Kathy Bates and Jessica Lange will play friends who become worst enemies in the third season of Ryan Murphy's "American Horror Story."

Bates, who won the Oscar for Best Actress in 1990 for her memorable performance as nurse Annie in "Misery," will again cross paths with Jessica Lange, seven years after the movie "Bonneville."

Bates will also be joined by Frances Conroy, with whom she appeared in HBO's "Six Feet Under."

Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Taissa Farmiga and Lily Rabe, who were in the first two seasons, will also feature this season.

In the show, which was first broadcast on the cable network FX in fall 2011, the story, the characters and the setting change completely from one season to the next. Only a handful of actors, including Jessica Lange, remain in the cast but they play entirely different parts.

The concept is obviously working well since the series attracts over three million viewers in the United States. It has also won a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award, which were awarded to Jessica Lange.