Sarah Paulson Reportedly Won’t Star in ‘American Horror Story: 1984’

American Horror Story fans are about to find out what a season of the long-running horror anthology series will be like without the presence of Sarah Paulson. The actress, who has earned five Primetime Emmy nominations for her roles on the show, will reportedly miss out on Season 9, American Horror Story: 1984. Evan Peters is also expected to miss out on the season.

Sources told Variety that Paulson will not have a major role in the show, although she could at least have a cameo. Her previous shortest role in the series was Billie Dean Howard, whom she played in only three episodes of Season 1, Murder House.

Paulson earned Emmy nominations in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018 for her roles on AHS. She also won an Emmy for playing Marcia Clark in The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, which was produced by AHS co-creator Ryan Murphy.

20th Century Fox Television and Paulson did not comment on Monday’s report. However, she has a considerable number of projects on her plate, which would have made it difficult for her to commit to a major role in 1984.

The Ocean’s Eight actress is now working on FX’s Mrs. America, which centers on the Equal Rights Amendment movement during the 1970s. Cate Blanchett stars in the series as Phyllis Schlafly, a conservative activist who successfully stopped the amendment from being ratified.

Paulson also stars as the title character in Netflix’s Ratched, Murphy’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest prequel about the origins of the film and book’s Nurse Ratched villain. That series was already picked up for a second season, even though the first season has not been released yet.

Paulson will next be seen in The Goldfinch, opposite Nicole Kidman and Finn Wolfhard, on Sept. 13. She also voices a character in Abominable, which opens on Sept. 27. Lastly, Paulson stars in the Lionsgate thriller Run, which hits theaters on Jan. 24.

The actress is not the only longtime AHS star not returning for 1984. Peters told Extra at WonderCon in April he was going to “sit a season out.” Peters has frequently played sinister roles on the show, which has left him feeling exhausted.

“It’s just exhausting. It’s really mentally draining, and you don’t want to go to those places ever in your life,” Peters told GQ last year. “And so you have to go there for the scenes, and it ends up integrating it somehow into your life. You’re in traffic and you find yourself screaming and you’re like, ‘What the hell? This isn’t who I am.’”

American Horror Story was already renewed for a 10th season, even though Murphy now has an overall deal with Netflix. The show is now the network’s marquee program and will return on Sept. 18. It is not clear what the plot is, but Emma Roberts is starring.

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