Seventy-eight percent. That was The Beauty’s score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes on the day it premiered, based on 23 reviews at the time, with no audience score yet.
FX’s body-horror series from Ryan Murphy and Matt Hodgson debuted on 21 January with its first three episodes on FX and Hulu, and in some regions Disney+. The remaining episodes of the 11-episode season stream weekly on Wednesdays. Episodes run from 24 to 50 minutes.
It is adapted from the comic by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley. The story opens at a Paris fashion show, where a supermodel played by Bella Hadid goes on a bloody rampage. FBI agents Cooper Madsen (Evan Peters) and Jordan Bennett (Rebecca Hall) trace the cause to a sexually transmitted virus that starts as an injectable drug and makes people physically perfect, with fatal consequences. Ashton Kutcher plays the mogul behind it, known as The Corporation. Anthony Ramos is his hired killer, and Jeremy Pope plays a young man in Indianapolis who stumbles into the plot. Isabella Rossellini has a recurring role.
What the reviews said
Critics split on how well it holds together. Variety called it “a frenzied ride” that will win viewers over at times and have them begging to get off at others. Its reviewer liked the first several episodes and Kutcher’s casting, but said that by Episode 8 the story splinters in so many directions that audiences will get whiplash. Variety also found no real commentary on white beauty standards, despite a multi-racial cast.
Laughing Place gave it 4 out of 5, calling it addictive and unsettling, and singled out the makeup and prosthetics as likely awards contenders. It thought the show leans too far into standalone episodes after the first four.
ScreenRant’s Ben Gibbons wrote that “it may be absolutely bonkers,” but called the series addictive. The more critical reviews it surveyed said the series mistakes style for substance and leaves its themes underdeveloped.
Laughing Place also noted the nod to the 1992 cult film Death Becomes Her. Variety compared the plot to Coralie Fargeat’s 2024 film The Substance.
Sources
- Ryan Murphy’s ‘The Beauty’ Isn’t Perfect, but It’s Still a Pleasure: TV Review
- TV Review: FX’s “The Beauty” is Addictive, Unsettling, and Impossible to Look Away From
- FX's New Sci-Fi Horror Comic Adaptation Debuts With Solid Rotten Tomatoes Score
