The 2014 Paleyfest came to a close last night at the Dolby Theatre, home of the Oscars. On the final night, the festival honored the critically acclaimed & beloved miniseries “American Horror Story: Coven.”
As with past years, the crowd was in for some surprises during the night. The first was when Angela Bassett made her entrance holding the cast of Kathy Bates’ head from the season. She then set it on an empty chair next to her as the rest of the cast and producers filled in. Hmm, that had the crowd wondering if they were just going to leave that head on the chair all night long or if it was foreshadowing the first surprise. Eventually, Kathy Bates appeared on stage to take over the seat which made the crowd scream with delight. Kathy was previously not announced as being a panelist.
The panel consisted of Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Gabourey Sidibe, Evan Peters, Denis O’Hare, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Emma Roberts, Frances Conroy and Jamie Brewer as well as some of the writers/producers. The cast talked about bringing “Coven” to life and having one of the best female dominate casts on TV. There were also jokes about how the two main male characters were mute this season.
Later in the panel, as promised, Ryan delivered some details on the new season, “Freak Show.” He announced that it will film in New Orleans but the show will be taking place in 1950s Florida. It will follow a freak show run by Jessica Lange and that every actor that was on stage at Paleyfest will be returning to the show in some capacity. Before the panel, Kathy, Angela, Evan, Jessica and Sarah were the only cast members confirmed. Emma and Denis were still in talks to return.
The big reveal of the night came when Ryan called out Michael Chiklis who will be joining the cast for season 4. He will be playing Evan’s character’s father and the ex-husband to Kathy Bates’ character. That should be fun! Ryan also revealed that he still talks to Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott in hopes their schedules will work out so they can re-appear on the show. He did hint that someone from season 1 might return.
Watch some of the panel highlights below as well as take a peek at our exclusive photos.
Are you excited for “American Horror Story: Freak Show”? What was your favorite episode from “Coven”?
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