The Beauty (2026)

The critic calls the series an absolute riot, praising its gruesome thrills, entertaining clash of camp and gravitas led by strong performances from Peters and Hall, and vile prosthetics and effects.

The critic calls the series a wild, kitschy body-horror satire on weight-loss jabs and beauty obsession, with gruesome effects and strong performances from the leads grounding the chaos.

The critic praises the series as a playfully profane satire with skin-deep pleasures, stylish visuals, and engrossing performances in its back half, while noting it wears its influences loudly and can be cloyingly grandiose.

The review praises the high-concept, gory body-horror premise as a fun, campy Murphy vehicle with strong guest turns and timely satire on beauty standards, calling it an addictive super-hot mess.

The review describes the black comedy as a return to form for Ryan Murphy, an off-its-rocker parody of the Ozempic age that is funny and bingeable despite heavy messaging.

The critic calls it a mostly enjoyable but chaotic and imperfect ride that dares to explore pretty privilege and the perils of beauty as a commodity. They single out the grotesque, prolonged body horror transformations (and the blood/guts) for praise while complaining that the story splinters and loses focus after the strong early episodes.

The critic finds the series fascinatingly ugly and surprisingly thought-provoking in its lurid take on beauty standards and masculinity, with memorable gore and production design, though its themes are simplistic and its attitudes contradictory.

The review finds the body horror thriller stylish and visually stunning with an intriguing plot and terrific cast, but faults its surface-level social commentary that lacks depth and subtlety.

The critic describes it as a gory, fun-enough satirical body horror thriller that is not smart or original but provides a good-enough time with exploding bodies and strong effects. They praise the visceral practical effects and some game performances (especially Jeremy Pope) while complaining that the ideas are cursory, derivative, and lack depth or self-reflection.

The critic finds the series excessive and dumbed-down, with lurid visuals and unsubtle exposition that make it flashy but vacant and inferior to its influences like The Substance.

The critic calls Ryan Murphy's series a feeble spin on The Substance, diluting its pointed premise across 11 plodding episodes into a misshapen mess that fails to deliver memorable gruesome transformations.

The show is a campy, unsubtle body horror series full of chaos and gorgeous visuals that embraces its own messiness effectively. It offers fun performances and a timely satire on beauty standards without deep insights.

The series has potential but is messy and chaotic with too many ideas and tonal inconsistencies. It excels in grotesque body horror sequences and features strong performances from supporting cast like Ashton Kutcher and Anthony Ramos.