Editors’choice Surprise series: Niecy Nash-betts stars in new Ryan Murphy drama
Surprise series: From “American Horror Story” to “Feud,” Ryan Murphy’s sprawling television empire keeps on growing and, until recently, the next addition had been a carefully guarded secret.
It was just a few weeks ago that Murphy’s production company, Ryan Murphy Productions, surprised (nearly) everyone by dropping a teaser on Instagram for a previously unannounced series titled “Grotesquerie.”
Described as a “new horror drama series,” “Grotesquerie” will reportedly center around Emmy winner and frequent Murphy collaborator Niecy Nash-betts (“Reno 911!”).
The teaser didn’t reveal a whole lot about the story, but it did include an audio clip of Nash-betts’ character saying, “I don’t know what’s started. I can’t put my finger on it. But it’s different now. There’s been a shift. It’s like something’s opening up in the world. A kind of hole to the center of nothingness.”
The voiceover continued: “What I saw today — they sent shrinks for everyone who worked this crime scene. You say, ‘well, hon, evil has always existed.’ And cite some statistic about how the world’s getting better, less murder, more help, less global horror, never been a better time to be alive. Come back. It’s not getting better. And I keep needing to hear your answers because something’s happening around us, and nobody sees but me.”
The teaser also flashed the names of cast members Courtney B. Vance, who previously won an Emmy for his portrayal of Johnny Cochran in Murphy’s “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” and “The Crown’s” Lesley Manville.
Reportedly, “Grotesquerie” will begin filming soon for an anticipated fall premiere on FX. It is Murphy’s second project since striking a new Disney deal last summer, though he’s also developing new seasons of his already-launched Netflix shows such as “Monster,” the second season of which is titled “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” with stars Javier Bardem (“Dune: Part 2,” 2024) and Chloe Sevigny (“Feud: Capote vs. The Swans”) as the slain parents in the shocking 1990s murder case.