Ryan Murphy is being mercilessly dragged for ‘copying’ The Substance with new series

If there is one thing Ryan Murphy is going to do, it’s cast Evan Peters and spark massive controversy. But this time, the drama isn’t just about the plot, but about where the plot actually came from. His upcoming FX series The Beauty is basically a TV remake of The Substance, whether he likes it or not.

FX

The TV adaptation of The Beauty was first announced back in September 2024, but the discourse didn’t really kick off until Murphy began teasing the show more heavily over the past year. Things reached peak hype when Murphy and the cast, including Evan Peters, Bella Hadid, and Ashton Kutcher (yikes) revealed new details to a packed main stage at New York Comic-Con in October.

Then came an official release date, art, and a teaser trailer.

As soon as the trailer dropped, people started clocking what they saw as very familiar themes, namely, eerie beauty transformations, body horror visuals, and a sinister “miracle drug” promising physical perfection. Naturally, comparisons to Coralie Fargeat’s Oscar-nominated 2024 body-horror film The Substance came flooding in.

FX

One user bluntly commented: “This storyline def seems familiar. The Substance???”

Another summed it up with: “Maybe it will be the Deep Impact to The Substance’s Armageddon.”

the substance rip off

— poppy 🦋 (@imnotpopbase) December 23, 2025

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The similarities appear to stem from a major change Murphy and co-creator Matthew Hodson made to the original comic. In the source material by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley, The Beauty revolves around a sexually transmitted disease that causes people to become physically perfect, but ultimately kills them.

So the substance? pic.twitter.com/eHVLEsIEjY

— BOB (@bobussyy) December 22, 2025

In the TV adaptation, that’s been switched to a miracle drug, explicitly likened to GLP-1s like Ozempic. Vanity Fair also confirmed that while the drug is the main source of transformation, its “powers can also be sexually transmitted from one person to another”, which… only adds fuel to the fire.

People were quick to point out that The Beauty as a concept technically predates The Substance, however, Murphy has changed the original details to reflect current times, which now makes it much more similar to The Substance. That’s kind of the whole problem.

ryan murphy has done it again. hes made another piece of shit.

— T_M_G (@TM_Gardi) December 3, 2025

Murphy himself has described the show to Variety as a commentary on “Ozempic culture and society’s obsession with instant, artificial beauty”.

FX has confirmed the series will follow two FBI agents investigating the drug and its rapidly spreading epidemic, blending body horror with crime drama. Yep, sounds way too familiar.

The Beauty is set to premiere on 21st January.

The Tab has reached out to representatives of Ryan Murphy for comment.

Featured image credit: Mubi, FX