Season 10 of American Horror Story might be Sarah Paulson's last

Sarah Paulson implies that the currently airing tenth season of American Horror Story, which features her in two roles, may be her last. American Horror Story, the Ryan Murphy anthology series where each season tells its own distinct story, has been running on FX since Murder House in 2011. Although each season is independent, they frequently cross over with other American Horror Story seasons and usually feature many of the same cast members playing different characters. 

Paulson has been with American Horror Story from the very beginning, appearing in every season except 1984, the ninth season which aired in 2019. She returned for the tenth season, Double Feature, which is currently airing on FX. This season she plays Tuberculosis Karen and Mamie Eisenhower, bringing her number of AHS characters up to about 14 (in season 6, Roanoke, she played a character in a reenactment and then the actress who played that character, making it difficult to nail down an exact number).

Per Us, she was recently asked what her next Ryan Murphy project would be. She admitted that for the first time in about three years she doesn't know. However, she did admit that this is probably her last season of American Horror Story. Read the full quote here:

I don’t know. It’s the first time in about three years where I don’t know. I think this is my last season of Horror Story, probably. I mean, I don’t know. Every time he comes to me with some wackadoodle-stoodle character, I tend to be like, “Yes! Let’s do it!” So, I don’t know. This is the first time. So, we’ll see.

If this comes to fruition and Paulson does indeed leave the show for good, American Horror Story will have lost a key and a valuable element of its success. Her versatility and indefatigable willingness to push herself have given many of the show's over-the-top characters a necessary grounding in emotional truth. The show does have a deep bench of talented actors in the ensemble at this point, but Paulson's presence is part of what makes each season feel consistent with the others, and hopefully the show doesn't lose its aura if she does elect to exit permanently.