Grotesquerie

While it’s too early to say whether the show really jells. .... The material is consistently elevated by the actors, most notably Nash-Betts, who brings a grounded understatedness to Lois that saves her from falling into a river of clichés. Manville is great, too, quite literally licking her lips over the prospect of portraying a domineering, perverse caretaker.

While the series is off to a fittingly audacious yet wildly over-familiar start, neither the titles Grotesquerie nor American Horror Story: Grotesquerie would truly capture the best reason to check it out — namely, the absolute pleasure of watching Niecy Nash front and center as the undisputed star.

Whether it’s a good murder mystery is still up in the air after the first two episodes. But damn if Nash-Betts doesn’t completely command our attention during her copious screen time.

Grotesquerie is a slow burn, but it is intriguing. Elsewhere, it touches on reality TV, addiction, guns, faith and the mundanity of marriage. It may be too much, all at once, and as is often the case with Murphy shows, it strives to find a balance between genuine provocation and being shocking just because he can be. Even so, these opening episodes suggest it is worth persevering with.

Procedurals take on a granular level of investigative detail that this show is just uninterested in developing. .... More effective is the introduction of a new priest (suspect?) named Father Charlie (Nicholas Chavez), who is giving a sermon about hubris and faith, foregrounding some of the themes of the show again.