An Analysis of The Beauty: Beauty as an Epidemic

Released in 2026, The Beauty is the latest creation from Ryan Murphy, the mind behind American Horror Story. He is well known for exposing social obsessions through provocative narratives. This time, the central theme is the very idea of physical perfection and what happens when it stops being a desire and becomes an epidemic.

Alongside Matthew Hodgson, Ryan Murphy employs frequent body horror scenes. Interestingly, this is the primary source of horror in a show where horror is not necessarily the overarching premise. It is worth noting that the series is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley.

Synopsis

The main cast features actors Evan Peters, a Murphy regular since the first season of AHS, along with Rebecca Hall, Anthony Ramos, Jeremy Pope, and Ashton Kutcher.

The Beauty starts with a simple premise: a sexually transmitted disease begins to spread across the globe, transforming the infected into physically perfect versions of themselves. The problem is that this beauty comes with an inevitable side effect: death.

We follow FBI agents investigating a series of inexplicable and quite gory deaths linked to the phenomenon. They uncover a conspiracy involving the tech industry, economic power, and corporate interests. The story moves between Paris, Venice, Rome, and New York, blending police procedural elements, sci-fi, and body horror to discuss themes like the cult of aesthetics, social pressure, and the commodification of the human body.

The series aims to show how far people are willing to go in search of perfection. It reflects anxieties related to appearance and the quest for quick fixes to solve problems that many believe are simply a lack of beauty.

Critical Reception

While the audience response has been varied, the critical reception has been quite positive. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds approximately a 74% approval rating among critics, suggesting it works best when it embraces its campy and over-the-top tone. However, some critics found its social commentary to be somewhat superficial.

The truth is that the series does not necessarily invent a dystopian future. Rather, it exaggerates something that already exists: the convergence of the beauty industry, the pharmaceutical market, and a visual culture that transforms appearance into social, economic, and emotional value.

It is observable that, over the last two decades, the aesthetic procedures sector has become one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. This growth does not just involve surgery; it also includes fillers, botulinum toxin, dermatological treatments, supplements, and medications aimed at weight loss and rejuvenation.

Studies prove the growing link between body dissatisfaction and constant exposure to unrealistic aesthetic standards. Naturally, intensive social media use is associated with increased appearance-related anxiety and a higher inclination toward aesthetic procedures. In other words, the more individuals compare themselves to perfected versions of others, or even themselves through filters, the more inadequate they feel.

This gave rise to the term filter dysmorphia, where patients seek procedures to look more like their own digitally altered images created by apps that smooth skin, thin features, and eliminate natural signs of aging.

Thus, The Beauty transforms this into a metaphor: ideal beauty exists, but it is artificial and unsustainable.

The show reflects our reality, where medications associated with rapid weight loss or anti-aging have moved onto the shelves of aesthetic necessities. Moreover, they are often presented as medical solutions for problems that have social and psychological roots.

Social media networks act as amplifiers for this unhealthy cycle, as algorithms prioritize images that fit aesthetic standards. This reinforces the repetition of these models and discards what is not interpreted as beautiful. The result is that insecurity drives consumption, consumption reinforces the standard, and the standard generates new insecurity.

The Beauty utilizes this theme effectively. The fiction interprets beauty as contagious because no one wants to be left out, whereas in the real world, the contagion is cultural. It is rooted in the promise of acceptance and the desire to be seen.

The critique, both in the work and in sociological analysis, is not against the existence of aesthetic procedures themselves. Instead, it targets a system that thrives on permanent dissatisfaction and psychological complexes that can only truly be addressed through therapy.

After all, a market that depends on insecurity needs everyone to be dissatisfied all the time to prosper. The Beauty turns this into horror: perfection does not cure insecurity; it just makes it more profitable.

One of the noticeable references in The Beauty is the 1990s cult classic, Death Becomes Her (1992). The connection is not a direct homage but links the two works through the same obsession: the promise of eternal youth and horror as the ultimate reward.

In the original film, two women who drink a potion capable of preserving youth indefinitely discover that immortality turns the body into something brittle and grotesque. Thus, the film became a biting satire on aging, vanity, and the cruelty of the beauty industry.

The Beauty, however, swaps the magic potion for a virus that transforms the infected. This transformation lasts only for a limited time because it inevitably leads to death. The most evident Easter egg is found in the cast: the presence of Isabella Rossellini. She serves as a conscious bridge between the two works.

In the 1992 film, Rossellini played the mysterious woman offering eternal youth to the protagonists. In the series, her role is often interpreted as a meta-commentary on an industry that celebrates beauty while discarding those who age.

Death Becomes Her treated aesthetic obsession as a grotesque comedy, revealing bodies that stayed alive even when they were literally in pieces. The Beauty takes it a step further: the body does not just deteriorate; it explodes. Literally. This reflects a world where the dangers of pursuing aesthetic perfection lead to hundreds of deaths annually.

In short, the movie mocked the cultural inability to accept aging. The series cuts deeper, suggesting that today’s problem is not just the fear of growing old, but the acceptance of immediate destruction in exchange for remaining desirable within social standards.

Just watch it. If you are already familiar with Murphy’s work and enjoy his style, which is present in the cinematography, the social commentary, and the costume design, you will certainly enjoy it.

In an era where we are increasingly hostages to becoming products, it is no longer enough to sell something. We must turn ourselves into a storefront to validate our professional worth, making this a very necessary theme.

It is no coincidence that films like The Substance made such a splash but did not win an Oscar. This is often because the industry it criticizes is the same industry that hands out the awards.

The first season has not finished yet, but I hope it remains as strong as the first five episodes I was able to screen.

Did you know about the series? Do you find this topic interesting? Would you have the courage to try a new injection that brought you up to modern beauty standards and gave you all the advantages of a beautiful face, even if it put your life at risk?

Rating: 4/5