James Cromwell In Talks To Join American Horror Story For Season 2

The cast of American Horror Story's second season was already looking good when we learned that a number of actors from Season 1 would be returning to the horror-drama to take on new roles. But each bit of casting news since then has only added more intrigue to the show, the latest of which has to do with the excellent James Cromwell, who may be joining the series.

Cross your fingers! Deadline reports that James Cromwell (Babe, The Green Mile) is in talks to join American Horror Story for Season 2. Spoiler alert! The second season is set to take place on the East Coast in an institution for the criminally insane. Should Cromwell's deal go through, he'll play the part of Dr. Arden, "who works at the institution and goes head-to-head with his boss, played by Oscar winner Lange." It seems like Lange's character's rivals are stacking up. The recently cast Chloe Sevigny and Lizzie Brochere are also said to oppose Lange in some way.

This is some pretty fantastic casting news for the already much-anticipated second season of the FX drama. While Cromwell's known for his numerous film appearances, he's also appeared in plenty of notable TV shows, including 24, My Own Worst Enemy, and Six Feet Under, the latter of which had him appearing alongside Frances Conroy, who was among the cast of AHS' first season.

I wouldn't hate it if Cromwell wasn't the last of Six Feet Under's former cast-members to wander into American Horror Story at some point down the line. Given the emphasis on death in both series, it seems only fitting. While Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall and Jeremy Sisto all have their own TV shows to keep them busy, what about Lauren Ambrose, Freddy Rodriguez or Rachel Griffiths? Or am I just being greedy now?

Kelly West
Assistant Managing Editor

Kelly joined CinemaBlend as a freelance TV news writer in 2006 and went on to serve as the site’s TV Editor before moving over to other roles on the site. At present, she’s an Assistant Managing Editor who spends much of her time brainstorming and editing feature content on the site. She an expert in all things Harry Potter, books from a variety of genres (sci-fi, mystery, horror, YA, drama, romance -- anything with a great story and interesting characters.), watching Big Brother, frequently rewatching The Office, listening to Taylor Swift, and playing The Sims.