From Billy to Billie.
After the surprising announcement that comedian Billy Eichner had joined the cast of American Horror Story's seventh installment, E! News has confirmed that Ryan Murphy has tapped his (former?) Scream Queens star Billie Lourd to enter the politically-charged frightfest, as well. The pair of similarly-named stars join previously announced returning AHS mainstays Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters. Who any of them might be playing remains, as always, a mystery. (Though we can expect Eichner to play Paulson's close confidant and "most likely be wearing mysterious tank tops." Whatever that means.)
FX had no immediate comment on the report.
Here's what we do know about the new season: Murphy has said that the installment will be influenced by the hectic 2016 Presidential race, using election night as a jumping off point. With that said, don't expect Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton to be the season's main characters.
"I think people literally think Sarah Paulson is playing Hillary Clinton," Murphy previously told E! News. "And I wanted to clarify that that is not true. Horror Story is always about allegory, so the election is allegory. It's our jumping off point. It is about the election we just went through and what happened on that night and the fallout of that night, which to many people, from all sides of the camps is a horror story. And you know, that show is always so fun when it's about the zeitgeist and what we're doing now."
Lourd's inclusion in the cast puts the fate of Fox's Scream Queens even more into question after the series' anemic ratings for season two. In February, Lea Michele was cast in an ABC comedy pilot, with Murphy going so far as to release the actress from her deal on the series. While Scream Queens, by design, could live on without both actresses, it does seem as though the writing's on the wall.
Are you looking forward to Lourd bringing her screaming prowess to AHS? Sound off in the comments below!
American Horror Story is expected to return to FX this fall.