Main Cast
Sarah Paulson as Cordelia Goode
Taissa Farmiga as Zoe Benson
Frances Conroy as Myrtle Snow
Evan Peters as Kyle Spencer
Gabourey Sidibe as Queenie
Jamie Brewer as Nan
Lily Rabe as Misty Day
Emma Roberts as Madison Montgomery
Denis O’Hare as Otis ‘Spalding’ Van Wirt[c]
Kathy Bates as Madame Delphine LaLaurie
Jessica Lange as Fiona Goode
Storyline
Set in 2013, the season follows the dwindling descendants of the witches who survived the Salem witch trials and their struggle to survive in the modern world since those who are discovered to be witches are often subjected to violent attacks from outside forces, such as voodoo practitioners. Zoe Benson (Taissa Farmiga), a young teenager completely unaware of the existence of witches, discovers her identity after an accident that causes the death of her boyfriend. She is sent to an all-girls boarding school in New Orleans which aims to protect young witches and teach them how to control their powers. There, she meets the other students, narcissistic movie star Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts), outspoken human voodoo doll Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe), and an enigmatic telepath Nan (Jamie Brewer), and gets entangled with a good-natured college student Kyle Spencer (Evan Peters). The school is run by headmistress Cordelia Foxx (Sarah Paulson), head of the Witches Council and eccentric fashionista Myrtle Snow (Frances Conroy), and the mute butler Spalding (Denis O’Hare). Cordelia’s mother, Fiona Goode (Jessica Lange), is the Supreme and most powerful witch of her generation, though she regularly avoids her responsibilities, much to the chagrin of Cordelia and her long-time rival Myrtle. After a mob of townspeople discover and burn a young witch named Misty Day (Lily Rabe), Fiona returns to lead the coven, creating conflict with Cordelia and the other young witches as they all conspire to succeed Fiona as the next Supreme.