American Horror Story 13 Trailer Brings Jessica Lange Back

The full American Horror Story: 13 trailer is here, and FX is no longer being coy about the size of this reunion. Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates and several other franchise favorites return when the season premieres September 24.

Instead of teasing a completely separate story, the trailer pulls characters and monsters from across the show’s history into the same nightmare. Constance Langdon, Cordelia Goode, Madison Montgomery, Marie Laveau, Rubber Man, Twisty the Clown and Kai Anderson all appear, making this look like the anthology’s biggest crossover since Apocalypse.

The AMERICAN HORROR STORY 13 Trailer Finally Shows the Crossover

The new footage connects Murder House, Coven, Hotel, Freak Show and Cult without explaining why these characters are colliding. That is probably the right choice for now. The appeal is seeing familiar faces again, but the season still needs a new story strong enough to keep the reunion from feeling like a roll call.

Jessica Lange is the clearest centerpiece with her four confirmed Season 13 roles, and the trailer makes her return feel central rather than ceremonial. Paulson’s Cordelia and Bassett’s Marie also put the witches back near the front of the story.

Jessica Lange at PaleyFest in 2012. She will start in American Horror Story 13 Trailer — Jessica Lange at PaleyFest in 2012. Photo by Mingle MediaTV via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

What the Episode Titles Tell Us

FX’s rollout begins with three episodes on September 24. The first six titles are “13,” “1:13 AM,” “Rauhnacht,” “Is That All There Is?,” “Date Night” and “The Return of Devil’s Night.” Later titles include “The Baddest Witch of Them All,” “Madison’s Happy Ending” and “The Prodigal Son,” all of which hint at how deeply the season will reach into earlier mythology.

The opening episodes introduce Ben, who takes a hospice job for a mysterious client after a near-death experience. That new thread gives the returning characters something to enter rather than asking nostalgia to carry the entire season by itself.

What We Think

This trailer is much more convincing than a list of names and the fact Twisty the Clown is back has us cautiously optimistic. The returning actors are exciting, but seeing Constance, Cordelia, Marie, Twisty and the Rubber Man occupy the same season makes the scale of the idea feel real.

The risk is still obvious: too many callbacks can turn a horror story into franchise homework. If the hospice plot gives the season a solid emotional center, though, the old characters could feel like consequences instead of cameos. That is a far more interesting promise than simply bringing everyone back for lucky number 13.