The first details about Ryan Murphy’s “Ratched” has been revealed, and it’s not the news we were expecting.
If the news comes as a surprise, it’s likely because we were expecting a familiar villain in “American Horror Story: Roanoke.” Instead, we’re getting something completely different.
The sequence, originally conceived by Evan Romansky for the first time before Murphy and Ian Brennan, has been produced and is being taken up by Mildred Ratched (Paulson) who, some 15 years before the tragic events at “One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest,” managed to take a nursing position at a Northern California psychiatric hospital in 1947.
The creator of the role in the TV show is Sacha Gervasi, who had originally written the screenplay for “Cuckoo’s Nest,” and will be co-writing the pilot along with Murphy.
Can she play the same character twice?
The prospect of Paulson portraying Nurse Ratched raises some interesting questions, most importantly, there’s no way to tell, but if her current “American Horror Story” co-star Kathy Bates is anything to go by, the answer is probably yes.
Bates once appeared on the FX series as a different character, and her portrayal was different from her role as Norma Bates on the horror anthology that it was initially met with confusion, as Bates herself admitted.
It’s certainly possible that the “American Horror Story” “Roanoke” twist will have a similar effect on audiences; the decision to have Nurse Ratched play a prominent role in the series is certainly a bold one.
Conclusion
No one would accuse Ryan Murphy of being afraid of being bold, and his previous “American Horror Story” seasons have been among the most fascinating and entertaining of the last decade.
“Roanoke” turned the franchise from a campy anthology into a layered and psychologically complex sci-fi story, and was notable for featuring a cast of first-time actors.
This new project is aiming for a similar tone and, like most of Murphy’s projects, looks set to be more about the psychological implications of our dreams than the supernatural forces we’re normally used to seeing on screen. It’ll be interesting to see how they bring Nurse Ratched back to life again for “Ratched.”
Hopefully, there are no actual witches in the hospital this time, otherwise, we’re in trouble. Stay safe and keep reading.
