<P> Like its predecessors, Coven was met with both mostly positive reviews, and strong ratings, with the premiere episode attracting a series high of 5.54 million viewers . The season garnered seventeen Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Miniseries and five acting nominations for Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Angela Bassett, Frances Conroy, and Kathy Bates, with Lange and Bates winning their respective acting categories . In addition, Coven was nominated for Best Miniseries or TV Film at the Golden Globe Awards . </P> <P> In the series' fifth cycle, Hotel, Gabourey Sidibe reprised her role as Queenie in the eleventh episode of the season . </P> <P> The third season follows a Coven of Salem descendants who reside within Miss Robichaux's Academy in New Orleans . Zoe Benson (Taissa Farmiga) is sent to the Academy after discovering her dark power: she can magically induce brain hemorrhaging in any man by having sex with him . Upon arrival, she meets Madison Montgomery (Emma Roberts), a telekinetic and a recovering drug abuser who was once a child film star; Queenie (Gabourey Sidibe), a descendant of Tituba with the power to inflict wounds on others by harming herself, without feeling any pain; and Nan (Jamie Brewer), an enigmatic clairvoyant who can hear the thoughts of others . </P> <P> The Academy is run by headmistress Cordelia Foxx (Sarah Paulson), who has always lived in the shadow of her mother, Fiona Goode (Jessica Lange). Fiona is the Coven's "Supreme", a witch born every generation who embodies specific gifts and magical abilities known as the Seven Wonders of Witchcraft . The Academy is looked after by Spalding (Denis O'Hare), a mute butler who has a mysterious relationship with Fiona . The Coven is assessed by the Council of Witchcraft, which includes Fiona's old rival and Cordelia's mother figure, Myrtle Snow (Frances Conroy). </P>

American horror story season 3 episode 1 cast