Is Ariana Grande returning to TV? 'American Horror Story' drops new eerie teaser ahead of Halloween 2026 premiere

Ariana Grande is making her grand return to television, and she's doing it with a scream.

Ahead of the Wicked: For Good debut, the pop superstar will join the American Horror Story Season 13, marking her first small-screen role in 13 years.

On Friday, Oct. 31, Ryan Murphy Productions unveiled a cryptic promotional video on Instagram, revealing the names of its cast for the much-anticipated new season.

Ariana Grande is slated to star in the cult series alongside Emma Roberts, Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Billie Lourd, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Leslie Grossman, Gabourey Sidibe, and Jessica Lange.

Before concluding, the eerie teaser ends with a line that is a nod to Roberts' notable character as Madison Montgomery in Season 3.

"Surprise, b***h! I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me."

American Horror Story Season 13 is set to air in October 2026.

The new season marks Ariana Grande's return to TV since her last small-screen appearance in Season 1 of Scream Queens in 2015.

Before that, she became popular for her role as Cat Valente in Nickelodeon’s Victorious from 2010 to 2013. Then, in 2014, she reprised her character in the spin-off show Sam & Cat for one season.

Ariana Grande has focused on her music career since then, dropping acclaimed albums Yours Truly (2013), My Everything (2014), Dangerous Woman (2016), Sweetener (2018), thank u, next (2019), Positions (2020), and eternal sunshine (2024).

Eventually, she took a break from releasing music and focused on her big-screen career with Wicked (2024) and Wicked: For Good, set to premiere on Nov. 21.

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“We should be able to be happy”: Ariana Grande opens up about ‘cringe culture’ and self-expression

Ahead of the release of Wicked's sophomore installment, Ariana Grande sat down for a chat with Evan Ross Katz on his Shut Up Evan podcast on Oct. 24. There, the songstress talked about her aversion to cringe culture and how happiness and genuine excitement are considered "cringe" and "trying too hard."

“[Earnestness] scares people so much, and I think that’s really sad. The whole ‘cringe,’ whatever, is just so unfair. Maybe it’s because of, like, PTSD or whatever, but I love so much. I’m so grateful to feel so much.”

Ariana Grande continued:

“We should be able to be happy and it not be corny or cringe … being passionate about something, loving people. That’s the best. Why do you want me to be sitting here numb? Been there.”

Meanwhile, in the same interview, the "Into You" hitmaker also dished on the support she received from pop legends Madonna, Beyoncé, and Mariah Carey.

“I’m very lucky that my idols have been very kind to me. I remember Madonna immediately was very kind. I think she was one of the first people to reach out and, like, give me a warm welcome, and it was just really cool. I was overwhelmed by it, because I love her so much.”

She went on:

“Beyoncé had me come visit a music video she was shooting, and I was just there in the corner. I was like, ‘Why am I here?’ It was after I sang ‘Tattooed Heart’ on the AMAs. She invited me to set to visit her, and she just was being kind — she gave me a little bit of advice, and, you know, I asked, but she was so kind.”

The R.E.M. Beauty founder also brought up Carey, with whom she collaborated on her hit track "yes, and?" as well as on the Christmas song "Oh, Santa!"

Ariana Grande added that the support and encouragement she received from the "people I really looked up to" made her feel safe.