Posted in: FX, TV | Tagged: ryan murphy, The Beauty

The Beauty, Nip/Tuck, AHS Ask Same "Deep, Essential Question": Murphy

Ryan Murphy on FX's The Beauty asking the same "deep, essential question" that he asks through Nip/Tuck and American Horror Story.

Just before the start of October, the word came down that Ryan Murphy and Murphy Productions (FX's Grotesquerie, ABC's Doctor Odyssey) and FX were teaming up for a series adaptation of Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley's comic book series The Beauty. Co-created, written, and executive-produced by Murphy and Matt Hodgson, the 11-episode series stars (so far) Evan Peters, Anthony Ramos, Jeremy Pope, and Ashton Kutcher (with Peters, Ramos, and Pope also executive-producing). With production expected to kick off this fall, Murphy previously offered some insights into what attracted him to the story and his reasons for taking on an adaptation that Murphy sees as mirroring our modern times. Now, Murphy is sharing how the story connects with a number of previous and current shows in terms of themes, focuses, and questions asked.

"I've always written about beauty culture in my work from my very first big thing, which was 'Nip/Tuck.' I've also done a lot of body horror in my work, mostly through 'American Horror Story.' I just think that it asks that deep, essential question that I always like to ask about anything: What would you do for love? What would you do for beauty? What would you do for money? It has all of those things that I've grappled with in my entire career, all in one package," Murphy shared about The Beauty.

In terms of the overall scope of the show, Murphy previously compared it to Game of Thrones. While that still remains to be seen, Murphy makes it clear that it's his biggest undertaking yet. "I've never done anything this big. I've never done anything international except for [2010 film] 'Eat Pray Love,'" he explained. "I'm casting all the other female parts now, but we're going all over the world next year to make it. It's a very long shoot. It's a big shoot, and it's fun. I just think it's that phrase, 'may you live in interesting times.' I think that applies to 'Grotesquerie.' It applies to 'The Beauty.' I'm trying to work out how I feel about all these times."

Originally published in 2015, here's a look at the official overview from the Image Comics website: "Modern society is obsessed with outward beauty. What if there was a way to guarantee you could become more and more beautiful every day? What if it was a sexually transmitted disease? In the world of 'The Beauty,' physical perfection is attainable. The vast majority of the population has taken advantage of it, but Detectives Foster and Vaughn will soon discover it comes at a terrible price." Deadline Hollywood reports that a search is currently underway for a female lead, meaning that she could be teaming with either Peters, Ramos, Pope, or Kutcher as Detectives Kara Vaughn and Drew Foster (though DH's reporting sees Peters as the co-lead, adding that Kutcher is reportedly playing a tech billionaire). Produced by 20th Television in association with Ryan Murphy Television, the FX series will be executive-produced by Murphy, Hodgson, Peters, Ramos, Pope, Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, Scott Robertson, Nissa Diederich, and Eric Gitter.

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