Ryan Murphy, the undisputed king of prestige pulp, is back with his latest fever dream: The Beauty, an 11-episode global thriller that morphs high fashion, body horror, and corporate conspiracy into a glossy nightmare. Set to premiere Tuesday, January 21, 2026, on FX and next-day on Hulu, the series adapts Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley’s acclaimed Image Comics title with Murphy’s signature mix of camp, carnage, and couture. The first-look images dropped December 3, 2025, are pure catwalk carnage: blood-splattered runways, impossibly perfect faces melting into grotesque beauty, and Evan Peters’ haunted FBI agent staring into a mirror that might just stare back.
At its core, The Beauty asks the question Murphy loves most: how far would you go for perfection? The answer is apparently “pretty damn far.” A sexually transmitted virus (yes, really) is sweeping the elite, turning ordinary mortals into supermodel gods and goddesses—until the side effects kick in with a vengeance. Enter FBI Agents Cooper Madsen (Evan Peters, fresh off his Dahmer Emmy) and Jordan Bennett (Rebecca Hall, Godzilla x Kong) dispatched to Paris when international icons start dropping dead in increasingly gruesome ways. Their investigation collides with “The Corporation,” a trillion-dollar empire run by shadowy tech billionaire Victor Vale (Ashton Kutcher, in full evil-Elon mode), who’s secretly engineered the miracle drug “The Beauty.” Protecting his empire is lethal enforcer “The Assassin” (Anthony Ramos, In the Heights, bringing lethal charisma), while outsider Jeremy (Jeremy Pope, Hollywood) gets caught in the viral crossfire, searching for meaning in a world obsessed with surfaces.
Filming wrapped in Paris, Venice, Rome, and New York, promising the kind of opulent location porn Murphy perfected in Feud: Capote vs. The Swans and American Horror Story: NYC. Expect blood-red ballgowns, cathedral catwalks, and at least one scene where someone’s perfect cheekbones literally slide off their face. The supporting cast is stacked: Thandiwe Newton as a ruthless magazine editor, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez as a scientist racing for a cure, and Michael Imperioli as a Vatican fixer who knows more than he’s confessing.
This marks Murphy’s third new series in 18 months (All’s Fair and Mid-Century Modern are already in the can), cementing his reputation as TV’s most prolific (and polarizing) showrunner. Critics remain split: Monster: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story drew mixed reviews for its campy courtroom theatrics, and legal drama All’s Fair landed with a thud despite Kim Kardashian’s headline-grabbing debut. Yet Murphy’s track record (Glee, American Crime Story, Pose, Ratched) suggests The Beauty could be another water-cooler juggernaut—especially with Peters and Hall anchoring the chaos.
Early buzz is electric. The comic’s fans praise the fidelity to Haun and Hurley’s twisted vision, while Murphy devotees are already predicting Emmy submissions for Peters’ descent into obsession and Ramos’ ice-cold killer. Detractors, however, roll their eyes at another “beautiful people doing ugly things” premise—Murphy’s brand of high-gloss horror is starting to feel like a house style on repeat.
Still, when the first-look teaser hit, X lit up: “Ryan Murphy said body horror but make it fashion week” “Evan Peters covered in blood in a couture gown? Inject it directly into my veins” “Ashton Kutcher as an evil billionaire? He’s literally just playing himself”
Love him or loathe him, Murphy doesn’t do subtle. The Beauty looks set to be his most unhinged swing yet: Black Mirror meets The Devil Wears Prada with a side of Contagion. Mark January 21. In a world obsessed with filters and fillers, this might just be the mirror we’re too scared to loo
