The series launch date is set, but audiences will search in vain for one prominent name: Ariana Grande (33) is not part of the cast for the 13th season of "American Horror Story". As "Deadline" exclusively reports, the singer has dropped out before filming a single scene. The new season premieres in the US on September 24.
The deciding factor for the cancellation appears to be scheduling conflicts. The horror series' filming schedule was postponed, and these new dates could not be reconciled with Grande's "Eternal Sunshine" tour, which is running concurrently. At the end of June, the musician had already rescheduled several July concerts: Her performance on July 12 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn was moved to July 14, and the Boston shows on July 22 and 24 were shifted to July 23 and 26. Additional stops will take her to New York, Canada, Chicago, and London.
The gap became apparent during filming
Attentive fans had already suspected the exit. When the ensemble was recently spotted filming exterior scenes, Grande was conspicuously absent, and she also did not appear in a freshly released teaser. However, two previously unconfirmed names were spotted on set: Frances Conroy and Alex Consani. FX and production company 20th Television declined to comment to "Deadline".
For Grande, it would have been a special debut. Last year on Halloween, her involvement in season 13 was announced, and it would have been her first appearance in a series by creator Ryan Murphy. At the same time, it would have been a reunion: In 2015, she appeared in Murphy's "Scream Queens", where she starred alongside Billie Lourd and Evan Peters, among others.
Fans threaten boycott
The cancellation has caused frustration among the series' fans. Some announced they won't even tune in to the season without Grande. "Oh my God, this would have been the first time I tuned in", wrote one user on platform X, as "Metro" reports. "Then nobody's going to watch it", another fan added.
Others speculated about the size of her role. The assumption is that anyone who can drop out so late in the middle of filming may not have had a major part anyway. "When she was announced, I assumed it was a pretty important role. But her dropping out in the middle of filming suggests the opposite", wrote one user on Reddit.
These stars remain on board
However, audiences won't have to do without a prominent cast. The lineup includes familiar Murphy faces Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, and Jessica Lange, plus Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Gabourey Sidibe, Leslie Grossman, and director John Waters. John Carroll Lynch, Mena Suvari, and Matt Fraser return as characters they portrayed in previous seasons. Making their franchise debut are Paul Anthony Kelly, Berto Colón, and Joey Pollari.
