The verdict is in. Ryan Murphy, the mind who once terrified audiences with American Horror Story, now finds his once-flawless reputation bruised and battered. His newest Hulu series, All’s Fair, co-created with Brad Falchuk, has suffered the ignominy of a 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Despite boasting an ensemble of heavyweights (Glenn Close, Naomi Watts, and Kim Kardashian), the series is being hailed as one of the year’s most disastrous debuts. Kardashian stars as Los Angeles lawyer Mercedes Blake, a billionaire attorney leading a women-only divorce firm. The Times stated:
Well done, Kim. You must have quite a healthy ego yourself to star in what may well be the worst television drama ever made… scripted, it feels, by a toddler who couldn’t write ‘bum’ on a wall.
The Guardian piled on, declaring, “I did not know it was still possible to make television this bad… fascinatingly, incomprehensibly, existentially terrible.” Meanwhile, The Telegraph likened Kardashian’s performance to “a Zzzzzz… quality that threatens to lull the unprepared viewer into a stupor whenever she opens her mouth.”
Murphy, once hailed as a visionary behind Glee, Pose, and American Horror Story, now finds his name tethered to what critics dub “the worst TV drama ever.” For a director known for bending genres, this time he may have bent his legacy out of shape.
All’s Fair: Meet the Cast and Characters of Ryan Murphy’s Star-studded Legal Series
Hulu released the first three episodes of All’s Fair on November 4, with the nine-episode season slated to conclude on December 9. The story follows a team of female divorce attorneys navigating fractured marriages, professional rivalries, and the slippery ethics of love and law.
Kim Kardashian plays Allura Grant, a calculating yet magnetic attorney who leads her firm with an iron fist. It’s her second collaboration with Ryan Murphy after her icy turn as Siobhan Corbyn in American Horror Story: Delicate. Naomi Watts steps in as Liberty Ronson, Allura’s cofounder and confidante, bringing the same grace that earned her acclaim in Birdman and Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.
Niecy Nash, fresh from her Emmy win for Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, transforms into Emerald Greene, a former cop turned investigator who keeps the firm grounded in grit. Sarah Paulson returns as Carrington “Carr” Lane, a razor-sharp attorney who wrestles with both courtroom battles and personal demons.
Glenn Close commands the screen as Dina Standish and Teyana Taylor lights up the series as Milan.
Despite its pedigree, critics have described the show as “a lifeless verdict wrapped in designer suits,” lamenting that even this powerhouse cast couldn’t rescue it from narrative bankruptcy.
American Horror Story Season 13 Cast Update: Ariana Grande and Jessica Lange Join the Series?
Just as All’s Fair faces trial by fire, Ryan Murphy seems to be summoning his creative ghosts with American Horror Story Season 13. The long-running anthology is returning to its eerie roots with the grand reappearance of Jessica Lange and Ariana Grande’s much-anticipated TV comeback.
Unveiled on Halloween, October 31, the cast announcement read like a resurrection of horror royalty: Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Angela Bassett, Kathy Bates, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Gabourey Sidibe, and Leslie Grossman all return.
The thirteenth season remains untitled, but is already slated for a Halloween 2026 release on FX and Hulu: Murphy’s favorite season for mischief and mayhem. Can the return of Jessica Lange and the allure of Ariana Grande redeem Murphy’s reputation, or will All’s Fair forever remain the blot on his legacy? What do you think? Drop your verdict in the comments below!
All’s Fair is streaming now on Hulu, with new episodes every Sunday until December 9, 2025.
American Horror Story Season 13 will premiere on FX and Hulu on October 31, 2026.
