There’s a lot going on in The Beauty on FX and Hulu. And that’s true of this week’s seventh episode, “Beautiful Living Rooms,” which features a heist-y break-in from our main characters (aka Evan Peters and Jessica Alexander), as well as a family drama featuring John Carroll Lynch as Agent Meyer Williams and Kelli O’Hara as his wife, Juliana Williams. But the most surprising cast-member reveal in the episode? Spoilers past this point, but The Beauty Episode 7 introduces TikTok influencer with Progeria, Kaylee Halko, as their daughter, Joey.
The gist of the episode is that Byron Forst (Ashton Kutcher) is trying to get Williams (Lynch) to shut down his investigation of The Beauty. Forst is on the brink of bringing the drug, which turns people into their best physical selves, public. Meanwhile, an STD strain of The Beauty has escaped into the wild, which is what FBI agents Cooper Madsen (Peters) and Jordan Bennett (Alexander) are looking into.
His leverage? As we get to see at length, the Williams’ daughter suffers from Progeria. This is, by the way, a real syndrome that affects one in four million babies with what essentially seems like rapid aging. Also known as Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome, according to the Mayo clinic, while the babies seem to be healthy at birth, “During the first year, symptoms such as slowed growth, loss of fat tissue and hair loss begin to appear. Heart problems or strokes are the eventual cause of death in most children with Progeria. The average life expectancy for a child with Progeria is about 15 years. Some with the condition may die younger and others may live longer, even to about 20 years.”
In fact, when we first cut in on Meyer Williams, he’s in the hospital, fully expecting his daughter to die. He’s praying for her, the monitor flatlines, and he tells Joey to “let go.” The nurses and doctors bring Joey back, and it’s clear that Meyer isn’t relieved like his wife… He’s done with all of this.
I’m going to take a swerve here to note that Halko does have Progeria in real life, and has bucked the odds: as of this writing she’s 22 years old, having been born on July 21, 2003. So versus what the Mayo Clinic above said, she’s at least two years beyond the life expectancy for Progeria. She’s also highly active, as her TikTok claim to fame is dance videos — versus how the show depicts Joey as bed-bound, with brittle bones that broke the last time the doctors gave her CPR.
Back to the show, while Meyer reads Joey Goodnight, Moon, she explains that she’s a teenager (versus the 22 IRL Halko) and lives in a room that looks like it’s for a baby. She asks for a Charlie XCX poster, but it’s clear that they didn’t expect her to survive even this long, hence the baby room and baby book. And that’s what comes out in the following conversation where Meyer says he wants to institute a DNR the next time Joey goes into cardiac arrest, insisting “there is no cure for Progeria. She may be 15 but she has the heart of a 90-year-old.”
Meyer and his wife then fight about the Progeria and get back to the idea of the show, with Juliana insisting she used to be young and beautiful, and Meyer’s old sperm is at fault. Side-Note here: it’s not. Also per The Mayo Clinic, the LMNA gene that causes Progeria is “rarely passed down in families. In most cases, the rare gene change that causes progeria happens by chance.” Meyer fires back that maybe Juliana was the carrier, and again, that is likely not the case.
Anyway, that’s when Forst shows up with his Faustian — hold up, is that why he’s named Forst?? — bargain to give Meyer, Juliana, and most importantly Joey his miracle drug. It’ll bring Meyer and Juliana back to their young, beautiful selves, and completely cure Joey. As Forst notes, while Joey is responding to Lonafarnib — a drug used to treat Progeria and sold under the name Zokinvy — it “can be harsh,” and the prognosis is still not good.
Let’s talk positives here: Forst also notes, correctly, that the Progeria Research Foundation has spent $9 million since 1999. This is true and thankfully raises awareness of a real foundation working hard to not just find a cure for Progeria, but more importantly to help those living with it continue to live their best lives. But on the other hand, there’s an argument to be made that presenting this sci-fi easy fix of The Beauty while being dismissive of the work the real PRF has been doing (Forst frames it as “only” $9 million) is uncomfortable, at best.
The same could be said for giving “Joey” a miracle cure that turns her by episode’s end into a completely healthy, Progeria-free child. Naturally, we viewers know this isn’t real. And clearly, Halko is on board, so given I do not have Progeria nor know anyone with Progeria, I would defer to her about whether The Beauty is responsibly presenting and discussing the syndrome. But from my very outside perspective, rather than the usual goal of information about a syndrome or disease — to offer not solutions but ways of living with them — this instead presents something entirely impossible, mixed in with a few real facts here and there.
Like I said, if this episode raises awareness of Progeria and helps even one kid — or teen — live longer, then mission accomplished. Certainly, Halko getting act opposite a legend like John Carroll Lynch on a hit FX and Hulu series is extremely cool, regardless of context. But here’s wishing it could have been a little more responsible in the outcome of this situation… Even if that isn’t Byron Forst’s MO.
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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