American Horror Story Season 4: Michael Chiklis Joins Cast Of 'Freak Show' Along With Returning Member Jessica Lange

Michael Chiklis is returning to FX to be a part of “American Horror Story: Freak Show,” series creator Ryan Murphy announced during the star’s surprise appearance at PaleyFest on Friday.

Murphy reportedly said that Chiklis, who played the Thing in the “Fantastic Four” film series, will be playing former husband of Kathy Bates’s character and father of Evan Peters’s character in the fourth-season incarnation of “American Horror Story.”

Although the writer did not disclose much of the details about Chiklis’ character, the 50-year-old actor said that he was “terrified” when Murphy pitched the piece to him. Murphy had disclosed earlier this week that “Freak Show” would live up to its title.

Returning cast members include Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Peters, Angela Bassett, Frances Conroy and Bates -- who also made a surprise appearance on Friday's panel. Denis O'Hare and Emma Roberts are also in talks to return for season four of the series.

According to reports, Lange will play a German ex-pat who is in charge of the last freak shows in the U.S., while the others will be seen as performers whom Lange's character has rescued.

Murphy reportedly explained that the setting for the upcoming series is "not a circus and not a carnival, it's a freak show," adding that it was Lange who came up with idea of her character.

Murphy went on to say: "The thing we're working on now is the opposite of what we did last year. It's so incredibly refreshing to reboot it every year."

The new installment will likely premiere in October on FX and is filmed in New Orleans but the story is set in Florida in 1950.

The new role will be Chiklis’s latest TV gig following CBS's “Vegas” and ABC's “No Ordinary Family,” both of which were cancelled after one season.