Ryan Murphy is back, and he’s leaning hard into his favorite themes: vanity, obsession, and body horror. His newest series, The Beauty, just dropped its first-look teaser, and it’s already one of the most talked-about projects heading into 2026.
The Plot: A Pretty Little Nightmare
Based on the graphic novel by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley, the series premieres this January. Imagine a world where you don’t need a gym or a surgeon to be perfect. In “The Beauty,” a revolutionary “super-drug” transforms anyone into their physical ideal. You shed weight, regrow hair, and look like a supermodel—the only side effect is a slight, persistent fever.
But as the agents in the show soon find out, that fever eventually burns you from the inside out. FBI Agents Cooper Madsen (Evan Peters) and Jordan Bennett (Rebecca Hall) head to Paris to investigate a string of gruesome supermodel deaths. Their investigation leads them to “The Corporation,” headed by a tech billionaire (Ashton Kutcher) who engineered the drug to build a trillion-dollar empire. To protect his interests, Kutcher’s character unleashes a lethal enforcer known as “The Assassin” (Anthony Ramos).
A Star-Studded Murphy Ensemble
It wouldn’t be a Ryan Murphy production without a massive, eclectic cast of favorites and fresh faces. The Main Players include Evan Peters, Rebecca Hall, Anthony Ramos, Jeremy Pope, and Ashton Kutcher. Of course, there are many guest stars. The lineup is wild—including Bella Hadid (in her big acting debut), Isabella Rossellini, Ben Platt, Meghan Trainor, and Vincent D’Onofrio.
The Release Schedule
“The Beauty” consists of 11 episodes. After the 3-episode premiere on January 21, it moves to a weekly schedule until the finale on March 4, which will feature a double-episode drop.
More Murphy on the Horizon
As always, Murph has no shortage of projects underway. Here’s what else is heading your way: “American Horror Story,” “Monster: Lizzie Borden,” “American Love Story,” and “The Shards.”
