NUNN ON THE RUN
Mon. October 7, 2024 12:00 AM
by Jerry Nunn
Ryan Murphy's latest drama series Grotesquerie continues his longtime success with FX following his American Horror Story franchise. The show is a visually creepy treat with plenty of unexpected tricks just in time for the Halloween season.
Detective Lois Tryon is played by out actress Niecy Nash-Betts who is investigating a series of gruesome crimes in her community. She is plagued by personal problems and seeks solace from a nun to solve a mystery rooted in religion.
Before the show began its run several members of the cast and crew attended a press conference to discuss the series.
Nicholas Alexander Chavez brings Father Charlie Mayhem to life in Grotesquerie and recently collaborated with Murphy on Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. He described Murphy as “a world builder and I got to work with him on two very different worlds. This was an entirely different world and it was interesting to be thrown into the depths of what Ryan is capable of coming up with. It was an honor and a privilege to experience both.”
Murphy spoke on directing the tight end football player turned actor Travis Kelce in the first episode, “ Niecy and I just instantly loved him and took him by the hand to let him know that he would not fail. He worked with an acting coach for several months. He showed up off book, professional and committed. He ended up being a delight and I would love to continue working with him on other things.”
Unlike some of his previous work, Murphy wrote all the episodes of Grotesquerie in conjunction with creators Jon Robin Baitz and Joe Baken. The executive producer said, “This show is different than what I have done because it plays with reality and time. I kept this under lock and key. We didn't share the scripts and there were twists galore every week. It was important to me that people experience the story as it unfolds.”
Micaela Diamond portrays Sister Megan Duval and was asked by a Nunn about the challenges of playing a nun. She confessed, “Audiences have been tortured by nuns for a very long time. There's the Ryan Murphy nunography, Magdalene Laundries and Doubt. I think the challenge of it was figuring out who this one was. Nuns are really concealed and inaccessible so your fantasy can kind of run wild. They are sometimes pure and innocent then end up quite corrupt and hypocritical. If nuns have trouble being good then what happens to the rest of us? That question runs through the entirety of the series. Playing a nun can justify many choices when you are given a Ryan Murphy show to play in. It was fun to surprise myself with what I came up with.”
Murphy finished by describing Grotesquerie as “a horror, thriller, drama and in that order. One of the things I love is that it's following a serial killer. I like watching horror because it makes you feel something.”
Viewers are guaranteed to feel something over the course of 10 episodes full of bloody surprises. Stream Grotesquerie on Hulu with fresh, freaky episodes every Wednesday, boo!