Ryan Murphy Just Made Body Horror Feel Mainstream Again as His New Series Tops 14M Trailer Views

4 days ago 8

Collier Jennings is an entertainment journalist with a substantial amount of experience under his belt. Collier, or "CJ" to his friends and family, is a dedicated fan of genre films - particularly science fiction, fantasy and comic book adaptations, not to mention all forms of animation animation. This stems from a close bond with his father, who introduced him to these genres via copies of X-Men comics and reruns of the original Ultraman series. Using his near-encyclopedic knowledge and bottomless love of genre, he's been able to tackle a wide variety of articles.

Ryan Murphy has become one of the most influential and controversial figures in entertainment over the years, especially with his output for FX. He turned the American Horror Story franchise into a bona fide horror hit, and Pose was a well-crafted exploration of the "ball culture" of the late 1980s. On the other hand, Murphy's latest series, All's Fair, received the worst reviews of his career. Murphy is set to return to his roots with his latest FX series, The Beauty, as its trailer has racked up a staggering 14 million views on YouTube since its release.

Based on the Image Comics series by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley, The Beauty takes place in a world where a new sexually transmitted disease is spreading like wildfire. However, it turns out that most people want the disease, as contracting it makes you physically attractive. The TV version of The Beauty has made a few changes to the source material, turning "The Beauty" from a sexually transmitted disease to a drug (hence the clever tagline, "One Shot Makes You Hot"). It also shows that Ryan Murphy hasn't lost his penchant for body horror or gathering together an all-star cast.

The Trailer For 'The Beauty' Is Chock-Full of Disturbing Imagery

Throughout the trailer for The Beauty, people are shown taking the injection and marveling at the physical changes it brings to their bodies. Ashton Kutcher's character, nicknamed "The Corporation", crows that his super drug "is an STD people will actually want", reflecting the original premise of the comic. Yet there are moments that are chock-full of body horror. People start bleeding from their eyes. One woman screams and starts ripping off her skin. Throughout the trailer, there's an image of a supermodel (Bella Hadid) who is slowly becoming more and more insane as the Beauty takes its toll on her body, even coming face-to-face with a police squad.

The approach that Murphy is taking to The Beauty can be seen in the trailers for his other projects, and it shows that he has a penchant for drawing in and then shocking his loyal audience. Whether it's the disturbing images spread throughout the trailers for each season of American Horror Story or the nightmare fuel in Grotesquerie, viewers are sure to be disgusted, enthralled, or even both. In a way, The Beauty is the perfect distillation of Murphy's aesthetic, especially since he's said it explores themes from one of his early FX series, Nip/Tuck.

'The Beauty' Will Explore 'Ozempic Culture', According to Ryan Murphy

Like the comic that inspired it, The Beauty is going to shine a light on the often self-destructive ideals the beauty industry puts upon the world. Ryan Murphy discussed the themes of the series with Variety, and how it took him into science fiction, a genre he'd never done before:

“It’s something I’ve never done before, which is a sci-fi medical show about a new virus that mutates and it’s sexually transmitted, that turns you into your absolute perfect self. And the question is, how far would you go to be beautiful? What would you sacrifice to that, and does that matter? That show was looking at, I call it the Ozempic culture. One little shot, and suddenly you’re going to look better and feel better, and all your problems are going to go away. But what are you really working on? What’s going on with you that you feel you need to do that? Sometimes it is health, sometimes it’s vanity.”

To bring The Beauty to life, Murphy has once again assembled an all-star cast. In addition to Ashton Kutcher, Murphy alum Evan Peters plays an FBI agent investigating the Beauty outbreak, while Rebecca Hall plays his partner; Anthony Ramos plays an assassin working for The Corporation, and Vincent D'Onofrio and Meghan Trainor have yet to be disclosed roles. Based on the overwhelming number of views for the trailer, it looks like Murphy has another horror hit on his hands.

The Beauty premieres on FX and Hulu on January 21, 2026.