Ryan Murphy's latest series, The Beauty, has been met with harsh criticism, with one reviewer calling it 'nearly unwatchable'. The 11-episode show, streaming on Disney+, follows an 'injectable Instagram filter' that transforms users into enhanced versions of themselves after a painful cocoon-like rebirth. However, the serum causes spontaneous human combustion as a side effect.
The series opens with supermodel Bella Hadid's character exploding at Paris Fashion Week, sparking a global investigation by FBI agents Cooper Madsen (Evan Peters) and Jordan Bennett (Rebecca Hall), who are also lovers. They discover the serum has a two-year expiration date and has mutated into a sexually transmitted virus 'more virulent than Ebola'.
Despite a star-studded cast including Ashton Kutcher, Anthony Ramos, and Jeremy Pope, the show has been criticised for its inconsistent tone, erratic episode lengths, and misleading marketing. Kutcher, billed as the lead, appears only briefly. The reviewer noted that 'huge needle drops are thrown on nothing scenes' and that characters are swapped out for younger actors without explanation.
The show draws comparisons to The Substance and Death Becomes Her, but is based on a 2015 comic book by Jeremy Haun and Jason A Hurle. The reviewer expressed despair at the show's worldview, calling it an 'endurance challenge' to watch all episodes.
