Three years after its initial announcement, Netflix revealed the first look at executive producer Ryan Murphy’s (American Horror Story, The Politician) Ratched, via The Hollywood Reporter. The prequel series stars frequent Murphy collaborator Sarah Paulson (Mrs. America, Bird Box) in the titular lead role.
Based on the character from the 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the drama follows Paulson as Mildred Ratched years prior to the events of the movie. Actress Louise Fletcher (Flowers in the Attic) originated the role in the movie based on Ken Kesey’s (Sailor Song) book. Set in 1947, Ratchet has begun work as a nurse at a psychiatric hospital where, according to the series logline, “new and unsettling experiments have begun on the human mind.”
Paulson described the series as “complicated and dark and not what I expected, and totally terrifying,” via The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s more psychological than murder-scary where somebody jumps out from behind you. It’s sort of a meditation on someone’s psychological strengths or weaknesses,” Paulson continued.
In addition to Paulson, the cast includes Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), Judy Davis (Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows) and Sharon Stone (Law & Order: SVU, Basic Instinct). We also see repeat-Murphy actors Finn Wittrock (American Horror Story) and Jon Jon Briones (The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story) join Corey Stoll (The Strain, Marvel’s Ant-Man), Sophie Okenedo (Hotel Rwanda), and Vincent D’Onofrio (Godfather of Harlem, The Magnificent Seven).
The prequel series premieres Friday, Sept. 18 on Netflix.