When Ryan Murphy made the leap to Netflix, his old network, FX, assured that all the ongoing shows he created for that channel would continue uninterrupted. But it would be hard to blame anyone there for sweating just a little bit anyway. Casting announcements this week indicate that Murphy is assembling a familiar dream team over at the streaming service, bringing on members of his unofficial FX repertory company—which inevitably invites questions about whether and how these performers can balance their time between two demanding and prolific networks. The most recent member of the gang to follow Murphy into the wonderful world of streaming? Jessica Lange, who will join the cast of The Politician.
Lange has long been one of Murphys favorites; for years, she was the gravitational center holding American Horror Story together, and she later played Joan Crawford in Feuds inaugural season. The Politician—a one-hour comedy from Murphy and two of his favorite collaborators, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan—will follow male lead Benjamin Platts character, Payton, a wealthy Santa Barbara resident with political aspirations. Each season will follow a different political race involving Payton, with Lange serving as one of the female leads. Right now, nothing else is known about her character.
And Lange isnt the only on-screen muse Murphy will bring to Netflix. Also joining The Politician is Dylan McDermott, who has appeared in three seasons of A.H.S.—including this years crossover season, Apocalypse. (The cast also includes January Jones, Zoey Deutch, Laura Dreyfuss, Lucy Boynton, and Rahne Jones, but nothing is known about the roles any of the performers will play.) Then theres Sarah Paulson, Murphys most prolific collaborator, who is set to star in Murphys One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest-inspired Nurse Ratched series. Paulson has starred in every A.H.S. season, and also played Marcia Clark in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and Geraldine Page in Feud: Bette and Joan.
Murphys reliance on the anthology format might allow all of his favorite performers to divide their time between FX and Netflix—or at least make all that jumping around a little easier. Still, it seems inevitable that FXs brand identity will gradually shift as Murphys influence fades. With critical hits like Atlanta, Fargo, and Better Things, the network will be far from bereft without Murphys constantly churning mill of ideas—but as more and more of Murphys darlings gather at Netflix, it does feel, at the very least, like the end of an era.
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Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Laura BradleyLaura Bradley is a Hollywood writer for VanityFair.com.
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