FXHow much do we love the first episode of American Horror Story: Coven?
So much that we've spent the morning burning all our non-black clothing to embrace the look of witch-bitch chic. Suffice to say, Kathy Bates, Jessica Lange and Angela Bassett are jaw-droppingly incredible in the third season of FX's horror anthology—which is scary and funny as hell—and is looking to be the best one yet.
Creator Ryan Murphy screened the first episode to a group of reporters Thursday, and revealed that, given the show's anthology (one season and done) storyline format, he's already having casual discussions with FX President John Landgraf about continuing Coven somehow beyond this season.
"[Coven] is my favorite season that we've done so far," Murphy told us, "Every season, I get very sad when I say goodbye to and we tear down those sets. But John Landgraf, to be quite clear, and I have always spoke about that this is a show that's sort of right to spin things off. To do something different. So we are talking about it. Because I mean, I love it. I love this season, I love the cast, and I love what it's about. I love that set more than life itself... I mean, I already know what next season is and it's not witches but maybe something will happen. We're talking. It has to get on the air first, I think."
Coven, which is all about witches (duh), flawlessly interweaves the younger generation (Emma Roberts, Gabourey Sibide and the triumphant return of Taissa Farmiga), who are all young witches at a New Orleans boarding house, with the older generation (Sarah Paulson, Jessica Lange and Angela Bassett), who are running the show.
The rivalries are fierce, and the plot twists will make you cry out for your mama, but it's the humor that sets Coven apart from AHS' prior seasons. "Last year was so dark and grim and hard," Murphy admits. "And I loved it. But this year was designed to be scary but more, I think, fun. I heard a lot last year, ‘I love it but it's hard to sit through.' So I wanted this year to be easier to sit through. A little more light."
But still terrifying, don't you worry. It's actually Kathy Bates' character who will suck the breath right out of you: She plays an 18thCentury New Orleans woman, Madame Delphine LaLaurie, who actually existed and did all the horrific (as in, they are still burned onto my retinas) acts featured in the first five minutes of the episode.
Murphy reveals he approached Kathy for Coven after her "good friend" Jessica mentioned she has never missed an episode of AHS. Murphy recalls that he told Kathy, "‘I don't know if you've ever want to do a character that's eight times worse than your character on Misery, but I have the perfect part for you. She called me back in 45 minutes and said yes."
And fans who loved Evan Peters and Taissa Farmiga together in season one have so much to celebrate, they better break out a Dixie band. They are back into a romantic storyline for season three. (Though spoiler alert: It will have a decidedly un-romantic Frankenstein twist.)
"I loved them together," Murphy says of reuniting Taissa and Evan on Coven. "I thought they had really good chemistry. I thought that I wanted to write something for them, a love story. But I wanted it to be different. So after Jessica and Sarah, Taissa is the one I called in first. She liked it. She loves working with Evan. Evan loves working with her. It's odd that Evan's girlfriend [Emma Roberts] is also on the show, but I've made that work. They're comfortable, they already have a short hand, and I think the fans like that that season-one love story is reincarnated in some weird way."
Strange, seductive, horrifying and hilarious. We can hardly wait for episode two. And if the subsequent episodes hold up to the first, put our vote infor that Coven spinoff!
Coven premieres Wed, Oct 9 on FX.
TWITTER ALERT: I'm planning to do a live Twitter chat during the West Coast airing of the American Horror Story: Coven premiere, with more inside scoop. So follow @kristindsantos for more info!