FX’s The Beauty: “Infuriating” horror barely earns one star

After I first got here throughout the trailer for Ryan Murphy’s new horror sequence, I believed it will be a campy, over-the-top story with a robust The Substance vibe. At worst, I believed it will be a classy bore, at greatest – a responsible pleasure in a scrumptious True Blood vogue. Nevertheless, The Magnificence exceeded my wildest expectations.

Murphy’s earlier challenge, All’s Truthful, was hailed because the worst TV sequence of 2025, however nonetheless, I wasn’t ready for The Magnificence to resemble the work of a second-year screenwriting pupil.

The story, primarily based on the graphic novel of the identical title by Haun and Jason A. Hurley, follows two FBI brokers – and mates with advantages – Cooper Madsen (Evan Peters) and Jordan Bennett (Rebecca Corridor), as they examine the stunning deaths of supermodels.

On their path, they encounter mysterious assassins, incels, fashions, a cynical tech bro, and… a weird, sexually transmitted virus.

One of many fundamental guidelines of screenwriting is “Present, Don’t Inform”. It signifies that as a substitute of getting characters explicitly reveal their pasts, relationships, or motivations, the filmmakers ought to present it by way of appearing, set design, or interactions with different characters.

Whereas telling usually feels pretend and lazy, displaying is extra pure. And it requires extra creativity.

It’s past my creativeness that an acknowledged showrunner similar to Ryan Murphy throws this rule out the window. As a substitute of step by step creating characters by way of varied scenes, he compelled the protagonists to recite details about themselves in drawn-out, unrealistic dialogues.

What’s worse, they don’t cease there – in addition they lecture one another on up to date social points, which makes the conversations resemble Wikipedia articles.

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The idea of The Magnificence is formidable. Ryan Murphy makes an attempt to indicate the trendy obsession with bodily attractiveness, fuelled by social media.

Impressed by the Ozempic hype, he tries to disclose the true colors of aesthetic drugs, pharmaceutical corporations, and media firms, whereas displaying how damaging the wonder fixation could be to psychological and bodily well being and to interpersonal relationships.

Nevertheless, the issue is that Murphy forces his message down the viewer’s throat. In a really infuriating method, as a substitute of metaphors and ambivalence, he opts for tacky literalism, leaving the viewers no room for reflection and interpretation.

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What’s extra, the sequence’ worldview is very simplistic. When you’re hoping for an thrilling FBI investigation in Activity vogue or a dense company thriller like Severance, The Magnificence will disappoint you sorely.

The work of federal brokers and the shenanigans of tech bros seem like they had been written by a teen with no experience in both. The sequence is filled with wishful considering and has severe plot holes, of which Murphy is usually conscious. Nevertheless, he clearly has no thought easy methods to patch up the story.

The icing on the cake is a product known as The Magnificence, launched by tech billionaire often known as The Company (Ashton Kutcher). This weird serum is principally a fairytale magic potion – it may possibly do regardless of the writers must push the motion ahead.

It makes customers look youthful and extra enticing, miraculously recognising present magnificence requirements. It dissolves silicone implants and cures ailments, however one way or the other doesn’t take away scars – fortunately for a protagonist who must be recognized by a buddy.

In probably the most ridiculous scenes, the serum is even in a position to change the character’s race and carry out a profitable gender transition.

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The sloppy writing and heavy-handed didacticism are much more insufferable when mixed with the sequence’ over-the-top visible model.

Ryan Murphy tries with all his would possibly to create eye sweet, paying nice consideration to colors and lighting, dressing his characters in fastidiously designed clothes and filming in dazzling interiors. However, he has a style for physique horror, leading to recurring scenes of grotesque magnificence transformations, stuffed with splattering bodily fluids.

In a pronounced means, The Magnificence attracts from The Substance and Loss of life Turns into Her – as a wink to Robert Zemeckis’ black comedy, the showrunner even forged Isabella Rossellini in a stunning position.

Sadly, the sequence lacks the brilliance of both movie. Though The Magnificence’s kitsch and absurdity are intentional to some extent, the sequence is just too messy for a really biting satire and never entertaining sufficient for an honest responsible pleasure.

Do you have to watch The Magnificence?

If you’re a fan of advanced, ambivalent sci-fi sequence similar to Severance or Pluribus, or intelligent satire of latest society similar to Succession or White Lotus, give The Magnificence a large berth – it makes you tear your hair out after just some episodes.

It’s model over substance, by way of and thru.

The place to stream The Magnificence

Within the US, The Magnificence premieres on Hulu and FX on Wednesday, 21 January. Within the UK, the sequence will debut on Disney+ on Thursday, 22 January 2026.

The season consists of 11 episodes, which, after a three-episode premiere, shall be aired weekly. To see the total watching information, try our episode launch schedule.