American Horror Story: Every Actor NOT Returning For Season 10

The cast for the upcoming season 10 of American Horror Story features many beloved alumni, but several regulars will be sitting out the popular horror anthology’s latest installment. The show’s creator Ryan Murphy announced the cast via an Instagram video in February, but the video has since been removed. The announcement was made against the backdrop of a deserted stretch of beach with waves lapping calmly against the shore with Orville Peck’s “Dead of Night” providing the soundtrack. The show’s arguably biggest stars Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters, are back on board, having broken their shared eighth straight season streak by not appearing on season 9, American Horror Story: 1984. Also returning for the landmark season 10 are Lily Rabe, Kathy Bates, Leslie Grossman, Adina Porter, Billie Lourd, Finn Wittrock, and Angelica Ross. Joining them will be first-timer Macaulay Culkin.

Season 1 American Horror Story: Murder House premiered in 2011, and the narrative revolved around the Harmon family who moved into an L.A. mansion filled with the evil spirits of former inhabitants. While each subsequent installment featured new locations, new stories, and new characters, many actors returned from previous seasons to tackle new roles enabling Murphy to build a rapport with certain performers and write parts with them in mind. The outcome is an impressive assortment of talented artists who have gone on to appear in his other projects.

Before production on season 10 being brought to a halt by COVID-19, theories about the thematic premise were running rampant. Throughout the Spring, Murphy dropped “clues,” including images of a storm-ravaged coastline and the hint of something insidious washing or crawling ashore. Fans narrowed the focus on aquatic related terrors such as sirens and mermaids or even an homage to Jaws. Murphy also posted a picture of the Rubber Man on Instagram. Murphy told TV Guide episode 8 of American Horror Story: 1984 held a big clue, pointing to urban legends such as Bigfoot. As far as season 10’s cast goes, when it comes to crossovers and cameos, Murphy keeps the audience guessing; just because one of his go-tos isn’t attached from the jump doesn’t mean they won’t pop up. For now, viewers shouldn’t expect to see these fan favorites.

Jessica Lange

Lange continues to work with Murphy. She starred as movie legend Joan Crawford in Feud: Bette and Joan and appeared as Dusty Jackson on season 1 of the Netflix series The Politician. Lange reprised her role as Constance Langdon on American Horror Story: Apocalypse, which featured a Murder House–Coven crossover. This may give fans hope that Murphy can lure Lange back once again, but the actress isn’t interested. In 2019, when asked if she’d ever go back to American Horror Story, Lange told EW, “I don’t think so. I feel like I got the best of it in those first four seasons.”

Emma Roberts

Emma Roberts made her American Horror Story premiere on season 3 Coven, playing Madison Montgomery. After she returned the following year for Freak Show, Murphy cast her in his horror spoof series for FOX Scream Queens. The show ran for two seasons (2015-2016). The series was canceled, and Roberts made a brief and bloody appearance in season 7 American Horror Story: Cult and reprised her role as Montgomery for season 8 Apocalypse. On season 9, 1984, the actress played Brooke Thompson, who managed to survive multiple serial killers and the Friday the 13th inspired Camp Redwood. After being front and center in two seasons back to back, Roberts may need a break. Murphy told Deadline that he’s surprised by how much the actors love doing the show because it’s so hard to make.

The decision may also have been personal. Roberts and her American Horror Story co-star Evan Peters split in early 2019 after five years together, which could explain Peters’ season 9 absence. The twosome might not be ready to reunite onscreen just yet. In June 2020, Roberts confirmed that she’s expecting her first child with her boyfriend, Garrett Hedlund, which would have been problematic if she was committed to season 10. Since Murphy told ET he plans to revisit a storyline with the Coven witches, fans probably haven’t seen the last of Madison Montgomery or Roberts.

