After taking us to a haunted house in Murder House, inside Briarcliff Mental Institution in Asylum and into the inner workings of a modern-day school for witches in Coven, Ryan Murphy is heading to the carnival this fall for American Horror Story: Freak Show, the fourth season of his crazy, sexy, scary FX hit. We don’t know that much about the characters in Freak Show, but returning star Sarah Paulson (who has appeared on every season of American Horror Story so far) just gave us our first look at the crazy character she’s playing.
Yesterday, Paulson posted the following tweet, apparently revealing that the American Horror Story crew will be working to give her two heads for her role as one of the titular freaks:
So excited to be playing Bette AND Dot this season. Two heads are better than one! #AHSFREAKSHOW pic.twitter.com/jdZJSPercn
— Sarah Paulson (@MsSarahPaulson) June 12, 2014
Bette and Dot are just two of the nutty characters we’ll see when American Horror Story returns in the fall. Freak Show will take place at a carnival in the 1950s, with star Jessica Lange (returning for what will be her final season) playing “a German ex-pat who is managing one of the last freak shows in the U.S” out of Jupiter, Florida. Lange’s character is described as a “Marlene Dietrich figure.” The Shield star Michael Chiklis will have a role on the series, too, as the father of a character played by returning star Evan Peters.
Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett and Frances Conroy are all involved as well, and Dennis O’Hare, Emma Roberts, Gabourey Sidibe and Jamie Brewer are also expected to return in undetermined roles. No word yet on other returning stars, though I’m crossing my fingers that we’ll see returns for Zachary Quinto, Dylan McDermott and James Crowell, a trio of strong actors all AWOL during the female-centric Coven. Kate Mara and Lily Rabe have also been fantastic in their previous roles on the series, so I’d love for them to return for American Horror Story: Freak Show.