Well, it was inevitable. Jessica Lange confirmed the inevitable this weekend at PaleyFest, telling an insistent moderator that she will not be returning for the fifth season of “American Horror Story,” which stars Lady Gaga and is apparently set in a hotel. While I’m sad that Jessica Lange won’t be chewing the scenery on the set of some shabby hotel while Lady Gaga skulks in the corners, this seems like it’s for the best. I love Jessica Lange, but about halfway through, it seemed like she was phoning it in. She’s served her time in the Ryan Murphy machine, and now it’s time for her to fly.
It’s not like she had a bad run, either. For four years, she got to play the kind of juicy, meaty characters that lots of actresses dream of. And it seems she’s reached her personal peak. On her new-found, second wind fame:
Months after we finished the third season, I’m walking down the street in New Orleans in raggedy jeans, a dirty T-shirt, and it’s like 150 degrees. I walk past this group of young boys sitting on these steps, and as I walk past, they say, ‘Holy shitballs. The Supreme.’ And I thought, In my 40 years of acting, it’s never going to get better than this.
Lady Gaga will be joined by Matt Bomer and Cheyenne Jackson, who will be series regulars. The show will premiere sometime in October. [Us Weekly]
[Vulture]