The Beauty vs. The Substance: Ryan Murphy’s New Horror Show Draws Comparisons

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Ryan Murphy’s upcoming horror series, The Beauty, set to premiere in 2026, is already drawing comparisons to a popular 2024 horror film. The show, based on the comic book of the same name by Jeremy Huan and Jason A. Hurley, is one of the most anticipated horror releases of 2026.

The Beauty brings back familiar faces who often work with Ryan Murphy, including Evan Peters (who will also be in the next season of American Horror Story), and introduces exciting new actors like Isabella Rossellini, Rebecca Hall, and Anthony Ramos to his creative world.

The new FX and FX on Hulu series, The Beauty, is set to premiere on January 21, 2026. The first trailer reveals strong similarities to the popular 2024 body horror film.

The Beauty’s Trailer Confirms How Similar It Is To The Substance

Ryan Murphy and Matt Hodgson’s new show, The Beauty, centers around the unsettling deaths of several supermodels. As the investigation unfolds, a substance promising extraordinary beauty—but with horrifying side effects—is revealed. The show shares a lot of similarities with the 2024 horror film The Substance.

Coralie Fargeat’s film, The Substance, centers on Elisabeth Sparks (Demi Moore), a celebrity whose career is declining because of her age. When she discovers an underground drug that can create a younger, improved version of herself – portrayed by Margaret Qualley – she starts using it. But the drug comes with very specific rules, and breaking them leads to terrifying consequences.

The initial trailer for The Beauty reinforces comparisons to The Substance, a film that has already faced scrutiny and sparked debate about potential inspiration taken from Fargeat’s work.

Is The Beauty A The Substance Rip-Off?

With The Beauty coming out after The Substance, some viewers have wondered if it copies the earlier film or borrows ideas from it. However, the release dates don’t really support the idea that one film is imitating the other.

The comic book The Beauty came out in 2016, followed by The Substance in 2024. Writer Fargeat created The Substance after her 2017 film Revenge, though she drew some inspiration from her earlier 2014 sci-fi short, Reality+.

This short film takes place in a future Paris where people use a brain implant called Reality+ to see themselves and others with their ideal bodies. While Reality+ came out before the comic book The Beauty, the connection between them isn’t as strong as the connection between The Beauty and The Substance. It seems like any similarities are just a strange coincidence.

How The Beauty Can Be Different From The Substance

Both The Beauty and The Substance are horror stories centered around a substance that improves someone’s appearance, but despite their similarities, they each offer unique elements and approaches to the genre.

While The Substance centers on Elisabeth’s personal experience and the terrifying physical and mental effects of the drug, The Beauty shifts the focus to a mystery and criminal investigation. This new film follows detectives as they try to solve a series of murders and figure out how the substance is involved.

People will naturally compare this work to The Substance, but hopefully it will quickly establish its own unique identity and ultimately succeed on its own merits.

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2025-12-24 00:28