Critic Reviews

The Beauty is an opulent spectacle that is so profoundly addictive and completely captivating that it is, without a doubt, Ryan Murphy's best project to date.

FBI agents Cooper and Jordan, played by Evan Peters and Rebecca Hall, are called in to investigate. While other strands of the plot come with a high dose of kitsch, these two – Peters in particular – ground the show in some sort of reality.

“The Beauty” is one of the most captivating shows Murphy has released in a long while, invoking previous hits like “American Horror Story,” “Nip/Tuck” and “Pose.” It’s a sci-fi body horror that, despite comparisons, will likely win over fans of “The Substance.”

In short, The Beauty is a return to bingeable Murphy goodness (and a harking back, subject-wise, to arguably some of his best work, Nip/Tuck).

The Beauty wears its influences loudly. But given the material, it’s a good approach.

Ryan Murphy’s deliciously demented new series zips past “The Substance” to deliver its own serial-killing take on body horror. It’s a dose of fresh hell for the Ozempic era.

It’s a better and more cohesive series than Murphy’s “Grotesquerie” and slams home a harsh point — that we are all to blame when it comes to worshipping beauty.

Especially in its later going, it takes its fantastical “what if” premise to uniquely off-kilter places, in the process transforming its maiden season into a tantalizing jumping-off point for even loopier potential follow-ups.

Some storylines are meant to be poignant but are overwhelmed by the weirdness or feel exploitative, or the characters aren’t dimensional enough to move you. There are plot twists, of course, and rejiggerings, but it’s too obvious to be really terrifying; the game is given away early. .... At the same time, there’s enough nonsense, edging into ridiculousness, that the series might best be approached as a black action-comedy — at the end of the opening scene, the gendarmes are splattered with pieces of supermodel — or a very fancy B (maybe C) picture. “Star Wars” built an empire on the latter.

“The Beauty” is a frenzied ride that will undoubtedly endear audiences at times and have them begging to get off at others.