A sexually transmitted treatment known as "the Beauty" spreads rapidly, granting users physical attractiveness through aesthetic-based genetic makeup while concealing lethal side effects that begin to overtake their lives. As deaths and public panic escalate, an FBI investigation and competing interests converge on the forces behind the drug and the epidemic it sparks.[1][3][4][5]
Cast and characters
Main
Evan Peters as Cooper Madsen, a former Navy SEAL and FBI agent investigating deaths linked to "the Beauty"[3][5]
Hudson Barry as Cooper after the transformation.
Anthony Ramos as Antonio / the Assassin, an enforcer working for "the Corporation"[3][5] who took the drug soon after it was invented. He is 65 years old in a body that looks 30-something.
Teddy Cañez as the Assassin before the transformation.
Jeremy Pope as Jeremy, an outsider drawn into the chaos surrounding the epidemic[3][5]
Ashton Kutcher as Byron Forst / the Corporation, a tech billionaire tied to the "Beauty" drug[3][6] who took the drug three years ago to keep himself from aging
Amidst a Balenciaga fashion show in Paris, supermodel Ruby Rossdale suddenly goes on a rampage throughout the city, during which she exhibits erratically violent behavior, superhuman strength and resilience, and a fixation towards water before spontaneously combusting. While investigating the case, FBI agents Cooper Madsen and Jordan Bennett discover Rossdale, among other models who died under similar circumstances, all began their careers two years prior, had no social media presence beforehand, and all tested positive for a highly virulent sexually transmitted virus. Meanwhile, a lonely and directionless young man named Jeremy seeks to become more attractive, leading him to follow an internet chatroom recommendation for a mysterious "solution". He heads to a plastic surgery center called ANUU, where a specialist named Dr. Dilegre gives him a new facial structure. After being tricked into paying three women's bar tab, an incensed Jeremy returns to ANUU and shoots several employees until Dilegre agrees to give him an experimental treatment. Traveling to a hotel, Jeremy has intercourse with a mysterious woman named Claire, after which he undergoes a violent transformation and gains a new body.
Cooper and Jordan head to Venice to investigate a death connected to the virus. There, they find the Egyptian hieroglyph "Nefer", meaning "beauty", painted in blood on a wall near the victim, who they theorized was killed as part of an organized operation. They later uncover a video posted by a previous victim in which she repeatedly says "Don't do it" before learning an assistant editor for Vogue combusted in New York. During their last night in Italy, the pair discuss their sexual relationship, with Jordan clarifying her desire for it to remain casual and Cooper expressing his nihilistic belief that all human behavior is driven by sex and his disinterest in traditional monogamy or commitment; offending her. Later that evening, she has a sexual encounter with a mysterious man. Afterward, she undergoes a similar transformation as Jeremy; gaining a new body. Elsewhere, Cooper prepares to leave for New York. Though he is attacked by two unknown assailants, he eventually kills them. Meanwhile, in Rome, an assassin eliminates people on behalf of billionaire tech mogul Byron "The Corporation" Forst.
3
"Beautiful Christopher Cross"
Ryan Murphy
Ryan Murphy & Matthew Hodgson
January21,2026(2026-01-21)
In New York City, Harper Rose, an assistant editor for Vogue, goes on a rampage at Condé Nast before infecting numerous bystanders while combusting. In Venice, Cooper is detained by Italian police before FBI Supervisor Meyer Williams has him released and sent to New York after he tests negative for the virus. In Croatia, Byron tasks the Assassin with killing Dilegre for treating a contaminated client. Soon after, his estranged wife, Franny, informs him that their son Tig relapsed and is in a methadone clinic, but Byron refuses to visit him. Upon reaching him, the Assassin forces Dilegre to help him locate Jeremy before killing the former. The Assassin captures Jeremy and forces him to help him locate Marcy, a maid Jeremy had infected. While driving to her home, the Assassin tells Jeremy his belief that the world is cruel to those who are not beautiful before revealing he was hired by Byron to kill people for spreading the virus before his company's IPO. Upon their arrival, the pair subdue Marcy before the Assassin prepares to kill Jeremy. Seeing the latter's submissive behavior, the Assassin decides to recruit him as an apprentice instead.
