2020 has been a good year for Sarah Paulson releases. In addition to starring in Hulu’s limited series, Mrs. America, she also has a new Netflix series premiering this fall, Ratched, as well as a new horror movie, Run. Let’s take a look at both, which are sure to thrill those of us who are fans of Sarah Paulson because of her work in the American Horror Story horror anthology.
Ratched
When I first saw the trailer for Ratched, I thought it was a spin-off of American Horror Story: Asylum. I didn’t remember Sarah Paulson playing one of the nurses or nuns, though.
That’s because she didn’t and I was confused. (She played reporter Lana Winters.)
However, I forgave myself for the confusion because like American Horror Story season 2, Ratched is also set in a psychiatric hospital, but not Briarcliff Manor. Plus, there was an AHS connection: creator Ryan Murphy is also involved in this new Netlfix series.
In 1947, Mildred Ratched begins working as a nurse at a leading psychiatric hospital. But beneath her stylish exterior lurks a growing darkness.
Nurse Ratched is from a movie, though: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. (Which was adapted from a novel by Ken Kesey.) Louise Fletcher won an Academy Award for playing the villain “Big Nurse.”
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But who was she? What happened to her to make her become the battleax who tormented Randle Patrick “Mac” McMurphy (played by Jack Nicholson in the movie version) and the others in the ward controlled by the domineering nurse?
Evan Romansky imagined her origin story and with Ryan Murphy’s help that’s what Ratched explores. It drops on Netflix on September 18.
I think it looks great and I’m super hopeful it’ll be my binge that weekend. Here’s the trailer.
Run
In Run, Sarah Paulson plays an overprotective mother to a wheelchair-bound daughter, played by newcomer and actual wheelchair user Kiera Allen. Here’s an interesting tidbit that Collider shared about that: “…her casting marks the first time an actual wheelchair user has played a lead in a major thriller since 1948’s The Sign of the Ram according to the Hollywood Reporter, which broke the news.”
Run was set for a theatrical release on Mother’s Day this year. It did hit theaters in India in May, but COVID-19 squelched the U.S. release. Collider reported Hulu won the domestic rights to Run in a “heated auction.”
Collider also noted something that struck me right off the bat after watching Run‘s trailer: it’s reminiscent of Hulu’s limited true-crime miniseries The Act, which was about the case of Gypsy Rose Blanchard (played by Joey King) who killed her mother, Claudine “Dee Dee” Blanchard (played by Patricia Arquette).
The Act was nominated for several awards and nabbed Patricia Arquette a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie as well as a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. Joey King was also nominated for her performances. (And I’m still shocked she didn’t win anything because she was amazing.)
But I digress…back to Run. When can we expect to see it on Hulu? An official release date hasn’t been announced, but speculation centers on Fall, probably sometime around Halloween.
Here’s the trailer for Run.
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Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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My husband and I both want to see Ratched! The original character scared me. I hadn’t heard about Run. I’ll be on the lookout for it!
I had no idea Ratched was based on the One Flew Over the Cockoo’s Nest character. I forgot that was her name. In fact, I thought whenever I heard that name used it was just a joke. I didn’t ever get the reference until I wrote this post! Good grief…