“American Horror Story” has been a huge hit for FX since its inaugural season in 2011, but the third installment–“Coven”–has already proven itself to be the biggest season so far, and it’s only four episodes in. Now, it’s been announced that the show will indeed be back for a fourth cycle, and Jessica Lange will return with it.
Because of the show’s unusual format–each season is it’s own series, with different characters, plotlines, and actors–it was a question worth asking at the beginning if fans would keep tuning in. But tune in they have, and the show and it’s actors have received 34 Emmy nominations since 2011.
“Put simply, Ryan Murphy is a master television producer,” FX Networks CEO John Landgraf said. “Every year, they create a riveting and brilliant new miniseries. AHS: Coven is the best yet, and I have no doubt that the next installment will be even better.”
Lange, who has starred in all three installments, says that the current season brings in a little levity after the second cycle, which got pretty dark with tales of depraved nuns and torture.
“I think Ryan was maybe even surprised by how fast and how dark it got last year,” Lange said. “Of course, that’s right up my alley. I like that a lot. But I think this season was a deliberate attempt to lighten it and add some humor. And I’m not against humor; my sensibilities just always tend toward the more tragic or the darker.”
As for the actress’s role in the next cycle, mum’s the word; Murphy isn’t giving anything away except to say that it’s something Lange has wanted to do for a long time.
“I can’t say anything. All I’ll say is, Jessica Lange has always wanted to play a Marlene Dietrich figure, and now she gets to,” he teased.