Patti LaBelle Joins Cast of AMERICAN HORROR STORY: FREAK SHOW

Grammy winner Patti LaBelle is joining the freaks.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, LaBelle is following Steve Nicks' lead, and joining the cast of AMERICAN HORROR STORY, appearing in the four episodes of the upcoming 'FREAK SHOW' anthology.

LaBelle "will play a local townie who begins to unravel the deadly secrets of Twisty the clown killer and the mother of Sidibe's character."

LaBelle, is a renowned Grammy Award-winning American singer, author, and actress who has spent over 50 years in the music industry. LaBelle spent 16 years as lead singer of Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, who changed their name to Labelle in the early 1970s and released the iconic discosong "Lady Marmalade". LaBelle started her solo career shortly after the group disbanded in 1977 and crossed over to pop music with "On My Own", "If You Asked Me To", "Stir It Up", and "New Attitude". She has also recorded R&B ballads such as "You Are My Friend", "If Only You Knew", and "Love, Need and Want You". Her previous Broadway credits include: Your Arms Too Short to Box with God, Patti LaBelle on Broadway, and Fela!.

Last season of the show picked up 17 Emmy nominations on July 10th, making it this year's third-most nominated series. Series creator Ryan Murphy told the Los Angeles Times that he believes the show's success is due to the recent popularity of the anthology approach to TV storytelling. "I think that people like that format," he said. "I think people like a beginning, middle and end. I think it's a fun way to watch. With binge-viewing really taking off in our society, I think it's the perfect sort of storytelling for the culture we live in now. We see that reflected on all those nominations, people like it. And I think we'll be seeing more of it."

Set in Jupiter, Florida, in 1950, Freak Show will feature AHS alum Jessica Lange portraying a German ex-pat who is managing one of the last freak shows in the U.S.

Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, and Frances Conroy will all appear as performers rescued by Lange's character.

Freak Show is set to air this October on FX.

Photo by Walter McBride

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