in a reenactment and then the actress who played that character, making it difficult to nail down an exact number).
Unfortunately, it seems like there may not be a 15th American Horror Story character for Sarah Paulson. Per Us, she was recently asked what her next Ryan Murphy project would be. She admitted that for "the first time in about three years" she doesn't know. However, she did admit that this is "probably" her last season of American Horror Story. Read the full quote here:
I don’t know. It’s the first time in about three years where I don’t know. I think this is my last season of Horror Story, probably. I mean, I don’t know. Every time he comes to me with some wackadoodle-stoodle character, I tend to be like, “Yes! Let’s do it!” So, I don’t know. This is the first time. So, we’ll see.
Although Paulson's tenure on American Horror Story may end, there's no reason to believe she'll stay far away from Murphy's orbit. She's been working with the showrunner since 2004 when she appeared on an episode of his plastic surgery melodrama Nip/Tuck. Since AHS premiered, she has made an appearance on his show Feud: Bette and Joan, starred in his One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest prequel series Ratched as the title character, and won an Emmy for portraying Marcia Clark in The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story. Sarah Paulson is currently appearing on American Crime Story's third season as well, portraying Linda Tripp during the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.
If this comes to fruition and Paulson does indeed leave the show for good, American Horror Story will have lost a key element of its success. Her versatility and indefatigable willingness to push herself have given many of the show's over-the-top characters a necessary grounding in emotional truth. The show does have a deep bench of talented actors in the ensemble at this point, but Paulson's presence is part of what makes each season feel consistent with the others, and hopefully the show doesn't lose its way if she does elect to exit permanently.
Source: Us