EXCLUSIVE: Billie Lourd is set to return to American Horror Story for the upcoming eighth installment of Ryan Murphy’s FX anthology series. Additionally, Lourd has been cast opposite Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein in the Annapurna/Gloria Sanchez feature Booksmart, directed by Olivia Wilde in her feature directorial debut.
In Season 8 of AHS, Lourd joins fellow AHS alums Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters and Kathy Bates, and new cast member Joan Collins, who will play Peters’ grandmother.
Following Season 7’s American Horror Story: Cult, which dealt with political themes, Season 8, set some 18 months in the future, will be “heightened,” Murphy revealed last month at a FYC event. “It’s not necessarily as real and grounded as the past season. We’re sort of getting back to Asylum, and Coven. That’s the tone of it.”
It’s also rumored the new season will be called American Horror Story: Radioactive, but there’s been no confirmation of that or the storyline. Murphy has confirmed that Season 8 will begin shooting around June 16.
In Booksmart, from Annapurna and Gloria Sanchez, on the eve of their high school graduation, two academic superstars and best friends suddenly realize that they should have worked less and played more. Determined never to fall short of their peers, the girls set out on a mission to cram four years of fun into one night.
Chelsea Barnard, David Distenfeld, and Megan Ellison produce for Annapurna; Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, and Adam McKay for Gloria Sanchez.
The original script was written by by Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins, with Initial revisions by Susanna Fogel, and current revisions by Katie Silberman. Filming is currently underway in Los Angeles.
Lourd made her TV acting debut as Chanel #3 on Ryan Murphy’s Fox horror-comedy anthology series Scream Queens and later joined the cast of AHS Season 7 as Winter Anderson/Linda Kasabian. On film, she most recently reprised her role as Lieutenant Connix from Star Wars: The Force Awakens in the most recent film, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Lourd is repped by CAA.
Source: Deadline
