by Sarabeth Pollock:
In its first season, American Horror Story started out as a sleeper hit about the haunted occupants of a house in Los Angeles. Season two, AHS: Asylum, centered on a creepy asylum in the Northeast that was full of nuns, Nazi doctors, mutants, aliens, and a doctor with one hell of an Oedipus Complex. On October 9, AHS returns as AHS: Coven. Creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk promise the chills and thrills we’ve come to expect from AHS, but with a New Orleans set and a bit more humor than last season’s rather depressing romp through the mental health system of the 1960s.
Executive Producer Tim Minear gave a sneak peak of what’s to come at the TV Critics Association panel back on August 2, 2013: Season 3 will deal with the “oppression of minorities of all kinds and within that idea, the idea of minority groups going after each other and doing the work for the larger culture. There’s a strong feminist theme, there’s also themes of race and themes of oppression and a very strong theme of family, specifically mothers and daughters.”
Indeed, mothers and daughters play a huge role in the new season. Most of the original cast from seasons one and two are returning for the third installment. Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson star as a mother-daughter duo. Lange plays Supreme witch Fiona, and Paulson is Cordelia (from King Lear, not Buffy—get that straight now…), the headmistress of Miss Robichaux’s Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies. Fear not, this is not your average mother-daughter duo. The school, founded in 1790, was created as a safe haven for young witches. This is where our story takes place.
Thanks to Entertainment Weekly, we can get to know some of the cast of characters before the premiere. I’ll keep this list updated throughout the season so that we don’t lose track of anyone.
Jessica Lange**: Fiona, the Supreme witch
Sarah Paulson**: Cordelia, headmistress of Miss Robichaux’s
Evan Peters**: Kyle, a frat boy from Tulane who has a thing for Zoe
Taissa Farmiga*: Zoe, a young witch with a gnarly secret power
Denis O’Hare*: Spalding, the mute butler at Miss Robichaux’s
Emma Roberts: Madison, a bratty movie star who is also a witch
Gabourey Sidibe: Queenie, a witch who is also a human Voodoo doll
Jamie Brewer*: Nan, a witch who can see things
Kathy Bates: Madame Delphine LaLaurie, a plantation owner with a depraved history
Angela Bassett: Marie Laveau, Voodoo Queen
Patti LuPone: TBD
Frances Conroy**: TBD
Lily Rabe**: Misty
Danny Huston: TBD
*: AHS cast member for one season
**: AHS cast member for two seasons
With a cast like that, I can’t wait to see what happens. As they say in New Orleans, Laissez les bons temps rouler!
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