4
"Beautiful Chimp Face"
Alexis Martin Woodall
Ryan Murphy & Matthew Hodgson
January28,2026(2026-01-28)
In a flashback, Cooper and Jordan go on a date in Rome, during which they hint at sharing romantic feelings for each other. In the present, Cooper probes two survivors of Harper's rampage: her boyfriend Ashley Sanders, who is believed to have had unprotected sex with her beforehand and is potentially infected; and Manny, who Ashley claims is a sexual predator. Manny takes an interest in Cooper before going on his own rampage. Cooper pursues him to a high-security room containing full human skins donated by "beautiful" people before their deaths, where Manny transforms and attacks Cooper, blaming him for what happened. Cooper gains backup and subdues Manny. Sometime later, Jordan reunites with Cooper. Concurrently, the Assassin coaches an eager Jeremy while Byron takes booster shots to maintain his body's stability and declares "World Beauty Day" will be the official public launch of his new drug, dismissing concerns from a scientist named Dr. Ray Lee about lack of testing and third-party mutated variants, and orders production to be doubled.
5
"Beautiful Billionaires"
Alexis Martin Woodall
Ryan Murphy & Matthew Hodgson
February4,2026(2026-02-04)
In a flashback, Byron joins a group of fellow billionaires in gathering for an exclusive trial of an experimental gene therapy developed by Ray. After transforming, Byron kills the other billionaires and witnesses before kidnapping Ray to ensure he becomes the sole proprietor of Ray's work. In the present, Cooper verifies Jordan's identity and embraces her. Upon learning what happened to her, he promises to help her avert the infection's side effects, insisting she eschews contact with the authorities to avoid being quarantined. Meanwhile, the Assassin and Jeremy torture a man named Nate for information, who contracted the virus from a sex worker and spread it to several people, before Byron orders the Assassin to eliminate Cooper. As Cooper and Jordan return to the former's apartment, they find Nate's corpse and the "Nefer" hieroglyph on the wall.
In a flashback, shortly after kidnapping Ray, Byron notices side effects and agrees to let him live to perfect the formula while killing anyone who has the virus to prevent it from becoming a street drug. Byron later attempts to convince Franny to take the drug, outlining his plan to use himself and the extreme cosmetic appeal it grants to amass power and circumvent the FDA's laws, but she declines and threatens to expose him. Ray discovers the virus causes "ignition ketosis" after 855 days and promises to find a treatment that Byron can sell alongside it. Meanwhile, Ray's colleagues Mike and Clara bond over insecurities related to their appearances and social confidence. Following an experiment with a chimpanzee, Mike steals two vials and administers them to himself and Clara. Two years later, the Assassin executes Mike in Rome to prevent the virus from spreading beyond Byron's control.
7
"Beautiful Living Rooms"
Michael Uppendahl
Ryan Murphy & Matthew Hodgson
February18,2026(2026-02-18)
Cooper takes Jordan to a safe house, where she confesses her love for him. Byron visits Meyer and his wife Juliana, offering to cure their daughter Joey of her progeria using the Beauty, plus doses for them and financial compensation, in exchange for shutting down the FBI investigation and handing over Cooper. They accept Byron's deal. Elsewhere, Jeremy pushes the Assassin to reveal his history and name, Antonio, and the two bond over similar family trauma. Meyer arranges for Cooper to access the NIH and collect a DNA sample before the Assassin and Jeremy ambush him and Jordan at the hospital. The Assassin forces Cooper to surrender by threatening Jordan, whom he reciprocates feelings for as they are both taken captive. Subsequently, Meyer, Juliana, and Joey all undergo the Beauty procedure and reunite as a newly transformed family, as Byron watches on proudly.
8
"Beautiful Brothers"
Michael Uppendahl
Ryan Murphy & Matthew Hodgson
February25,2026(2026-02-25)
As Byron prepares his presentation for the Beauty's upcoming launch, he cuts down his company's budget and disbands its other divisions to reinvest the drug, disaffecting roboticist Dr. Diana Sterling. He later uses the Beauty procedure on his estranged sons, Tig and Gunther, to save them from drug overdose; for which Franny swears vengeance on Byron. Elsewhere, the Assassin is betrayed by Byron before he, Jeremy, Cooper and Jordan are taken to an NIH quarantine facility, where the survivors of the Condé Nast incident had previously been killed by mercenaries. Jeremy and the Assassin clash over the latter not informing the former about the Beauty's side effects, before Cooper stops them. He is then summoned by Meyer, now an NIH supervisor, and told to follow orders. Upon his return, Cooper and the others are extracted from the quarantine zone.
