Niecy Nash-Betts Tracks a Sinister Killer in ‘Grotesquerie’ Trailer

Jackie Strause
·3 min read


Ryan Murphy‘s FX series Grotesquerie is making its eerie introduction.

Details have been scarce around the anticipated series starring Niecy Nash-Betts and Courtney B. Vance that is set to premiere on Sept. 25. But now, a trailer reveals just what the co-creator has conjured up for his next horror show.

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The trailer, first, has an introduction from Travis Kelce, the NFL star and boyfriend to Taylor Swift who, after his Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl win, continued his push into Hollywood by joining the 10-episode FX series cast that also includes Lesley Manville, Micaela Diamond, Raven Goodwin and Nicholas Alexander Chavez.

“Something hellish is here,” Nash-Betts warns (below), as she speaks of a sophisticated and taunting killer whose trail she has been tasked with investigating. As Detective Lois Tryon, Nash-Betts begins to probe the murder of a family that is described in headlines as a “Mass cult death.”

“It is evil,” says Sister Megan (Diamond), a nun who investigates crime. “You have to really hate people to do what was done here. It’s inhuman,” says Nash-Betts, before correcting herself, “Not, it’s unhuman.”

As Detective Tryon gets deeper into her investigation, however, she’s questioned as a reliable narrator, as her drinking escalates. “This is the end of time,” she warns. “The monster is out there, people.” The trailer plays on the recognizable Murphy tropes of faith, seduction and grotesque horror.

Here’s the series’ official description from FX: “A series of heinous crimes have unsettled a small community. Detective Lois Tryon (Nash-Betts) feels these crimes are eerily personal, as if someone — or something — is taunting her. At home, Lois grapples with a strained relationship with her daughter (Goodwin), a husband (Vance) in long-term hospital care and her own inner demons. With no leads and unsure of where to turn, she accepts the help of Sister Megan (Diamond), a nun and journalist with the Catholic Guardian. Sister Megan, with her own difficult past, has seen the worst of humanity, yet she still believes in its capacity for good. Lois, on the other hand, fears the world is succumbing to evil. As Lois and Sister Megan string together clues, they find themselves ensnared in a sinister web that only seems to raise more questions than answers.”

Grotesquerie comes from 20th Television, where Murphy is based. Murphy, Jon Robin Baitz and Joe Baken created the series and executive produce with Alexis Martin Woodall, Max Winkler, Nash-Betts, Vance, Peter Liguori, Nissa Diederich, Eric Kovtun and Scott Robertson. Winkler, Murphy, Woodall and Elegance Bratton directed episodes.

September is a big month for Murphy, as he will be tackling another type of Monsters story over on Netflix with the second season of his anthology, this time focused on the Menendez brothers when Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story launches Sept. 19.

Grotesquerie premieres with two episodes Sept. 25 at 10 p.m. on FX, next day on Hulu.

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