By james art The latest brainchild of producer Ryan Murphy, Grotesquerie, premiered on FX on September 25. Like one of his most popular shows, American Horror Story, the new series delves into gruesome and dramatic themes, with all the signature darkness and exploration of taboos typical of Murphy’s output. However, Murphy quickly found that “Grotesquerie” was venturing into new territory and should not be associated with his previous work.
“It’s a very different animal,” Murphy said in an interview with Deadline. “I think the thing that overlaps is my interest in my tone and my casting and world-building and all that stuff.”
The show’s airing schedule is unconventional, with two episodes released via FX every Wednesday — one at 10:00 p.m. and the next at 11:00 p.m. The only solo episodes aired are episodes seven and 10.
For the past four weeks, audiences have tuned in every Wednesday night to follow sharpshooter Detective Lois Tryon (Nicey Nash) as she unravels the mystery behind the gruesome murders in her town—murders that are filled with perverse religious symbolism and seem to convey messages from the killer. , who mocks her personally. Next to her is Sister Megan Duvall (Mikaela Diamond), a secular reporting nun with a flair for unconventional theories.
On a surface level, the mysterious cat-and-mouse aspect of the show is reminiscent of other thriller TV series like “Hannibal (2013)” and “Killing Eve.” All three series feature killers with a penchant for the ostentatious. However, while the first two shows functioned as character studies of queer intimacy, desire and the all-consuming nature of the relationship and mind game between hunter and hunted, Grotesquerie takes a different direction. In fact, the series’ most popular “romance” is between Duvall and the oddly worldly priest played by Nicholas Chavez. The celibacy-forbidden aspect of their meetings is reminiscent of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag.
However, nothing is really what it seems. This rings especially true in the final episodes, where the already floating narrative begins to unravel. Over the past few episodes, audiences have been confused by off-putting dream sequences and the inclusion of random borderline characters like Ed Lachlan, played by Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Every time the show—haunted by the sense that something is wrong but you can’t quite place—starts to make sense, new twists are thrown at the audience at breakneck speed.
The disjointedness of the narrative combined with the eccentricities of the characters had the potential to offset the show’s depth, but the scenes remain remarkably human. For example, Tryon’s family is complex, with each member struggling with their own vice, whether it’s alcohol, adultery, or food. Their love for each other is put to the test with every verbal venom thrown across the dinner table. Tryon herself is multi-faceted: cruel but caring, drunk but diligent. While the series navigates these themes of familial love, it also explores humanity’s fascination with fear and the grotesque, along with a desire for the divine.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” Murphy said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “I’ve never written a TV season by myself or for fun, just to do it, have I? So I was interested in writing about something that I felt, which was this kind of existential crisis of: Is this all happening? Why is it that every day I feel like I’m in some kind of nightmare that we can’t wake up from? And even more than that, as you will see that love really is the only thing that helps us.”
The final episode of “Grotesquerie” will air on October 30, the day before Halloween. Until then, audiences are promised more murderous twists and frolics through dreamy hellscapes.
Tessa Kang is the Arts and Entertainment Intern for the fall quarter of 2024. She can be reached at [email protected].
Edited by June Min and Bianca Marroquin.