Many fans assumed the thirteenth season of American Horror Story would be its last. It turns out the anthology is not ready to rest in peace.

FX announced on Tuesday, October 20, that it has renewed Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s horror anthology for a 14th season, as first reported by Deadline. The news arrived a week ahead of the Season 13 finale and right in the middle of spooky season.

A record-setting premiere sealed the deal

The renewal follows a strong start for AHS 13. According to Deadline, the season premiere was the show’s biggest streaming premiere ever. It landed on Nielsen’s Streaming Top 10 chart and marked Murphy’s biggest launch ever on Hulu and Disney+.

TV Guide noted that the renewal puts to rest speculation that the series would stop at unlucky number 13.

The first renewal in nearly seven years

This is a bigger deal than a typical pickup. Deadline reports it is the first renewal for American Horror Story in almost seven years. Back in January 2020, FX ordered three seasons at once, covering Seasons 11, 12 and 13. That made many viewers think 13 would be a fitting place to end.

Instead, FX is keeping its longest-running hour-long series alive. Since launching in 2011, American Horror Story has earned more than 100 Emmy nominations and 17 wins, including acting trophies for Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates and James Cromwell.

What Season 13 is about

AHS 13 is a crossover event that ties together timelines and characters from across the franchise. Set primarily in New York City, the story centers on The Apollyon, an eerie residential building with a portal to Hell in its basement.

The season brought back a long list of familiar faces, including Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Gabourey Sidibe, Leslie Grossman and Jessica Lange, along with Frances Conroy, John Carroll Lynch and Zach Villa.

When to watch the rest of Season 13

If you are catching up, here is the schedule according to Deadline:

  • Episodes 11 and 12 air Thursday, October 22.
  • The Season 13 finale airs Thursday, October 29.
  • New episodes arrive at 9 p.m. ET/PT on FX and 9 p.m. PT on Hulu.

That puts the finale just two days before Halloween, which is about as on-brand as it gets for this show.

What we know about Season 14

So far, not much. FX has not announced a theme, a setting or a cast for the new season. As TV Guide put it, don’t expect concrete details until closer to release, which is very much the Ryan Murphy way. The show has long kept its themes under wraps until a teaser or title reveal.

Over the years the anthology has taken viewers to a murder house, a coven of witches, a traveling freak show, a haunted hotel and the apocalypse, so there is no shortage of directions it could go next.

Not every fan is cheering

Reaction has been mixed. Some longtime viewers were excited to see the show continue, while others in online comment sections argued the series had run its course, especially after Season 13 was widely seen as a send-off. Love it or not, the ratings clearly gave FX a reason to keep going.

A busy October for renewals

American Horror Story joins a string of October renewals tracked by TV Guide, including Tulsa King at Paramount+, The Hunting Wives at Netflix, and Imperfect Women and Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed at Apple TV.

The final scare

American Horror Story is officially coming back for Season 14, and it has the streaming numbers to show why. For now, fans can focus on the last episodes of Season 13 and start guessing what nightmare Murphy and Falchuk will dream up next.

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