Jessica Lange has officially spoken her last line on American Horror Story. After starring for four years on the Ryan Murphy-produced FX drama, Lange has officially confirmed she will not be returning for the fifth season of American Horror Story. The news comes just a short while after Murphy stated he hoped he would be able to woo the actress into staying on with the horror program.
During this week’s PaleyFest panel, Lange didn’t leave anything open to interpretation. In fact, she blatantly just stated she was “done” before launching into a lovely quote about her time on the series.
We’ve had a great run here. I mean, I absolutely love doing these four characters, and in all the madness, I love the writers and Ryan [Murphy] and the insanity of shooting it.
Luckily, Murphy has already made inroads to entice other big names to the show. Just a few weeks ago, “Born This Way” singer Lady Gaga announced she would appear in American Horror Story Season 5, subtitled Hotel. In true AHS fashion, we currently have no idea who she will be playing, but she’s a big enough name that she should be a draw for the show. With Lange officially leaving, the FX program is one that could use a fresh face who is also a big name.
Not that the series is short on famous faces. Season 4 of American Horror Story, subtitled Freak Show, also featured Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Neil Patrick Harris, Wes Bentley, Sarah Paulson, Michael Chiklis, Frances Conroy, Matt Bomer and Emma Roberts, to name a few. Season 5 will doubtless feature a slew of prominent actors and actresses, as well. But there’s still something tough about losing Lange, who along with Murphy, has always been the big name connected to AHS.
Despite the fact that Lange has spoken out about leaving American Horror Story in the past, Ryan Murphy pumped some hope into our veins a few months ago when he revealed a plan to woo Jessica Lange back for Season 5. At the time, Murphy mentioned that if there was even a possibility for a cameo, he would love to see Lange return. Now, it seems she’s simply ready to move on to other projects, however.
American Horror Story: Hotel won’t be returning to the schedule for quite some time. The show typically begins airing on FX in the fall, which means there are months and months of casting news ahead of us. So far, we know Lady Gaga is signed on, and so are Matt Bomer and Cheyenne Jackson. Bomer even mentioned he may be playing a love interest in the new season, but since Murphy likes to keep casting news under wraps for as long as possible, we probably won’t find out for a while. In the meantime, we’ll let you know as soon as more news drops regarding American Horror Story: Hotel.
In the meantime, you can check out the full Paleyfest panel over at Yahoo.
