Grotesquerie: gore, faith and true crime, what is Ryan Murphy's new (new) series worth?

The creator of Monsters and American Horror Story mixes genres in a series that's funnier than it looks.

Prolific to a point that borders on the absurd, Ryan Murphy returns (again!) with a new series, Grotesqueriebroadcast on Disney+. A strange mix between Monsters, Ratched And American Horror Storywhere we follow Lois Tryon (Niecy Nash), a cop confronted with atrocious crimes in her small community: a psychopath stages the mutilated corpses he leaves behind, in compositions referencing passages from the Bible . A case of a magnitude like she has never experienced before, while she herself must fight against her alcoholism, a daughter suffering from eating disorders and a husband in a coma. And what does this strange nurse (impeccable Lesley Manville) want who watches over her husband, but constantly provokes her?

Without a serious lead, the policewoman accepts the help of Sister Megan (the astonishing Micaela Diamond, notably seen in tick, tick…BOOM!), a nun and journalist for the Catholic Guardian, a newspaper where she writes about ritual murders, giving free rein to her obsession with serial killers.

All this might seem very serious, but the series alternates between the lugubrious and a semi-joking tone (almost grotesque, to match the title), in order to describe the contradictions of America (both ” a search for God and an invocation of Satan “, as summarized in a dialogue by sister Megan) and our obsession with true crime – a little swollen but funny coming from Murphy, who has made it part of his livelihood.

There is therefore growing unease in the United States and Grotesquerie decided to put both feet in by pointing out the dead bodies in the closet. The polished staging gives birth to sublime gothic paintings, and the involvement of the casting keeps this scene in balance. freak show as joyful as it is unsubtle. The series unfortunately has a hard time positioning itself between satire and the first degree imposed by its detective story: the last part of the season with its absurd intrigue will also leave a lot of people on the side of the road. Others will surely see it as a welcome snub to the viewer's expectations, a farce about a country in dire straits.

Grotesquerie, two episodes available on Disney+, then one episode per week.