Going into a Ryan Murphy show, you expect shockers… But not like this. Because on the second episode of the two episode premiere of The Beauty on Hulu and FX — and spoilers past this point — star Rebecca Hall left the series, replaced by actress Jessica Alexander in the role of FBI agent Jordan Bennett.
This probably requires a little bit of explanation, but Hall has been touted as part of the main cast of the comic book based series since way back in 2024. FX had already announced fellow stars Evan Peters, Ashton Kutcher, Jeremy Pope, and Anthony Ramos. And as the premiere approached, she was on the press tour with them from the New York Comic Con appearance to the series’ press day.
Except… Oops. She’s not really part of the cast at all. In the first episode of the series, we’re introduced to Jordan, who is in a romantic relationship with her fellow FBI agent, Cooper Madsen (Peters). They’re sent to Venice to investigate a strange murder that they don’t yet know ties back to The Beauty, an STD that turns you into your best self, and occasionally makes you explode.
In the series second episode, “Beautiful Jordan,” while Cooper is attacked by two thugs, Jordan hooks up with an Italian hottie she spied at a hotel bar. The hottie takes her back to his palatial apartment, they make love, and the next morning he kisses her goodbye. Only when she wakes up, she starts convulsing, sweating, and exhibiting all the signs of a Beauty transformation.
She then stumbles to the bathroom, where later we cut in on her in a Gremlins-style pod/bag thing, which Jordan emerges from, transformed. And when she’s transformed, the goop-covered Jordan is no longer Rebecca Hall… She’s Jessica Alexander.
We’ve known for a while that Alexander would be on the show. And you might know her from roles such as Olivia Hayes in Get Even, Lucinda Price on Fallen, or more likely as Vanessa, aka the human version of Ursula from Disney’s live-action Little Mermaid. She’s also in Primate, which just hit theaters, so big year for Alexander.
…But we didn’t know she would be playing one of the two main roles on the show. And indeed, without getting into future spoilers, that’s exactly what has happened here: Rebecca Hall has exited The Beauty halfway through the second episode, and Jessica Alexander is the new co-lead of the series.
Ryan Murphy, you scamp. You have done it again! Now go apologize for making Rebecca Hall embark on an exhausting press tour for a teeny, tiny role.
The Beauty Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
New episodes of The Beauty premiere Wednesdays at 9 pm ET on Hulu, and 9 pm ET/PT on FX. The season will premiere with three episodes on January 21, followed by a staggered release schedule until the Season 1 finale.
Here’s what we expect from the full list of episodes in The Beauty Season 1, with premiere dates.
- Wednesday, January 21, 2026: The Beauty, Season 1, Episode 1, “Beautiful Pilot”
- Wednesday, January 21, 2026: The Beauty, Season 1, Episode 2, “Beautiful Jordan”
- Wednesday, January 21, 2026: The Beauty, Season 1, Episode 3, “Beautiful Christopher Cross”
- Wednesday, January 28, 2026: The Beauty, Season 1, Episode 4, “Beautiful Chimp Face”
- Wednesday, February 4, 2026: The Beauty, Season 1, Episode 5, “Beautiful Billionaires”
- Wednesday, February 11, 2026: The Beauty, Season 1, Episode 6, “Beautiful Patient Zero”
- Wednesday, February 18, 2026: The Beauty, Season 1, Episode 7, “Beautiful Living Rooms”
- Wednesday, February 25, 2026: The Beauty, Season 1, Episode 8, “Beautiful Brothers”
- Wednesday, February 25, 2026: The Beauty, Season 1, Episode 9, “Beautiful Evolution”
- Wednesday, March 4, 2026: The Beauty, Season 1, Episode 10, “Beautiful Beauty Day”
- Wednesday, March 4, 2026: The Beauty, Season 1, Episode 11, “Beautiful Betrayal” *Season Finale*
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