They say that beauty is only skin-deep. But FX’s The Beauty knows that our obsession with it comes from deep within us.
In FX’s The Beauty, we are introduced to Cooper Madson (Evan Peters) and Jordan Bennett (Rebecca Hall), two FBI Agents who are called in to investigate a series of mysterious (and brutal) deaths involving international supermodels. As the two delve more deeply into the conspiracy, they discover a threat that could destroy humanity. But their search for truth also leads them into the sights of ‘The Corporation’ (Ashton Kutcher), a reckless trillionaire who refuses to lose his grip on the industry.
Created by Ryan Murphy, The Beauty has a lot to say about our obsession with perfection. Set within the world of modelling, Beauty taps into our cultural obsession with the physical form. Here, Murphy explores the lengths that people are willing to go to in order to achieve the ‘cultural standard’ of perfection. Our toxic obsession with flawlessness is shown as pervasive, making people believe that their lives are ‘missing something’. That lack of emotional wholeness affects everyone, causing them to take drastic measures just so they can measure up.
And those ‘drastic measures’ have disastrous results.
Known for his iconic American Horror Stories, Murphy has no problem stepping into the gore in order to make his point. And, in The Beauty, he has the opportunity to let loose once again, bathing the screen in bloody chaos. As the body count begins to build, Murphy pulls no punches with his visuals, bursting people open with gruesome glee.
It’s worth noting though that The Beauty doesn’t entirely judge people for wanting to change their appearance. Without giving spoilers, there are characters who choose cosmetic surgery just to give themselves joy. As such, Murphy acknowledges that there is a place for people who want to make changes to their appearance for their own sake. (Also, in doing so, he also highlights the real villains as those who would make them feel like they must adhere to some standard of beauty.)
Even so, the best parts of the series stem from its ‘couples’. Despite its wild visuals and premise, this really is a show that’s held together by the tensions between its various dynamic onscreen duos. Of course, the primary example of this comes in the form of Peters and Hall, the series’ ‘will they/won’t they’ couple. In Agents Madsen and Bennett, Beauty does take a page out of more traditional police procedurals by building the sexual tension between them quickly.
But, what makes their relationship unique is that they pull the trigger on their sexuality in the opening scenes. There’s no 3-season wait for the two of them to get into bed together. (In fact, that’s how we meet them in their opening scene.) Instead, the question of their interest in one another is whether or not they’re looking for intimacy. Like the series’ inquest into beauty itself, Madsen and Bennett may enjoy fooling around but they aren’t sure they want to be ‘together’.
As the series’ central couple, both Peters and Hall have solid chemistry with one another yet also play their characters against type. For instance, as Madsen, Peters carries himself with the same endearing cockiness that has made him a star. However, at the same time, there’s a softness to his character that feels unexpected. Held up against Bennett’s hardened and confident sexuality, the two create a tension that seems to upend gender roles in the best of ways.
Nevertheless, Peters and Hall aren’t the only duo of interest. In an unlikely onscreen pairing, Anthony Ramos’ psychotic killer, simply known as ‘Assassin’, also has some delicious scenes with Jeremy Pope’s beauty-starved, ‘Jeremy’. While their relationship isn’t sexual, it is very personal, especially as Ramos begins to see the potential in his young protégé. When given the chance to riff off of one another, they quickly become the most delightful relationship in the series as both characters are allowed to find something in the other that they need to grow.
Having said this though, the biggest challenge for this Beauty are comparisons to 2024’s The Substance, another film that focused on standards of beauty through body horror. While the film’s story is entirely different than the series in every conceivable way, there’s still something about it that feels… similar. Maybe it’s the sense of originality that Fargeat’s Oscar-nominated sci-fi carried with it. Maybe it’s the conversation surrounding perfection and beauty standards. Either way, there’s little doubt that the two projects will be held in comparison.
And, in many ways, that’s unfair to The Beauty. After all, despite their similarities, Murphy’s exploration of the world of ideal physical perfection carves its own path. Admittedly, there are moments when the writing feels bumpy yet Murphy’s latest does have a strong sense of what it wants to do. It’s wild, brutal and very graphic. But it also offers some intelligent conversations surrounding our obsession with beauty that are worth exploring.
The series premiere of The Beauty includes the first three episodes beginning at 9pm ET/PT on the FX linear channel, streaming on Hulu on Disney+ at 9pm ET
