Niecy Nash-Betts follows up her Emmy-winning “Dahmer” role in Ryan Murphy’s 10-episode drama series “Grotesquerie,” premiering Wednesday, September 25 at 10 pm ET/PT on FX. In the series, a series of heinous crimes have unsettled a small community. Nash-Betts stars as “Detective Lois Tryon,” who 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, a husband 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,” 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.
For Nash-Betts, who’s resume features all genres from horror, drama to comedy, and an Emmy for her role in Netflix’s “Dahmer,” each one of those roles helped her prepare for the role of Lois.
“It is said that people who can make you laugh can make you cry, but the reverse is not always true,” Nash-Betts said in a press conference earlier this week to promote the series. “…I’m grateful that I have a duality in my art. Um, I didn’t know, because I wasn’t welcomed into the drama side for a- a- a long time. I didn’t know how cathartic it was, I did not know how, um, healing it could be sometimes to be able to revisit emotions and be able to share them, um, onscreen. I’m so, so grateful for Ryan [Murphy] because this opportunity, especially in this genre, is not typically led by Black women. I’m very grateful that I can unpack some of my own, uh, mayhem and foolishness, uh, through this series, so thank you, Ryan.”
The series also stars Courtney B. Vance as “Marshall Tryon,” Lesley Manville as “Nurse Redd,” Micaela Diamond as “Sister Megan,” Nicholas Alexander Chavez as “Father Charlie,” Raven Goodwin as “Merritt Tryon” and Travis Kelce.
Written and created by Ryan Murphy, Jon Robin Baitz and Joe Baken, “Grotesquerie” is directed by Max Winkler, Murphy, Alexis Martin Woodall and Elegance Bratton. The show is executive produced by Murphy, Woodall, Baitz, Baken, Winkler, Nash-Betts, Vance, Peter Liguori, Nissa Diederich, Eric Kovtun and Scott Robertson. It is produced by 20th Television.
“Grotesquerie” premieres with two back-to-back episodes on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 on FX and airing the next day on Hulu.
