Comic-Con welcomed the cast of Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story:  Coven for the first time since the anthology premiered on October 2011.  The hour opened with a video presentation that highlighted the season in its entirety before the cast was brought on stage.  Those in attendance were executive producer Tim Minear and cast members:  Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Emma Roberts, and the newest actor to join the AHS family, Michael Chiklis.  The FX drama is known for pushing the boundaries when it comes to violence and horror, and based on what was discussed in Saturday’s panel, the next installment will be taking that up a notch or two.

The laughs abounded among the cast members and the audience as they thought back to Coven’s most memorable scenes.  And while Bates joked that Murphy is quite difficult to work with, the consensus was that the experience had been a wonderful one.  There were also some tidbits given of what we can expect from this fall’s next chapter, American Horror Story:  Freak Show.  Hit the jump for highlights from the panel.

Celebrating “Crime, Death, and Resurrection,” the Behind the Music panel at Comic Con paid tribute to the work of composers in enhancing genre TV and film. The panel opened with a highly-applauded reel of the composers’ work: Jeff Russo for Fargo, James Levine for American Horror Story, Daniel Licht for Dexter, Steve Jablonsky for Transformers: Age of Extinction, Brian Reitzell for Hannibal, and Christopher Young for Deliver Us From Evil. Actor Shane West (Salem, Nikita) moderated.

During the Q&A the composers discussed the challenges of writing music for the horror genre, the synthesis of developing continuing working relationships with the same directors or creators, and teased upcoming projects.  Additionally, Young talked about pitching himself to compose the score for Marvel’s Doctor Strange. 

FX has unveiled its schedule for San Diego Comic-Con 2014, which kicks off in a little over two weeks.  Panels will be held for three returning series, as well as one highly anticipated debut.  Briefly:

• The Strain – The panel for Guillermo del Toro’s new vampire drama series will be held on Sunday in Hall H, with del Toro, showrunner Carlton Cuse, executive producer/writer Chuck Hogan, and the entire cast (including Corey Stoll and Sean Astin) in attendance.  The entire third episode will be screened after the Q&A.
• Archer – A screening and Q&A for the magnificent animated series will be held on Friday in the Indigo Ballroom, with the voice cast and creators in attendance.  An original animated short created specifically for SDCC will be screened.
• Sons of Anarchy – Creator Kurt Sutter, executive producer Paris Barclay, and cast will take part in a screening at Q&A on Sunday in Hall H.
• American Horror Story – Creator Ryan Murphy and a number of castmembers will discuss AHS: Coven and the upcoming AHS: Freak Show with a special tease of the new season on Saturday in Ballroom 20.

Hit the jump for more details on the aforementioned panels, and look for our full recaps on Collider during Comic-Con.  2014 Comic-Con runs from Thursday, July 24th through Sunday, July 27th.

From writer/director Gia Coppola and based on the book by James Franco, the indie drama Palo Alto follows shy, sensitive teenager April (Emma Roberts), a popular soccer player and babysitter for her single-dad coach (James Franco). At the same time, Teddy (Jack Kilmer) hangs out with his best friend and sidekick Fred (Nat Wolff), while trying to find the nerve to tell April about his feelings for her.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, actress Emma Roberts talked about how she tracked down Gia Coppola and campaigned for her role, how she’s always trying to find books to pursue the rights for, how the book and film are very different entities, how nice and normal James Franco was to work with, how this movie feels both of its time and timeless, why it’s more challenging to play someone so real, and what she thinks might have happened to this character, beyond the point where the film ends. She also talked about getting invited back for American Horror Story: Freak Show, that they start shooting the new season in July, how she’s looking forward to doing a period piece, that she doesn’t yet have any details about the story or character, and how she’s love to be in a Wes Anderson film. Check out what she had to say after the jump.

For more than 30 years, PaleyFest has held panel sessions and screenings that connect the worldwide community of television fans with the casts and creators of their favorite TV shows. One of the evenings was to celebrate the success of the anthology series American Horror Story, both looking back on the most recent season, American Horror Story: Coven, and looking ahead to the next season, American Horror Story: Freak Show.  Collider was there to attend the panel, and we’ve compiled the highlights about the upcoming season.

During the evening, executive producers/co-creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk were joined by newest cast member Michael Chiklis to talk about how he will be playing father to Evan Peters and ex-husband to Kathy Bates, that this marks the actor’s return to FX, that the season will be set in a freak show in 1950 in Florida (even though it will shoot in New Orleans), how this was a setting that Jessica Lange wanted, writing roles specifically for the actors playing them, and that some of the actors from Season 1 and/or Season 2 will also be returning, along with Sarah Paulson, Angela Bassett, Emma Roberts, Frances Conroy, Denis O’Hare, Gabourey Sidibe and Jamie Brewer.  Check out what they had to say about American Horror Story Season 4 after the jump.

The subtitle for the upcoming fourth season of the FX horror drama anthology series American Horror Story has been revealed.  There have been rumors for months that season four of the stylistic thriller would take place at a carnival, and it appears that those rumors weren’t far off as today creator Ryan Murphy unveiled the full title: American Horror Story: Freak Show.  The cast has yet to be announced, but it was previously made known that this will be Jessica Lange’s final season with the series, so one imagines Murphy will send her off with a bang.  Hit the jump for more, including what we know so far about season four.

[Update: An official logline has been released, along with some casting news.  More after the jump.]

