"Grotesquerie" and Ryan Murphy's return to horror

Grotesquerie might seem like another chapter of American Horror Story, but it is not. The elements to fall for the trap are all there: it’s a new series created by Ryan Murphy, featuring actors he has previously worked with, and once again utilizing the horror genre with a dash of True Detective. Amid nuns and communities, in the same year that The Omen - The Origin of Evil and Immaculate hit cinemas, agent Lois Tryon, played by Niecy Nash-Betts, investigates a series of gruesome, ritualistic murders. However, despite the similarities, the creator of Grotesquerie describes it as a "completely different experience." Ryan Murphy explained during the press conference for the series launch: «It felt like I wrote it all in one go. It was a very personal process. I didn’t have a big writers’ room; there were just three of us (together with Jon Robin Baitz and Joe Baken, ed.), focusing on what I thought was happening in the world. Even when selecting actors, some of whom I had worked with on other projects, I also asked myself what I would want to see as a fan. That drove me to rewrite entire sections to better match the actors.»

This clear and determined vision extended to a freer and less conventional set than expected: «I’ve reached a point in my career where I no longer care about the outcome, only the process. For example, in episode three, the character of Micaela was supposed to walk down the hallway and descend the stairs. We had some extra time, so I told her to try the scene as if she were possessed. At first, she was shocked; we spent an hour shooting, but in the end, it was all more fun and fluid.» A labor of love by Murphy for his actors, always central to his work, with a special spot this time for Lesley Manville, who in 2024 also stars in Luca Guadagnino’s Queer and AppleTV+’s Disclaimer. «I’ve always wanted to work with Lesley, so I wrote a role specifically for her, incorporating everything I’ve always wanted to see her do or the persona I imagined for her. I think I approached it as a fanboy, but creating this show was particularly rewarding.» Manville herself was impressed: «Well, I felt flattered – the actress shared – Ryan didn’t just hand us a script; he encouraged mutual collaboration, which led me to a remarkable character. I don’t want to wake up every week and play the same role. I want something different from me, that doesn’t resemble me. Grotesquerie fulfilled that need, and more than a decade after first meeting Ryan, I knew this could be a golden opportunity.»

Although Lesley Manville’s nurse Redd isn’t directly involved in the horror aspects of the story, other cast members might have needed a nightlight to sleep peacefully during filming. Micaela Diamond, for instance, plays a young nun who tries to assist the detective. «Audiences have been tortured by nuns for a long time,» the actress joked. «Of course, there’s also Ryan Murphy’s ‘nun-ography.’ So, the challenge in embodying Megan Duval was understanding what kind of nun she was. I find nuns truly enigmatic and unreachable, letting the imagination run wild. Sometimes they’re pure and innocent, other times corrupt and hypocritical. I think the horror genre centered on nuns raises an important question: if they struggle to be good, how can it be easy for the rest of us?» This duality, rooted in a blend of comedy and horror, marks the recent path for Niecy Nash-Betts, thanks to opportunities provided by Ryan Murphy: «It’s said that people who know how to make others laugh can also make them cry, but it’s not always true, nor is the opposite. So I’m grateful to have both skills. I didn’t know I had them, as for a long time, no one gave me the chance to do something dramatic. I didn’t know that revisiting and sharing certain emotions on screen could be almost therapeutic, cathartic.» The actress, who earned her first Golden Globe nomination in 2023 thanks to Murphy, continued: «I thank Ryan because roles and opportunities like this, especially in this genre, aren’t often given to Black women. I’m happy to bring a bit of my chaos and madness to the series.»

Speaking of “monsters,” another recent addition to Murphy’s ensemble cast is Nicholas Alexander Chavez, who appears not only in Grotesquerie but also as one of the Menéndez brothers in the second season of the anthology series Monster, this time donning holy robes. «Ryan is a world-builder,» the actor elaborated. «It was interesting because we worked on two such different universes. The Menéndez project had a defined context, based on real events from 1989–1990. Grotesquerie, on the other hand, was completely new, with creativity and imagination as the only limits. We dove into the depths Ryan can create, and it was an honor and a privilege to explore both of his visions.» Chavez surprisingly followed his instincts in playing Father Charlie Mayhew, even more so than in a series rooted in real-life murders: «I trusted my instincts, and those around me allowed me to make bold choices.»