‘American Horror Story’ season 4: Gabourey Sidibe joins Lily Rabe with new pilot

Is the list for potential full-time cast members for “American Horror Story” season 4 growing smaller by the second? It certainly feels like it based on the latest pilot news coming out today.

Sources confirm (per Deadline) that Gabourey Sidibe, fresh off of playing the part of Queenie on the “Coven” version of the show, has signed on for Fox’s new hip-hop-oriented pilot “Empire,” where she is going to be playing the part of an assistant to Lucious Lyon, the main character and mogul played by Terence Howard. Strangely, Lucious Lyon sounds to us like a villain in a superhero movie.

So what does this really mean for Sidibe’s “American Horror Story” future? The easy way to look at it is that she will probably not be a regular like she was last year, given that it’s hard to write a huge part for her not knowing how much she may or may not be available. But with that being said, she is still somebody who we could see coming on at some point in a recurring role if she is in demand, since that is easier to fit into a schedule.

But, it’s very well possible that Gabourey was meant to be a one-season-and-that’s-it performer for Murphy’s show, given that she was not a part of the first two seasons before joining for “Coven.” That is what differs her from Lily Rabe, another popular actor who has waded into pilot season with something new.

Even if this pilot means that Sidibe may not be a part of the next “American Horror Story” in as big a capacity as “Coven,” are you still happy for her? Share your thoughts below, and head over to the link here if you want to get some more TV updates from us courtesy of our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: FX