While it’s been announced for some time that American Horror Story season 13 was happening, there’s been one potential concern that’s been on my mind — and the new trailer just reinforced that 10 times more.
I mean…it looks fun. Like, really, really fun. I won’t even deny it. You can’t watch this trailer and, as an American Horror Story fan, not feel some excitement for it. This is the combination of all its seasons coming together into one fell swoop, one big bang.
This isn’t the first time that we’ve had some crossover with other seasons into one. American Horror Story season 8 was like that, with an apocalypse theme, and it felt almost like a sequel to season 3, Coven. That’s why it was one of my favorite seasons: it found a way to converge storylines into something salvageable and interesting.
But this trailer feels…off—just a little.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still be sitting on my couch ready to watch the day this comes out. I’m most likely going to love every second of the messy nature of it. This is one of the Ryan Murphy shows that made me a fan. And while I do think a few of his projects have declined in quality, there’s no doubt that it’s entertaining.
However, I must ask: what the heck is the plot with all these characters?
Evan Peters returns in ‘AMERICAN HORROR STORY: 13’ pic.twitter.com/ZfukXGrnVp
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) September 10, 2026
Why a “tribute season” might not work
Murphy himself has said that season 13 is more like a tribute season than anything else. It’s the combination of several characters from many other seasons into this one. Just from the trailer, we’ve already seen a few, like Jessica Lange’s iconic characters from season 1 (Constance) and season 3 (Fiona), as well as several of Evan Peters’ characters from season 5 (Mr. March) and season 7 (Kai Anderson) — heck, we even see Tate Langdon from season 1.
That’s right, somehow we see the Rubber Man himself.
But the trailer only reinforced the idea that I really don’t know what this show will be about this season. And you might say, “Well, that’s the point!” Even so, that’s not really a great thing.
Whenever you release a trailer, you want to, at the very least, have some idea of what the story is going to be about. While you don’t need to be spoon-fed every second of it (like many trailers have done), there should be context clues that can help viewers decipher and figure out what might happen next. There should be small moments that show connection, moments that mean something.
That’s not the case with this trailer. In fact, everything feels so disjointed.
We are given scene after scene of several characters from seasons past. Some look scared, others look terrifying, or they’re just smiling weirdly, like Peter’s character from season 5, James Patrick March. He’s just always been a strange one to me.
Aside from that… we are really given nothing as to what this season will be about. All we know is that the coven from season 3 will play an important role — which was already confirmed before this trailer — and that there’s some kind of dark force that Fiona Goode (Jessica Lange) sees (at least I think that’s her voice).
But where are the other connections? An idea of what is going to happen? I know it’s cool to see all these characters in one room, but if it doesn’t make sense, what is the point?
Like, how on God’s green Earth did Twisty the Clown end up here?? How can James Patrick March interact with all these characters if he’s literally trapped in the Hotel Cortez for the rest of his immortal life? How does any of this work?
It just makes me concerned for this season of the show. I am excited, and I’m going to be watching it. But at the same time, I hope it all flows together. This could either be the best season ever or the worst thing in the franchise’s existence.
American Horror Story season 13 premieres on Sept. 24, 2026, on FX.
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