This Week's Cover: 'AHS' is magically delicious

Take a look at that photo. What more evidence do you need that the leading ladies of American Horror Story: Coven — Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, and Angela Bassett — are having a freaking blast? Take Bassett’s voodoo queen Marie Laveau: When she’s not having sex with a minotaur (R.I.P.), Laveau gets to luxuriate on a throne made of bones in the back room of her hair salon and proclaim things like “She done messed with the wrong weeeetch.” Meanwhile, Bates tears through Madame LaLaurie’s vitriolic speeches like a raptor. “I love going to work,” she admits. “Every scene has something exciting in it for me to do, and part of the fun, too, is reading every new script. I never know what’s coming.” Adds Lange, It’s been wonderful to be able to play humor — to have somebody as sharp-witted [as Fiona].” This week’s Entertainment Weekly cover story takes you behind the scenes — and they’re some pretty fabulous and freaky scenes, at that — at one of television’s biggest breakout hit of the season, American Horror Story.

Whether you’ve been with AHS from the beginning or are just starting to become hypnotized by the must-watch FX anthology series, it’s clear that the show is nothing short of a phenomenon, thanks in large part to the big-name talent lured by Murphy. How does he get folks like Jessica Lange, Angela Bassett and Kathy Bates on board? “I just say, ‘I love you and I want to write something for you that will be one of the most fun things of your career and you’re going to love doing it. Will you please just sign on the dotted line?’” says Murphy of his sales pitch.

In EW’s cover story, we’ve got exclusive interviews with this season’s all-star trio Lange, Bates, and Bassett, plus AHS mainstays Sarah Paulson, Frances Conroy, Denis O’Hare and more veteran actors who have been seduced by the scary series. Murphy reveals his dream cast list for future seasons of AHS, gives us some scoop on season 4, and takes us through a deep dive of what’s coming up the rest of this season on Coven.

For more AHS: Coven, check out this week’s Entertainment Weekly on newsstands Friday.