Tag Archives: American Horror Story season 3

TV reminder: ‘American Horror Story: Coven’ premieres tonight (10/9) at 10PM on FX [Update: record ratings]

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The third season of Ryan Murphy’s horror anthology series American Horror Story is upon us. This year is called Coven and it involves witches and voodoo and New Orleans. The cast is largely female this season featuring heavy hitters like series vet Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe, Taissa Farmiga, Angela Bassett, Patti Lupone, Emma Roberts, Gabourey Sidibe, Jamie Brewer, Evan Peters, and Denis O’Hare. The show’s official site offers up a brief glimpse of what’s in store:

American Horror Story: Coven tells the secret history of witches and witchcraft in America. Over three hundred years have passed since the turbulent days of Salem and those who managed to escape are now facing extinction. Mysterious attacks have been escalating against their kind and young girls are being sent away to a special school in New Orleans to learn how to protect themselves. Wrapped up in the turmoil is new arrival, Zoe, who is harboring a terrifying secret of her own. Alarmed by the recent aggression, Fiona, the long-absent Supreme, sweeps back into town, determined to protect the Coven and hell-bent on decimating anyone who gets in her way.

I was fortunate enough to screen the premiere titled “Bitchcraft” (heh) early and I can tell you without any qualms that it’s quite fun and still scary. This season Murphy is aiming for a lighter, more palatable ride. Last season’s Asylum was fantastic–don’t get me wrong–but you must admit it was, at times, difficult to watch in terms of its heavy, dark tones and overly disturbing situations. The Coven premiere starts off disturbing enough and yet it doesn’t hold back jolts of humor–a pleasant surprise. If the first ep is any indication, Coven is going to be a wild, scary, sexy, fun time.

Below, check out character portraits and posters in the galleries. (How do you like the provocative key art hanging above, hm?) After the break, watch the one minute main title sequence filled with (to put it mildly) tantalizing imagery and that score you know and love. Click here to watch the many Coven promos.

American Horror Story: Coven premieres tonight, Wednesday, October 9, at 10PM on FX.

Update (10/10): “Bitchcraft” attracted 5.54 million total viewers making it the most-watched episode of the series spanning all three seasons. The Murder House series premiere in 2011 was the previous record-holding episode which garnered 3.85 million total viewers. The Coven premiere also attracted a solid 3.87 million viewers in the coveted 18-49 demo, another new record for the anthology series.

Continue reading TV reminder: ‘American Horror Story: Coven’ premieres tonight (10/9) at 10PM on FX [Update: record ratings] →

‘AHS: Coven’: More creepy teasers!

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You know you can’t get enough of these things. Ryan Murphy and company have concocted even more creep-tastic teasers hyping the upcoming third season of American Horror Story. After the break “Stakes” and “Coffin” await your click but the 30-second clip hanging above called “Initiation” is the juiciest; this one finally features Coven‘s female-driven cast. See if you can spot them all: Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Sarah Paulson, Taissa Farmiga, Gabourey Sidibe, Emma Roberts, Jamie Brewer, and Evan Peters.

AHS: Coven premieres October 9 at 10PM on FX. Continue reading ‘AHS: Coven’: More creepy teasers! →

Inside the ‘American Horror Story’ main title sequence

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If you’re a fan of FX’s American Horror Story then you know just how intricate and foreboding the main title sequences for the series can be. In this brief but tantalizing clip, executive producer Ryan Murphy and title designer Kyle Cooper discuss the sheer amount of effort that goes into making the title sequence for the show. Since each season tells an entirely different horror story with new characters, each opening sequence therefore also shifts and adapts to a new setting and tone.

“If you can make a title sequence that elicits an emotional reaction, that’s a successful title sequence,” says Cooper.

“I’ve always been obsessed with main titles, I really feel like it’s an art form,” Murphy adds. “It tells you what the viewing experience ahead is going to be.”

Murphy goes on to tease what fans can expect from the Coven opening titles, and I’ll save that fun morsel for you to hear yourself. Click play and invite that spooky theme music back into your squishy brain.

AHS: Coven premieres this October.

[Via THR]

Ryan Murphy reveals the name of the next season of ‘American Horror Story’, introduces Kathy Bates as villain

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On Friday Ryan Murphy and company took the stage at PaleyFest and made come major announcements concerning the upcoming third season of his horror anthology series American Horror Story. First, we’ve got the subtitle: Coven. And yes, the new season will be about witches. “It’s a really cool story we’ve been talking about for a couple of years, and this seemed the year to do it.” We were told in the past that AHS 3 will shoot on location in three different cities across the country; Murphy revealed that one of those locales will be New Orleans. “The fun thing is researching what are the really haunted places in America, and we have a couple doozy locales,” he said.

As previously announced, Jessica Lange will lead an ensemble cast that includes returning AHS actors Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy, and Taissa Farmiga. A surprise guest joined the cast and creators on stage at PaleyFest: veteran actresss Kathy Bates is joining the cast to play a “cuckoo-for-Cocoa Puffs character” that is at odds with Lange’s new character. “I wanted to see a lot of scenes with Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates going at it,” Murphy said, “so that’s what you’re going to see.” Despite playing the villain in the 1990 psychological thriller Misery (a role that won her an Oscar), Murphy promises that her AHS role is even worse. “Oh, Kathy’s never [played] someone this bad. Her [character] is a bad, bad woman,” he exclaimed. “When I pitched this to Kathy, her mouth was drop-jawed because what I was pitching actually happened,” he went on. “It’s a true event…You’ll see. It’s some good stuff.”

American Horror Story: Coven is really starting to take shape now. With an all-star cast and exciting new locations planned, anticipation is as high as ever for the FX drama. AHS returns for more spooks this fall.

[Via Deadline; TVLine 1, 2; EW]

Ryan Murphy teases ‘American Horror Story’ season 3

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Ryan Murphy is still being tight-lipped about the clues he dropped in the final few episodes of American Horror Story: Asylum that shed light on what’s to come in season 3 of the anthology horror series. But at a recent screening of the Asylum finale, he did open up to reporters about who’s signed on to come back and he gave a very big picture preview of the upcoming season.

When FX renewed AHS for a third season in November, it was revealed that Jessica Lange (Constance then Jude) would return for the third time in a row to star. Since then, Murphy has let slip that Sarah Paulson (Billy Dean then Lana) and Evan Peters (Tate then Kit) are also coming back as newly fleshed out characters for the new season. Also on tap to return is season 1 star Taissa Farmiga; she played Ben and Vivian Harmon’s daughter Violet. Murphy told EW: “I missed her this season. There wasn’t really a role for her. I feel very protective of her and I didn’t want her to go back into the loony bin—it was too dark. So I thought well ‘I want Taissa to be one of the leads next year.’ I called her up and pitched her the character for the season and she loved it and she said, ‘Yes let’s do it.’ So we’re in negotiations for her to headline season 3.” Rejoining the gang behind-the-scenes is director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon who helped some of the best episodes this season including “I Am Anne Frank (Part 2),” “Spilt Milk,” and the finale “Madness Ends.” Murphy said he’s signed on to direct every third episode next season and that he will have a creative hand in every episode produced.

As far as plot details go, Murphy isn’t diving in just yet but here’s what we’ve got so far. The third season will be “more historical in nature” and take place in modern day across three different cities (on location), though time will jump into the past as it did in season one. The show will continue to harp on our horrors but overall the new season will be lighter in tone than Asylum; it will feature more comedic elements and a romance story. The major arc will revolve around Lange’s character who Murphy hypes to be a “glamour cat leading lady” who will be privy to “hair and makeup and the best designer gowns ever.” Next year’s major monster following season 1’s Rubber Man and season 2’s Bloody Face will be “a great icon–and it’s a woman,” Murphy teases. In fact he says that a big theme in season 3 is going to be “female power.”

And here’s good news for fans of the series. Murphy sees it going for years and years. “I hope this show goes for 10 years because I have so many different kinds of horror that I would like to write about,” he says. “But, I love that you can jump periods and you can play with different actors.  I know the actors love playing different characters. So, it’s something that we’ll always stay with.”

American Horror Story reboots next fall.

[Via THR; TVLine; Collider]

Want to know what ‘American Horror Story’ season 3 is going to be about?

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FX gave the green light for a third season of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s anthology series American Horror Story. In tonight’s episode “The Name Game,” a clue will present itself for viewers to find and interpret and this clue will shed light on what to expect in the next season. Murphy played this game with fans last year. In season 1 episode 11 “Birth” Sarah Paulson’s character Billie Dean converses with Taissa Farmiga’s Violet and mentions an evil energy generated by places like prisons and asylums. And wouldn’t you know–AHS season 2 takes place at an insane asylum. So how will things play out in tonight’s ep?

“It’s not done like it was last year,” Murphy tells EW. “It’s a different kind of clue. You really have to be quick and watch. I made sure to put it in there for the fans because I know people loved that last year, figuring it out.”

Will it come from the mouth of Paulson’s new character Lana, or perhaps someone else will spill the beans. (My money is on Pepper!) Or maybe it won’t be a verbal clue at all but instead be something mindlessly chilling in the background. Will it come wrapped inside the lyrics of a song? If you find it, share your discovery in the comment section below. When Murphy confirms it (which likely won’t be for months–he likes to give time for the fans to figure it out on their own), I’ll post the update here.

American Horror Story: Asylum airs its fourth to last episode tonight at 10PM on FX.

Update: In EW’s post-episode interview, Murphy did not comment on the specific clue hiding in “The Name Game.” However, when he was asked if next season will be lighter he responded like this:

“I mean, I don’t think anything could ever be as dark as the mental health care system in our country. I sorta feel like for the third version I want to do something that’s a little bit more “evil glamour.” Just something that’s a little bit more…one of the things that I missed this season was I really loved having that Romeo & Juliet youth story with Violet and Tate. I want something like that again and we’re doing something like that in the third season. And we’re contemplating shooting the show in a different place. We’re contemplating shooting it in a place in the country where true horror has been. We’ve got lots of delicious plans.”

FX renews ‘American Horror Story’ for season 3

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This week FX renewed American Horror Story. With strong ratings and intense creativity brimming, it’s no shocker. The anthology series’ third season remains under wraps plot-wise, of course, but it has been revealed that Jessica Lange (Constance Langdon in Murder House, Sister Jude in Asylum) will star again. With season two encompassing so many intense fears, it’s hard to imagine what Ryan Murphy and co. have in store for us next.

FX president John Landgraf: “With American Horror Story: Asylum, Ryan and Brad have raised the bar in every way from Murder House, the first American Horror Story miniseries. And their original idea—the notion of doing an anthological series of miniseries with a repertory cast—has proven groundbreaking, wildly successful and will prove to be trendsetting. We can’t wait to see what deviously brilliant ideas they come up with for their third miniseries.”

FX begins production on the third season of AHS this summer and it’s set to premiere in Fall 2013.

Currently, AHS: Asylum airs Wednesday nights at 10PM on FX.