‘American Horror Story’ and Six Things We Learned From a Night With the Coven

The Coven witches of American Horror Story season 13 convened for a PaleyFest panel on Thursday night in New York City, where co-executive producer Lou Eyrich accepted the inaugural PaleyFest Award on behalf of the long-running, megahit FX horror anthology from Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, before joining stars Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Billie Lourd, Gabourey Sidibe and Leslie Grossman for an hourlong chat about the show’s legacy and currently airing all-star crossover season. I had spoken with the close-knit group — who were fittingly, all dressed in black — earlier that day about the most recent episode (read that here), before moderating Thursday night’s panel, which was full of never-before-shared stories and AHS reflections (and laugh-out-loud remarks from Lange) from the witches who make up the AHS coven. Here are six things gleaned from the night.

Jessica Lange Had One Condition to Return

Lange hadn’t been a series regular on AHS since season four’s Freak Show (though she returned as a guest star for season eight’s Apocalypse). So when Murphy called to ask if she would come back for 13, Lange said only if she could revisit all four of her iconic characters: Constance Langdon (Murder House), Sister Jude (Asylum), Fiona Goode (Coven) and Elsa Mars (Freak Show). “One of his favorite characters was Constance [from Murder House], and he mentioned bringing her back. And I said, ‘Well, I might consider if I can do all four characters that I had originated, and also work with all the rest of the actors.’ Because we were a repertory company, … and I loved that part of it, really, really loved that part. So it was those promises, and then I changed my mind about never doing it again.”

The Freak Show Season Was Lange’s Idea

“I had always been fascinated by circuses,” said Lange, who pitched the season to Murphy, along with sending him a Taschen book of circuses. “I know from experience things that happen when a circus comes to town, and I just thought it was a ripe subject matter for all sorts of bizarre things happening. And he came back with the idea of making it one of the last freak shows. How that whole era is coming to an end, and you have this down-and-out freak show on the road.”

It was also her idea to shoot in New Orleans. Coven, said Paulson, was even born out of that idea to shoot there. “New Orleans is a good place to shoot … let’s just say, we had a good time,” quipped Lange.

Fittingly, Lange’s favorite of all her four characters is Elsa, with Freak Show being her favorite season to film. “The set that was built outside of town really was like a poem. It was lost in time and had this magic to it. And everybody they brought, just the most amazing people that we had a chance to know, there was something magical about it. And the fact that they actually let me sing? To be able to sing when you can’t sing is great!” she said.

Evan Peters Nixed Asylum in Season 13

Paulson said she was already thinking about coming back when she got the call from Murphy about season 13. She quickly said yes when finding out “Lady Lange” was on board and realizing that a Coven season would reunite the larger group.

“I wish I would have played Lana Winters, but I really blame Evan Peters for that,” she shared, also naming Asylum as her favorite season. “One of the writers came around asking who I wanted to play and I said, I want to be Lana [from Asylum], and Evan was like, ‘Oh, God. Don’t make me do that accent again.’ So basically, that got squashed right away. No Lana Winters for me!”

Sarah Paulson Filmed Episode 4’s Hellmouth Scene — and Her Four Characters — in One Day

In season 13, after not appearing as a series regular since season 10, Paulson took on Cordelia Goode (Coven), Hypodermic Sally (Hotel), Ms. Wilhemina Venable (Apocalypse), Mamie Eisenhower (Double Feaeture) and Tuberculosis Karen (Double Feature).

“It was one day of me going back and forth to the make up trailer and putting on hair hats and a Sally wig. It was crazy,” she said. She also joked that, unlike Lange, she wasn’t asked by Murphy from the start about who she wanted to play.

Roanoke is Paulson’s Least Favorite Season

Gabourey Sidibe and Paulson sat on two different sides of the coin when it comes to the somewhat divisive Roanoke installment. During the panel, Paulson thumbed down the sixth season several times, but Sidibe argued, “If you love that show, it is an onion — it is a show inside of a show inside of a show!” she said.

Lange Has Not Seen an Episode of AHS

A running joke throughout the panel was that Paulson and Lange both hadn’t seen 1984 — or, in Lange’s case, any of the seasons at all. “I’ve never watched any of it,” she said candidly. “I haven’t even seen the ones I’m in.” When Billie Lourd named her favorite character she’d want to revisit — Montana, from her favorite season, 1984 — the audience was (hilariously) reminded that Lange had not seen that season, either.

The Coven Could Be Back Very Soon (Lange Is a Maybe)

Sidibe said the end of season 13 may close some chapters, but it doesn’t close the book. “I said when we finished filming that we’ll be back in six months,” she said.

“I don’t think Coven is ever closed,” echoed Grossman. “I think we feel it, and I think there’s a reason this has resonated for all of these years.” Grossman reminded the audience that she wasn’t in the third season of Coven, but joined the witches later in Apocalypse. “There is a sisterhood, and it is something that resonates with us and translates to people who watch it. I think you feel it in the scenes where we’re all together. … In my opinion, the Coven story could go eight thousand different ways.”

Eyrich confirmed with a head nod that her gut also says the Coven story is not over after the season 13 finale, and Paulson teased of the finale: “The Coven becomes more central from now on [to season 13].”

“Doesn’t this close the series?!” Lange asked, saying Murphy had presented this season, initially, as the final season of the entire franchise. (He has since changed his mind.) She insisted that this is her last AHS hurrah — but Paulson pointed out that they’ve heard this from Lange before, and yet here she is. She did admit, “A couple of the [characters], I wish we were able to do more than an epsiode here or an epsidoe there. It was great fun… but I don’t see any future in it. We’re not going to keep bringing these old bitches back.” she said to resounding laughter. “We’ve had enough!”