Orlando Jones Steps Into a Familiar Role in the Latest ‘American Horror Story’ Crossover

FX has released the official trailer for the new season of Ryan Murphy’s anthology series, which brings back franchise veterans Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters. Among the additions drawing the most conversation is Orlando Jones in ‘American Horror Story’, a casting that connects directly to one of the franchise’s most memorable supernatural figures.

Jones is stepping into the part of Papa Legba, taking over a role that Lance Reddick originated. The decision places Orlando Jones in ‘American Horror Story’ at a moment when the series is leaning hard on its own history.

Why the Orlando Jones Casting Matters

Reddick first played Papa Legba in Coven and returned for Apocalypse, and he died on March 17, 2023, at 60. That history gives the recasting a weight that a standard returning role would not carry. Replacing a performer so closely tied to a character is a delicate task for any production.

One writer at CinemaBlend admitted not expecting the character to come back at all given Reddick’s death, and wondered openly whether Jones was the one taking on the part. The same piece argued that the return of the character Nan would easily justify, and possibly require, an appearance from Papa Legba. It is a reasonable reading of how the season’s pieces might fit together.

Jones arrives with a résumé that suits the material. He played the trickster god Anansi on ‘American Gods’, another ancient and dangerous deity rooted in African diaspora mythology, which lines up closely with the deals and souls energy Papa Legba runs on. That earlier role ran for ten episodes between 2017 and 2019 according to German television database Fernsehserien.

His exit from that series was widely discussed. Jones said the new showrunner let him go because the character sent the wrong message to Black America, and the previous showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green criticized the decision. His return to a mythology heavy genre role gives fans a fresh chapter in that story.

How the American Horror Story Crossover Fits Together

The season is built as an Avengers style crossover that pulls characters from every season to face one ultimate evil, with the Coven witches and Marie Laveau heavily featured. That structure makes a character like Papa Legba especially useful to the writers.

Papa Legba trades immortality and power for annual tributes of souls, which makes him a natural thread for tying the timelines together. In a season built from many separate stories, a figure who bargains across eras offers an obvious connective tissue.

The idea of linking separate seasons is not new for the franchise. Apocalypse had already shown that seemingly independent seasons could be retroactively turned into parts of a shared mythology. The same outlet noted that the more interesting question is what event could bring together characters from such different stories without reducing the season to nostalgia.

Not every critic is convinced. Pajiba asked whether viewers are willing to give Ryan Murphy another chance for the sake of a stellar cast, while still admitting Coven was a favorite season. That mix of skepticism and affection captures how many longtime viewers seem to feel.

Returning Characters and Cast Around Orlando Jones

The ensemble is large. Jessica Lange returns to reprise four roles and Evan Peters plays five of his previous characters, with Sarah Paulson, Billie Lourd, Leslie Grossman, Mat Fraser, Mena Suvari, Zach Villa and Seth Gabel also in the returning group. Many performers are stepping into more than one part.

Emma Roberts is back as Madison Montgomery, Kathy Bates portrays Madame Delphine LaLaurie, and John Carroll Lynch returns as Twisty the Clown. Frances Conroy appears as Myrtle Snow and Jamie Brewer plays Adelaide Langdon, Nan and Elle Chapman.

Angela Bassett and Gabourey Sidibe are also featured in the trailer, and John Waters is among the newer additions. Waters, the director of Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble, joins along with a few other fresh faces.

Jones will share the screen with a cast that mixes fan favorites and newcomers. Tig Notaro, Grace Dumdaw, Cara Delevingne and Charlie Carver are listed in support.

Where to Watch the Season and Episode Schedule

The season premiered on September 24 on FX and Hulu, and it is a 13 episode run that opened with back to back three episode events across its first two weeks. A two episode rollout every Thursday follows, and the finale lands on October 29.

The premiere block began at 9:00 p.m. on FX, FXX and Hulu. That means viewers who have not caught up yet still have time before the finale arrives.

International audiences have their own options. The season is available internationally on Disney+. In Australia it began streaming exclusively on Disney+ on September 25.

With the finale approaching, the question for fans is whether Orlando Jones can carry Papa Legba’s presence in the shadow of Lance Reddick’s original performance, and whether you think the crossover gives the character the ending the role deserves.