Believing her "Deacon" robots are superior to Byron's drug, Diana joins forces with Franny to formulate a plan to assassinate him. After masterminding Cooper, Jordan, the Assassin, and Jeremy's escape, she asks for their help. As Byron knows what they all look like, Cooper must take the Beauty and use his new appearance to get close to him. Cooper agrees as long as he contracts it through sex with Jordan rather than injection so that he can spend more time with her first, despite Diana's warning that the drug is more stable. Jordan, the Assassin, and Jeremy are alarmed as Cooper's transformation, unlike their own, turns out to be longer and more painful and are shocked when Cooper emerges as a healthy adolescent.
10
"Beautiful Beauty Day"
Michael Uppendahl
Ryan Murphy & Matthew Hodgson
March4,2026(2026-03-04)
Following Cooper's transformation, he, Jordan, the Assassin, and Jeremy devise a plan to assassinate Byron, but are too late as the Beauty is suddenly launched is suddenly released all over the world a day earlier than anticipated. A week later, high school student Bella Grant becomes fixated on the Beauty after her best friend Ruthie, who had a botched nose job, undergoes the Beauty procedure with successful results, and is treated to a luxurious high-end experience her parents paid for. However, since Bella cannot afford "the shot" officially and her parents do not approve of it, Ruthie provides her a note with a number to call for a backdoor method of obtaining the Beauty for free.
11
"Beautiful Betrayal"
Michael Uppendahl
Ryan Murphy & Matthew Hodgson
March4,2026(2026-03-04)
Tig and Gunther dose Franny with the Beauty against her will in an attempt to please Byron, leading her to attempt suicide, though Byron has doctors keep her body stable with the Beauty's regenerative properties. Meanwhile, Bella undergoes the Beauty procedure via sexual intercourse with a man named Conor, who had taken a second dose beforehand to increase the strength. Upon transforming, Bella's mother is horrified to find her with grotesque mutations. After Byron learns that the public and government no longer support the Beauty as a result of widely reported side-effects, he decides to halt sales and close down the operation to reinvest in cures and fixes, while providing boosters for free. Wishing to continue distributing the drug and inherit Byron's wealth, Tig enlists Diana, Cooper, Jordan, the Assassin and Jeremy's help to assassinate him. In exchange, Cooper is given an untested drug to reverse the Beauty's effects and the others are startled when he emerges after transforming.
Production
Development
On September30, 2024, FX gave the project an 11-episode series order. The series is based on The Beauty, a creator-owned comic book written by Jeremy Haun and JasonA. Hurley and published by Image Comics.[2][4] The original comic follows two detectives investigating a sexually transmitted disease that makes those infected physically beautiful but ultimately proves fatal due to side effects.[4][9]
Mac Quayle, a frequent collaborator with Murphy, composed the score for the series.[10]
Casting
Upon the series order announcement, Peters, Ramos, Pope, and Ashton Kutcher were cast in starring roles.[2]Rebecca Hall was cast as part of the main cast by the time the series had begun production.[11] In February 2025, it was reported that Isabella Rossellini had joined the cast in a recurring role.[12]
Murphy has described The Beauty as a commentary on "Ozempic culture" and the broader social fixation on rapid, drug-assisted physical transformation.[15] In promotional interviews, Murphy framed the story around the question of how much people would be willing to sacrifice in pursuit of beauty, positioning the series as an extension of themes explored in his earlier work Nip/Tuck while emphasizing its science fiction and body-horror elements.[16][1]
Release
The trailer for The Beauty was released on January 5, 2026.[17] Within seven days, it amassed nearly 190 million views across social media platforms, making it FX's most-viewed trailer to date.[18][19]The Beauty premiered on January 21, on FX, Hulu, and Hulu on Disney+, with the first three episodes released immediately and the remaining episodes released weekly in the United States.[20] Internationally, the series is also set to be released on Disney+.[21]
Reception
The series holds a 71% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 62 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Caking on visceral splatter over an engaging takedown of modern beauty standards, Ryan Murphy's gonzo sci-fi horror is a disgustingly good time, even if its cultural commentary only goes skin deep."[22]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 64 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "generally mixed" reviews.[23]
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