Evan Peters Will Not Appear In 'American Horror Story' Season 9
FX AHS

‘American Horror Story’ has always featured a revolving cast of actors, but throughout its eight seasons, there have been two constant presences, Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson, who have appeared in every iteration of the series.  But that era has come to an end, as Evan Peters has announced that he won’t be part of Season Nine.

As he put it, he’s “sitting this season out,” so he could still return in the future.

Peters played dead teen Tate Langdon in the first season, ‘Murder House’, framed serial killer Kit Walker in ‘Asylum’, zombie frat boy Kyle Spencer in ‘Coven’, Lobster Boy Jimmy Darling in ‘Freak Show’, and sadistic hotelier James March in ‘Hotel’.  For the sixth installment, ‘Roanoke’, he portrayed two characters, foppish aristocrat Edward Philippe Mott in flashbacks and actor Rory Monahan in the present.  In ‘Cult’, he portrayed central character Kai Anderson, as well as other “cult leaders” in the past, including Charles Manson, Jim Jones, and Andy Warhol.  For the most recent season, ‘Apocalypse’, he revisited some of his former roles and portrayed flamboyant hairdresser Mr. Gallant, and scientist Jeff Pfister.

In an interview with GQ, Peter discussed the toll that ‘American Horror Story’ took on him:

“It’s just exhausting. It’s really mentally draining, and you don’t want to go to those places ever in your life. 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. I fight really hard to combat that and make sure that I’m watching comedies and hanging out with my fiancée [co-star Emma Roberts] and chilling with friends and watching movies.”

‘American Horror Story’ is the creation of Ryan Murphy, and Peters has also starred on Murphy’s other series, ‘Pose’ which is expected to air its second season this year.

Murphy and FX tend to keep details of ‘American Horror Story’ under wraps until right before new episodes begin airing, so there is no information about the upcoming season yet.  Emma Roberts is the only returning cast member confirmed at this point.  Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy will make his ‘AHS’ debut, playing her boyfriend.

Can ‘American Horror Story’ succeed without Evan Peters?