Sign Up
..... Connect Australia with the world.
Categories

Posted: 2024-09-27 04:59:17

"I want them to leave with 'I've got to see the next one'."

So, says actor Courtney B Vance about Ryan Murphy's new drama series, Grotesquerie.

"There's so much there," Vance tells ABC News.

"There's so much food there that if we do our job right then [audiences will say], 'No, no, no, no, no, it can't be over.'

"That's what I'd like them to walk away with. It's an event. It becomes an event."

Courtney B Vance in character, serious expression on his face, dark rimmed reading glasses, headshot

Courtney B Vance spends the first two episodes in a coma, lively only through flashbacks. (Supplied: Disney+)

Two episodes into the 10-episode series co-created and written by Murphy (Monster, American Horror Story, 9-1-1), Vance may have just got his wish.

Grotesquerie follows detective Lois Tryon (Niecy Nash-Betts) as she investigates a series of heinous crimes that have unsettled a small community.

Vance (The People v OJ Simpson, Lovecraft Country) plays Marshall Tryon, Lois's husband, who is in long-term hospital care and battling his own demons, but the absence of his charm and wisdom as he lays in a coma takes a heavy toll on Lois.

"We're a very modern dysfunctional family," Vance said.

Lois has a strained relationship with her daughter Merritt, played by Raven Goodwin (Single Black Female, Lola, Being Mary Jane).

Raven Goodwin in character sitting at a dining room table with food in front of her

Raven Goodwin says her character Merritt is a "27-year-old child". (Supplied: Disney+)

"Merritt is complicated," Goodwin told ABC News.

"She's very highly intelligent, so I wanted that to come across.

"But she's also a 27-year-old child, if that makes sense.

"So, trying to put those things on display — her being very childlike, her also being highly intelligent — and trying to weave those two in was interesting.

"I love Merritt. I think I definitely found the nuance in her."

While Vance wants the show to start conversations and for people to be hanging out for the next episode, the audience members will need to have a strong stomach.

His co-star says the show is for those who "enjoy horror".

"I think it's going to get a few people in the afraid department," Goodwin said.

Vance continues: "If we approach it from a character point of view, the horror is … baked in."

Micaela Diamon in a nun outfit and sunglasses standing on a beach with Niecy Nash-Betts, both in character

Lois teams up with nun and journalist Sister Megan Duval, played by Micaela Diamond. (Supplied: Disney+)

Lois feels the crimes that are taking place are eerily personal and, unsure where to turn, accepts the help of Sister Megan (Micaela Diamond), a nun and journalist who writes for the Catholic Guardian.

The two are said to find themselves ensnared in a sinister web that raises more questions than answers.

The cast members have a swag of Emmys and other awards between them.

The show also stars British actor Lesley Manville (The Crown) as Nurse Redd and Nicholas Alexander Chavez (Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story) as Father Charlie Mayhew.

Lesley Manville in character dressed in a nurses outfit, hands clasped together as if praying, at hospital

Lesley Manville plays Nurse Redd. (Supplied: Disney+)

And Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who is in a high-profile relationship with pop star Taylor Swift, has been cast in his acting debut.

He doesn't appear in the first two episodes, and it is unclear the extent of his role.

"Travis is great," Goodwin said.

"Travis is dope.

"He was such a sponge. He wanted to soak it all in and he really, he showed up to work, for sure."

Vance agrees.

"I mean I couldn't do that for the football field," he said.

"If they said for me to go … no, we'd be done."

Grotesquerie is streaming on Disney+.

View More
  • 0 Comment(s)
Captcha Challenge
Reload Image
Type in the verification code above