‘American Horror Story’ Picked Up Again, Probably Without Jessica Lange

American Horror Story has fascinated audiences since the very first season, when viewers followed the tragic tale of a family who fell victim to an evil house, and Jessica Lange has played an integral part in each series so far. However, although the show has reportedly been picked up for a fifth season on FX, Lange will likely not be coming back.

Rumors swirled in 2013 that Season 4 would be Lange’s last, and while nothing has been confirmed, series creator Ryan Murphy posted a very telling message on Twitter recently thanking Jessica. The actress hinted back then that she might want to explore film again after Season 4 wrapped up, saying that a television show is a huge commitment.

“It ends up being a lot of time during the year being committed to something. I haven’t done that for a long time. It’s like doing a stage play between the rehearsal and the run. This is a 6-month commitment every year. That will be four years in a row,” Lange told Entertainment Tonight.

“I want to have more time to myself I guess. Once it’s over and I have a full year ahead of me with nothing to do, who knows? It might not have been the best decision. But I think four years doing something is a sufficient amount of time.”

Thank you Jessica…for everything. Always.

— Ryan Murphy (@MrRPMurphy) January 22, 2015

Despite Jessica’s eagerness to move on to something a little different, she has enjoyed every moment of her time on the show… especially the darker ones.

“I think Ryan was maybe even surprised by how fast and how dark it got last year,” Lange said in 2013 of Season 2, which took place in an asylum. “Of course, that’s right up my alley. I like that a lot. But I think this season was a deliberate attempt to lighten it and add some humor. And I’m not against humor; my sensibilities just always tend toward the more tragic or the darker.”

As far as Season 5 goes, rumors have been flying this week about what the focus may be, and whether or not a hint may have been planted in the Season 4 finale. If that’s true, the next installment might give us a story about radioactive bomb tests in Nevada. Of course, casting decisions have yet to be announced, but names like Lily Rabe, Denis O’Hare, and Kathy Bates have been mentioned on the web this week.

[Image via FX / Vanity Fair]