Why Ashton Kutcher's newest role is drawing comparisons to ex-wife Demi Moore — what we know of The Beauty

Per an official logline: "In FX's The Beauty, the world of high fashion turns dark when international supermodels begin dying in gruesome and mysterious ways," all revealed to be the result of a "sexually transmitted virus that transforms ordinary people into visions of physical perfection, but with terrifying consequences."

The show continues in the same vein as Ryan's breakthrough work with Nip/Tuck, which explored the complicated world of plastic surgery and image, as well as what he has called a commentary on "Ozempic culture."

With the release of The Beauty's trailer on Monday, and Ashton taking to posting it on social media, several commenters dropped GIFs of Demi Moore from 2024's The Substance, with one going so far as to say: "So this the tv version of the movie substance?"

While the world of body horror has been around from as early as Mary Shelley's 1818 story Frankenstein, Coralie Fargeat's Oscar-winning vehicle brought renewed attention to the genre, especially as a means of commenting on Hollywood's own vanity, with the help of a lead in her early 60s who had been initially propped up by the industry primarily because of her beauty as well.

Demi's performance was massively celebrated, earning her a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Awards, among other accolades, and her very first Oscar nomination. That she was actually married to Ashton, who is 16 years her junior, from 2005 to 2013 is simply a coincidence. 

Demi also worked on a Ryan Murphy production as well, 2024's Feud: Capote vs The Swans.

Frequent Murphy-verse participant Evan Peters plays FBI agent Cooper Madsen, who is investigating the breakout of The Beauty with partner Jordan Bennett, played by Rebecca Hall. Ashton plays The Corporation, a power-hungry tech billionaire responsible for releasing The Beauty and willing to stamp out anyone who gets in his way.

Anthony Ramos plays his enforcer, simply named "the Assassin," while Jeremy Pope plays Jeremy, someone unrelated to the cause who becomes the central character whose POV shows us the epidemic. In the recurring role of Franny Forst we have Isabella Rossellini.

We also have a stacked list of guest stars, including (but not limited to) Amelia Gray Hamlin, Bella Hadid, Ben Platt, Billy Eichner, Lux Pascal, Meghan Trainor, Nicola Peltz Beckham, Peter Gallagher and more.

The Beauty's first three episodes will be released on FX and FX on Hulu on January 21, 2026, followed by weekly episode releases up until March.