Well, the third season of FX’s horror anthology American Horror Story is in the books.  Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s American Horror Story: Coven promised magic and mayhem (which we got in spades) along with a new Supreme by season’s end.  They made good on both points, but also managed to muddy up the waters along the way.  Powers were established and then thrown away, redemption was teased but rarely achieved, and characters died and revived so often as to lose any emotional impact.  Still pretty entertaining though, even if the only purpose for the entire season was a song and a stance.  Hit the jump for my episode/season recap and review.

From co-creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, the FX series American Horror Story uses a unique and compelling approach to television, with a different setting, different characters and a rotating cast of actors for each season.  For Season 3, American Horror Story: Coven has told the secret history of witches and witchcraft in America, with a cast of talented actresses that included Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Patti LuPone, Sarah Paulson, Frances Conroy, Lily Rabe, Taissa Farmiga, Emma Roberts, Gabourey Sidibe and even Stevie Nicks.

During this exclusive phone interview with Collider, actress Angela Bassett talked about how she came to be a part of the show this season, how it was the best of all worlds, bringing the history of the real woman to her portrayal in the present day, talking to actual voodouns, how invaluable it was to really get to shoot in New Orleans, and that she would absolutely be willing to entertain the idea of returning to the series, for a future season.  Check out what she had to say after the jump.

Here we are at the penultimate episode of FX’s American Horror Story: Coven in which viewers get to “Go to Hell” right along with the witches.  One big question was answered tonight, which was, just what the heck are these “Seven Wonders” supposed to be anyway?  With that out of the way, the only major mystery left to be unraveled is the identity of the new Supreme.  While each of the witches has shown signs of being the next leader of the coven, we’ll have to wait until next week to find out who comes out on top.  In the meantime, hit the jump for my recap and review of tonight’s ep.

With only two episodes left in American Horror Story: Coven, the major external threat to the witches’ sisterhood appears to have been eliminated, but internal dangers abound.  It’s anyone’s guess who the new Supreme is at this point, especially since even the current Supreme isn’t quite sure.  What’s a witch to do?  In the immortal words of Metallica: Kill ‘Em All.  We’re not quite to that point yet, as everyone under the academy’s roof is jockeying for position and shoring up their alliances, some pf which worked out better than others.  Hit the jump for my recap of “Protect the Coven” to see who’s left standing.

As part of the TCA Press Tour presentation for FX, President & General Manager John Landgraf took some time to talk about their current hit series and how they determine the format and renewal for their shows.  During the interview, Landgraf talked about how they came to the decision to end Justified with six seasons, the format for Fargo, why they chose to order a second season of The Bridge, and hinted at what the fourth season of American Horror Story will look like.  Check out what he had to say after the jump. 

FX’s American Horror Story: Coven made a strong return for the second half of their season, featuring not just one, but two guest stars.  As you can probably guess from the title, singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks guest starred as herself, to the delight of everyone on screen and off.  In much more of an unrecognizable role was guest star Lance Reddick (Fringe) who played the devilish Papa Legba.  The new blood certainly livened up the proceedings, but were the witches still up to their same old tricks?  Hit the jump to find out.

As of tonight’s episode, American Horror Story: Coven is back on track, which is remarkable for a show that’s known for going off the rails in all sorts of entertaining ways.  The show’s mid-season finale had all of the elements that make the horror anthology so much fun to watch: multiple examples of the supernatural (in this case, the powers of both the witches and voodoo practitioners), explorations of character backstories that make their otherwise vile actions seem somewhat justified, and plenty of shocking WTF moments to go around.  Some characters are starting to come apart at the seams while others are finally managing to knit themselves back together.  Hit the jump for a recap and review of tonight’s episode, “Head”.

There are times when you have to throw out all sense of reason and logic while watching American Horror Story: Coven, and just sit back and enjoy the ride.  Tonight was one of those times.  Whether it’s inconsistencies in storytelling, repetitive scenes that seem to play out in the same way week after week, or aggravating camera flourishes that distract from the otherwise engaging performances on screen, sometimes you just have to let all that go so you can enjoy a zombie learning to speak with a LeapFrog tablet, a neo-conservative Christian purification remedy, and a racist witch’s head in a box.  It’ll all make sense after the jump.

From co-creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, the FX series American Horror Story uses a unique and compelling approach to television, with a different setting, different characters and a rotating cast of actors for each season. For Season 3, American Horror Story: Coven tells the secret history of witches and witchcraft in America, with a cast of talented actresses that includes Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Patti LuPone, Sarah Paulson, Frances Conroy, Lily Rabe, Taissa Farmiga, Emma Roberts, Gabourey Sidibe and now even Stevie Nicks.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, actress Emma Roberts (who plays out-of-control Hollywood starlet and resident bitch Madison Montgomery) talked about how she came to be a part of Coven, that she was initially nervous about the subject matter, how much fun it is to play a bitch, how far ahead she was made aware of her character’s story arc, the fantastic clothes and shoes she gets to wear, how great it is to work with all of these talented actresses, just how much crazier things can get (they actually cut out a sex scene from Episode 7), the fan reaction she gets from people when she’s out, and how she’d love to return for Season 4.  She also talked about how she hopes to continue to find a balance between roles in comedy and drama, and how it’s her dream to play a Margot Tenenbaum (from The Royal Tenenbaums) type of character.  Check out what she had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers.