One flew over before – TV show of the week

Ryan Murphy is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in television production at the moment, known for such shows as American Horror Story, Glee, Scream Queens, and many, many more.

When it was announced that he would be collaborating with Netflix for a new project with Sarah Paulson and Finn Wittrock, hopes were certainly high.

Then it was released…and well… hopes just couldn’t have been high enough.

Set in 1947, we begin with the gruesome murder of four priests in cold blood by a serial killer, Edmund Tolleson (Finn Wittrock). Edmund claims that the head priest raped his mother, and following his birth, he was forced into residence at a sadistic foster home.

As a consequence of the murders, he is admitted to an institution for the criminally insane, where he meets nurse Mildred Ratched (Sarah Paulson), and suddenly the trajectory of his life changes greatly.

Ryan Murphy is best known for the incredible American Horror Story (AHS), and Ratched isn’t so dissimilar; for starters, the plot is very reminiscent of AHS, with the second series taking place in a corrupt mental asylum.

Murphy takes a lot of inspiration from this, with a lot of Ratched comprised of plot-points that viewers would have wanted to see in AHS.

Much of the series’ success is down to the writing. The lines are so stylish and elegant, every word adding to the story, but without feeling unnatural or deliberate. Sometimes when a show takes on such a huge plot, the writing can suffer and become overwhelming for the viewer.

Ratched is different though, with the script taking its time to get all its points across, and giving the viewer time to process what’s just happened, and then seamlessly moving on to the next ever-shocking detail.

Of course, writing isn’t everything, and acting plays a huge role in the success of a show; and Ratched is no different.

Sarah Paulson stars as the ahead-of-her-time nurse, Mildred Ratched. Her acting is honestly astounding, but this is to be expected. Paulson constantly and consistently goes above and beyond to not only understand her characters, but to embody them, and this is an ability I’m sure just about every actor wishes they possessed.

Finn Wittrock stars alongside her as the deranged serial-killer, Edmund Tolleson. His acting is by all means good, but he is slightly overshadowed by Paulson, which is a shame, as he’s always been so great in his other endeavours.

Overall, Ratched is a great show for those who enjoyed AHS, Scream Queens or Glee, and also those who long for the return of the 1960s greats.

– Ratched is streaming now on Netflix.

By Jack Baxter