Ariana Grande is officially joining the next chapter of American Horror Story.
The A-lister, 32, was unveiled as the newest star to join the cast for season 13, slated for release next year on Halloween.
Along with Grande, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Gabourey Sidibe, Leslie Grossman, and Jessica Lange will be returning for season 13.
The news was appropriately announced on October 31 with video of the names joining the cast, soundtracked to Vera Lynn’s I’ll Be Seeing You – before it took a frightening turn.
The video abruptly cut to several chilling images before Roberts’ familiar line flashed on screen, followed by the release date: ‘Surprise, bitch. I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me…. Halloween 2026.’
While the comments were flooded with praise over Lange’s return, many were also thrilled to see Grande joining the Ryan Murphy show.
Ariana Grande is the newest star to join the American Horror Story family; pictured September 2025
She was unveiled in a video announcing the season 13 cast
‘ARIANA GRANDE IN AHS OH F**K YEAH,’ one tweeted.
‘Ariana grande in ahs??? stfu rn,’ another posted.
‘Jessica Lange returning to AHS and on top of that with Miss Ariana Grande, this just got personal,’ another posted in a tweet that was translated from Spanish.
‘MY GOD ARIANA GRANDE ON AHS THIS ISN’T A TEST,’ another, who originally posted the message in Portuguese, wrote.
‘ARIANA GRANDE IN AHS THIS IS NOT A DRILL YALL NOT A DRILL,’ another posted.
‘Screaming, crying, Ariana?!’ another posted in the comments section of Murphy’s announcement post.
A few also asked what Grande was doing in the cast.
‘Ariana what are u doing here???!’ one asked. ‘ARIANA WHATRE YOU DOING HERE,’ another posted.
‘JESSICA AUEJWIDIWJDJA ARIANA WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE,’ another wrote.
‘JESSICA LANGE AND ARIANA AGHHH,’ another said.
This isn’t the first time Grande has appeared in a Ryan Murphy production.
The video featured Emma Roberts’ familiar line from the series
Fans rejoiced seeing Jessica Lange’s name flash on screen
The teaser took a frightening turn by flashing several eerie images, including this creepy house
Lange last appeared in the AHS story back in 2018; pictured in AHS in 2011
Emma Roberts is among the big names returning to the world of American Horror Story; pictured in 2024’s Delicate
Grande previously worked with Murphy on the first season of Scream Queens
She also appeared as Sonya Herfmann/Chanel #2 in season one of Scream Queens, another show co-created by Murphy.
In a 2015 interview with E!, Murphy revealed Grande had already been a massive AHS fan prior to joining Scream Queens.
Asked about his go-to method when attempting to cast stars on his show, Murphy said: ‘Here’s the thing: When you tell somebody, ‘I love you. I have always loved you work and I want to show people a different side of you,’ it’s sort of an interesting thing that in my case I’ve been very lucky where they’re like ‘OK.’
‘That’s what happened with Ariana. But, well, actually the truth is she was just obsessed with American Horror Story, like she was obsessed, so I think she just met me to ask questions about the new season to be honest!! [laughs] I really do.’
Murphy said he didn’t share with Grande a ‘damn thing’ when pitching the show to her, only that it was similar to AHS but ‘with a wink and nod.’
Murphy previously described Grande as a massive fan of AHS; pictured 2019
She’ll be returning to the big screen in Wicked: For Good, pictured
‘I didn’t tell her a damn thing! She was mad about it later. So we started talking about that and I said, ‘Hey, I have this new thing that I’d love for you to be a part of. It’s sort of American Horror Story-esque, but it’s a little bit with a wink and a nod.’
‘And I told her what it was, and she was instantly on board. Initially she was just going to do one episode, but she loved the process so much that she wanted to do more. When you go after people like her and Nick, their schedules are so insane between touring and music.
‘And that’s like a whole other world, the world of being a pop rock star, which they both are. But in both their cases, one episode led to another episode, which led to another episode and I think Nick ended up giving us five episodes, something insane. But it all just came from a place of, ‘Hey, let’s do something and have fun.’
For now, fans can catch Grande return to her role as Glinda the Good Witch in the upcoming Wicked sequel, Wicked: For Good.
The first movie was a box office success and raked in around $747.2 million on a budget of $150 million.
Wicked also received critical praise and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won two in March this year during the glitzy ceremony. It’ll be released on November 21.
