The cast of American Horror Story season 11 will include fan favorite actors from previous seasons like Zachary Quinto and Billie Lourd. American Horror Story is a horror anthology television series that first premiered on FX in 2011, with its first season entitled Murder House. The series has received generally positive reviews, though some seasons have been better-received than others. American Horror Story does, however, remain popular among audiences and critics as it reinvents itself every season. Since 2011, the series has received dozens of accolades, including 94 total Emmy nominations, and 9 Golden Globe nominations.
While anthology shows have been done before, American Horror Story is unique in that each season of the series is self-contained. Though each season follows different characters and storylines, they can all somehow be connected - and, often, actors will appear in multiple seasons of the show portraying new characters. For instance, Sarah Paulson starred in 9 seasons of American Horror Story, portraying a different character each time, with the exception of the brief reprisal of her Murder House character Billie Dean Howard in seasons 5 and 8. Other recurring actors throughout American Horror Story's run include Evan Peters, Jessica Lange, and Kathy Bates. With season 11 now looming on the horizon, there's been much anticipation in seeing which alums will be back for the next terrifying batch of episodes.
With American Horror Story season 11 in the works, sources tell Deadline that some previous franchise-favorite actors will be returning. The list includes Quinto, Lourd, Patti LuPone, and Isaac Powell. The actors will be returning alongside new additions to the series, including Sandra Bernhard, Joe Mantello, and Charlie Carver. Lourd, Powell, Bernhard, and Carver were spotted in New York City filming scenes for season 11 this week. FX did not comment on these castings.
Though only appearing in 2 previous seasons of American Horror Story, Quinto was an immediate fan favorite. His appearance in American Horror Story season 11 will be Quinto's first time on the series since 2013. LuPone similarly hasn't been on the show since 2013, so both of their returns spark intrigue. Perhaps they were offered some very compelling roles, thus sparking their long-awaited reprisals. Lourd has been an American Horror Story mainstay for several seasons now, so her return makes perfect sense. Powell, meanwhile, just made his series debut last year.
In January of 2020, it was announced that American Horror Story is renewed through season 13, giving FX plenty of time to pull out all the stops for upcoming seasons. Although the title, plot, and theme of season 11 have been kept under tight wraps, there has been speculation that the series will be set sometime in the 1970s or 80s, which is similar to season 9's 1984. More cast members will likely be announced soon, though this early list is pretty thrilling. For example, longtime AHS fans must be eager to see Quinto returning to the series after nearly a decade away from it - and if his character is anything like his iconic role in Asylum, it's safe to say that American Horror Story season 11 is going to be pretty killer.
Source: Deadline