Denis O’Hare

Denis O’Hare has appeared as the “Burned Man” on Murder House, Spalding the creepy, doll-loving butler on Coven, the homicidal con man Stanley on Freak Show, a transgender front desk clerk on American Horror Story: Hotel, and the dual roles of actor William van Henderson and former owner of the house of horrors on American Horror Story: Roanoke. O’Hare hasn’t appeared on an episode of American Horror Story since 2016 despite receiving two Emmy nominations for his work on the show, and his popularity among fans. O’Hare has continued to churn out award-worthy performances on series such as Big Little Lies and This Is Us. The actor plays Dr. Edmund Hague in Joss Whedon’s upcoming science-fiction drama, The Nevers, which—like the next installment of American Horror Story—is set to premiere in 2021. A 2017 interview with Cinema Blend may provide some insight into why the former True Blood actor stepped away from Murphy’s show:

“The vibe on True Blood is very different than Horror Story. True Blood was a very fun cast and a very fun set. Horror Story is a little less cohesive in terms of a family, it doesn’t really feel like a family. It’s a harder work day, just because the material is a little more upsetting or challenging. It’s hard to compare. All these shows feel different because they’re shot in different places, the writing teams are different, the showrunners are different.”

This somewhat confirms what Murphy has said about the show being tough to work on. Also, HBO revealed O’Hare was part of TheNevers’ cast in July 2019 — long before Murphy had finalized the cast for season 10.

Cody Fern

Perhaps one of season 10’s most shocking omissions is Cody Fern, who burst onto the American Horror Story scene with his stellar turn as Michael Langdon, aka “the Antichrist” on Apocalypse. Fern appeared on 1984 playing Xavier Plimpton, one of the doomed would-be camp counselors who spent a night trying to fend off psychotic killers. During the show’s 100th episode celebration in October 2019, Fern told HollywoodLife he’d be willing to return for another season. “I mean, I think all of that is always a conversation with Ryan [Murphy]. You know, Ryan has his ideas, and so you always hope to be included. I have something happening next year, so we’ll wait and see.” 

No word on the mystery project Fern mentioned, but a scheduling conflict could be one explanation why Fern isn’t involved. Murphy has temporarily sidelined actors before. Following the success of Murder House, Taissa Farmiga, who played Violet Harmon, wasn’t cast in season 2. In 2013, Murphy told EW, “There wasn’t really a role for her. I feel very protective of her, and I didn’t want her to go back into the loony bin—it was too dark. So I thought well, ‘I want Taissa to be one of the leads next year.” Murphy cast Farmiga as Zoe Benson on Coven, and she reprised the role on Apocalypse. While Fern may not have been a good fit for season 10, Murphy likely has plans for the talented young actor moving forward.

Frances Conroy

Nominated for two Emmy Awards for her work on American Horror Story, Frances Conroy is sitting out her second season in a row. She has embodied an assortment of oddball characters: a fashion-forward witch who can’t quite seem to stay dead on Coven and Apocalypse, a radical feminist rabble-rouser on Cult, the victim of matricide on Freak Show, the Angel of Death on Asylum, and an inhospitable cannibal on Roanoke. It’s obvious Murphy and Conroy have enjoyed collaborating over the years, and there doesn’t appear to be a specific reason why fans won’t see Conroy when season 10 finally airs.

The 66-year-old actress shows no signs of slowing down. Conroy’s recent appearances have been on Hulu’s Castle Rock, Netflix’s Dead to Me, and as Penny Fleck, mother of the Joker in the Oscar-nominated film of the same name. She began filming Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog in New Zealand early this year, but production was halted due to COVID-19—filming resumed in June.

Angela Bassett

Angela Bassett plays Athena Grant on Murphy’s 9-1-1, which premiered in 2018. The FOX series about first responders is entering its fourth season as of 2020. Bassett joined the Murphy franchise fold during season 3, Coven. She played the voodoo queen Marie Laveau. Bassett went on to appear on Freak Show, Hotel, and Roanoke. In October 2018, Bassett told THR that she was “a bit in my feelings” that Marie Laveau hadn’t returned for Apocalypse, but the character popped up during the season finale to help her fellow witches take down Michael Langdon. Bassett isn’t confirmed for season 10, but the actress has proven she can keep a secret so that she could surprise viewers once again.

Dylan McDermott

Whether most fans consider Murder House to be the best season of American Horror Story because it was the first, or because other installments pale in comparison is anybody’s guess. One of the highlights of Apocalypse occurred when Madison Montgomery and Behold Chablis (Billy Porter) visited the birthplace of Michael Langdon, whose fate is foretold on the Murder House finale. Dylan McDermott played the philandering psychiatrist, Dr. Ben Harmon, whose efforts to hold his crumbling family together ended with them all dead. In addition to reprising his character on Apocalypse, McDermott appeared on Asylum and 1984. It seemed as if McDermott would be gearing up for another go-around, but no such luck.

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