American Horror Story: 13/Scream Queens Crossover Planned: Murphy

Posted in: FX, TV | Tagged: American Horror Story: 13, scream queens

Ryan Murphy revealed that Ariana Grande would’ve served as a crossover between American Horror Story: 13 and Scream Queens.

Published Wed, 23 Sep 2026 21:13:09 -0500 by Ray Flook

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Article Summary
Ryan Murphy says American Horror Story: 13 almost featured an Ariana Grande role linking AHS with Scream Queens.
Grande exited American Horror Story: 13 because her Eternal Sunshine Tour conflicted with filming the new season.
Murphy revealed the crossover plan on the AHS 13 red carpet, teasing how Grande’s part would expand the universe.
A Scream Queens return remains possible, with Murphy saying Grande, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, and others are interested.

As excited as fans were when they learned that Ariana Grande had joined the cast of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s American Horror Story: 13, they were twice as disappointed when they learned that Grande needed to depart the long-running horror anthology series due to conflicts between filming and her Eternal Sunshine Tour. Speaking with Variety during an AHS 13 red carpet event, Murphy revealed more details on what Grande’s role would’ve been, and it looks like we would’ve had a crossover between the AHS Universe and the universe of Murphy’s 2015 series, Scream Queens. Though Grande’s tour responsibilities kept Murphy from establishing the 2015 FOX series in the AHS universe during American Horror Story: 13, a return to the Scream Queens universe is something Murphy has been thinking about – especially with Grande, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Glen Powell, and others expressing interest in another run.

Image: FX Networks; FOX TV

Here’s a look at what Murphy had to share about an AHS 13-Scream Queens crossover that nearly happened and more:

Ryan Murphy reveals that Ariana Grande’s role in #AHS13 would’ve involved a ‘Scream Queens’ crossover, but she couldn’t make it work with her touring schedule. pic.twitter.com/fEKEx3uocV

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 24, 2026

Checking in with The Hollywood Reporter earlier this summer, Murphy shared that he fully understood why Grande needed to drop out of the season. “I love Ariana Grande. We’re great friends. I had an idea and I came to her and she, very immediately, said, ‘I’m not sure because I think I’m going on tour.’ I don’t think the tour had been announced, and she had obviously just finished the ‘Wicked’ movie. So when it came time to do that episode, I called her up and she was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to juggle the tour with this.’ And I said, ‘OK, if you can’t, we can push to another season.’ She said, ‘Great.’

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