Ryan Murphy’s new series for FX The Beauty has failed to draw much attention so far and appears to be headed to cancellation unless fans can band together and lobby for a second season.
What Is It?
This show follows FBI agents Cooper Madsen and Jordan Bennett, who investigate a series of gruesome deaths involving international supermodels. They discover a sexually transmitted virus that can transform ordinary people into physically perfect versions of themselves—but with horrifying and potentially deadly consequences. Their investigation leads to a ruthless tech billionaire known as The Corporation, who has turned the virus into a drug and will do anything to protect his growing empire. Based on the comic by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley.
Airing: FX/Hulu, 1 Season Totaling 10 Episodes (So Far)
Starring: Evan Peters, Anthony Ramos, Jeremy Pope, Rebecca Hall, Ashton Kutcher
Created By: Ryan Murphy, Matthew Hodgson
Has It Been Cancelled?
This latest genre entry from Ryan Murphy premiered on FX in January 2026 and failed to draw much attention. For its premiere, it pulled only a 0.06 rating based on same-day viewing for the 18-49 demographic with 512K total viewers. It then mostly dropped from there, averaging a 0.05 score over its eleven-episode run. As for its streaming numbers on Hulu, according to Luminate, the series premiere pulled in only two million viewers over its first ten days on that service, putting it in the lower half of originals for the 2025-26 season.
FX never touted the show as a success, even though they promoted it pretty heavily up to its January release. They have remained silent on the show since then, making no mention of a second season renewal six months after it wrapped up, even though members of the cast such as Evan Peters and Ashton Kutcher have expressed an interest in returning. The network did announce that the cast and crew have been released from their contracts, though, pretty much assuring that it will not continue.
At this point, I have The Beauty as a Cancellation Likely candidate, a category that I do not use too often. All indications are that FX has no interest in continuing the series, and it could become yet another one-and-done genre entry.
What Can Fans Do to Help the Show?
Reactions to this show have been somewhat mixed (which is typical for a Ryan Murphy entry), and I am not certain if it has developed much of a fanbase. But if they are out there, they should certainly make an effort to watch the show on Hulu while it is still available. If they stage watch parties, perhaps that will get it into that streamer’s Top 10 and also into the Nielsen Streaming Rankings. At the same time, they should get this one trending on social media to bring it more attention.
As mentioned, FX seems to be done with the show, but if enough people can band together and get it back into the public eye, perhaps there will be an interest in keeping it going. But the timeline is short for this because the cast and crew are looking for other projects, so fans will need to get to work now if they want The Beauty to continue to a second season.
Have you been watching The Beauty, and will you support fan efforts to keep the show going for a second season? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments below.
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