The Beauty Review: “infuriating”, “messy” & “unbearable”

Once I first got here throughout the trailer for Ryan Murphy’s new horror collection, I assumed it might be a campy, over-the-top story with a powerful The Substance vibe. At worst, I assumed it might be a trendy bore, at finest – a responsible pleasure in a scrumptious True Blood vogue. Nevertheless, The Magnificence exceeded my wildest expectations.

Murphy’s earlier challenge, All’s Truthful, was hailed because the worst TV collection of 2025, however nonetheless, I wasn’t ready for The Magnificence to resemble the work of a second-year screenwriting pupil.

The story, based mostly on the graphic novel of the identical title by Haun and Jason A. Hurley, follows two FBI brokers – and mates with advantages – Cooper Madsen (Evan Peters) and Jordan Bennett (Rebecca Corridor), as they examine the stunning deaths of supermodels.

On their path, they encounter mysterious assassins, incels, fashions, a cynical tech bro, and… a weird, sexually transmitted virus.

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One of many fundamental guidelines of screenwriting is “Present, Don’t Inform”. It signifies that as a substitute of getting characters explicitly reveal their pasts, relationships, or motivations, the filmmakers ought to present it by way of appearing, set design, or interactions with different characters.

Whereas telling usually feels pretend and lazy, displaying is extra pure. And it requires extra creativity.

It’s past my creativeness that an acknowledged showrunner similar to Ryan Murphy throws this rule out the window. As an alternative of progressively growing characters by way of varied scenes, he compelled the protagonists to recite details about themselves in drawn-out, unrealistic dialogues.

What’s worse, they don’t cease there – additionally they lecture one another on modern social points, which makes the conversations resemble Wikipedia articles.

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The idea of The Magnificence is bold. Ryan Murphy makes an attempt to point out the fashionable obsession with bodily attractiveness, fuelled by social media.

Impressed by the Ozempic hype, he tries to disclose the true colors of aesthetic drugs, pharmaceutical firms, and media firms, whereas displaying how damaging the wonder fixation may be to psychological and bodily well being and to interpersonal relationships.

Nevertheless, the issue is that Murphy forces his message down the viewer’s throat. In a very infuriating method, as a substitute of metaphors and ambivalence, he opts for tacky literalism, leaving the viewers no room for reflection and interpretation.

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What’s extra, the collection’ worldview is extremely simplistic. In case you’re hoping for an thrilling FBI investigation in Process vogue or a dense company thriller like Severance, The Magnificence will disappoint you sorely.

The work of federal brokers and the shenanigans of tech bros appear like they had been written by an adolescent with no experience in both. The collection is filled with wishful pondering and has severe plot holes, of which Murphy is commonly conscious. Nevertheless, he clearly has no thought learn how to patch up the story.

The icing on the cake is a product referred to as The Magnificence, launched by tech billionaire often called The Company (Ashton Kutcher). This weird serum is principally a fairytale magic potion – it will possibly do regardless of the writers must push the motion ahead.

It makes customers look youthful and extra engaging, miraculously recognising present magnificence requirements. It dissolves silicone implants and cures ailments, however someway doesn’t take away scars – fortunately for a protagonist who must be recognized by a pal.

In essentially the most ridiculous scenes, the serum is even capable of change the character’s race and carry out a profitable gender transition.

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The sloppy writing and heavy-handed didacticism are much more insufferable when mixed with the collection’ over-the-top visible type.

Ryan Murphy tries with all his may to create eye sweet, paying nice consideration to colors and lighting, dressing his characters in fastidiously designed clothes and filming in dazzling interiors. Then again, he has a style for physique horror, leading to recurring scenes of ugly magnificence transformations, stuffed with splattering bodily fluids.

In a pronounced means, The Magnificence attracts from The Substance and Dying Turns into Her – as a wink to Robert Zemeckis’ black comedy, the showrunner even forged Isabella Rossellini in a stunning function.

Sadly, the collection lacks the brilliance of both movie. Though The Magnificence’s kitsch and absurdity are intentional to some extent, the collection is simply too messy for a very biting satire and never entertaining sufficient for a good responsible pleasure.

Must you watch The Magnificence?

If you’re a fan of advanced, ambivalent sci-fi collection similar to Severance or Pluribus, or intelligent satire of latest society similar to Succession or White Lotus, give The Magnificence a large berth – it makes you tear your hair out after only a few episodes.

It’s type over substance, by way of and thru.

The place to stream The Magnificence

Within the US, The Magnificence premieres on Hulu and FX on Wednesday, 21 January. Within the UK, the collection will debut on Disney+ on Thursday, 22 January 2026.

The season consists of 11 episodes, which, after a three-episode premiere, shall be aired weekly. To see the complete watching information, try our episode launch schedule.