Is 'The Beauty' renewed for Season 2? Everything we know about future of Ryan Murphy's horror comedy show
Ryan Murphy and FX's 'The Beauty' was quintessential Murphy, with copious gore, dry, wry humor, and a star-studded cast working on a unique concept. The series is set in a futuristic world where the titular drug transforms users into their perfect versions — in and out. Not only does it weed out their ailments, but it also sees them upgraded to their most beautiful versions possible. However, the drug use isn't without drama, as the effectiveness and the safety are questioned. But the CEO, profiting from his product, attempts to stem the flow of relentless questions.
With the show finishing its run on Wednesday, the focus has now turned to whether FX will renew the horror comedy for a second season. At the time of writing, there is no official word on a second run from the network, but the open-ended finale has raised more questions. This suggests the series may continue, especially since 'The Beauty' was not listed as a limited series. There is very little known about the show's future, including the cast and returning names.
Season 1 starred Ashton Kutcher as Byron Forst, the head honcho of the drug company that created the Beauty; Isabella Rosselini as his wife, Franny; Jessica Alexander as FBI Special Agent Jordan Bennett; Evan Peters as FBI Special Agent Cooper Madsen; Anthony Ramos as The Assassin; Jeremy Pope as Jeremy; Rob Yang as Ray, the Beauty’s creator; and Ari Graynor as Dr. Diana Starling. The first season has also seen a rotation of big-name guest stars, including Bella Hadid, John Carroll Lynch, Ben Platt, Peter Gallagher, Vincent D’Onofrio, Meghan Trainor, and Billy Eichner.
Earlier, Peters spoke about the show's future. "I don’t know," he told THR when asked about a potential new season. "The comic book series starts with the world already having 'The Beauty' out for a while. So there’s a lot of different aspects to it, like an Oprah-type talk show host who has 'The Beauty' who is an advocate for people with “The Beauty” and all these different things. And then there’s this underground sex club where people are actively going down there to get infected with 'The Beauty,' and just what does that world look like? I’m curious to see how Ryan would develop that and put that on the screen, because it’ll be interesting. Fingers crossed."
With no data on the ratings of the show, there is no clear number to point to whether 'The Beauty' might see a renewal heading its way. For now, the show's first season opened to positive reviews from critics. Per Rotten Tomatoes, the 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." The show has surely been a hit with fans, and only time will tell if FX drops an official update over the next few weeks.