Critics Are Saying This 'Scandalous' And 'Mesmerising' New Drama Should Be Your Next Binge-Watch
The long-awaited second season of Ryan Murphy’s seriously star-studded anthology series Feud has finally arrived in the UK.
Subtitled Capote vs. The Swans, the new season boasts an impressive ensemble cast of Tom Hollander, Naomi Watts, Chloë Sevigny, Molly Ringwald, Russell Tovey and Demi Moore.
It follows the success of the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated inaugural series of Feud, Bette And Joan, which starred Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon in the title roles.
This latest instalment centres around the American writer Truman Capote and his socialite entourage of “swans”, who he famously betrayed with a fictionalised account of their lives, exposing their intimate secrets.
Fans have been eager to dive into the juicy new world from the American Horror Story and Glee creator, with the latest season now available to watch on Disney+ here in the UK, after it debuted across the pond earlier this year.
Capote vs. The Swans has already landed a handful of glowing five-star reviews, including in The Telegraph, which described the second season of Feud as a “catty, scandalous delight”.
It also lauded Tom Hollander’s Capote who “scowls and squeals his way through a mesmerising performance that manages to put Philip Seymour Hoffman in the shade”.
Another five star write-up came from the Evening Standard, which described the show as a “must-watch”, especially for “mesmerising” stars Tom Hollander and Naomi Watts.
“Bold. Super stylish. Intelligent. Luxuriously made and unhurried, it’s hard to watch Feud: Capote vs. The Swans without reaching for hyperbole,” the review enthused.
“In an age of algorithm-inspired amphetamine-laden mass market TV, this eight-part, eight-hour series feels like one from a bygone Hollywood era.”
The Times’ critic was similarly impressed by “mesmeric” leading actor Tom who successfully follows in Philip Seymour Hoffman’s footsteps, after playing the famous novelist in the 2005 film Capote.
It also described the series as “gorgeously shot, spikily written and far too long”, but still “worth your time, if only for the performance of Tom Hollande as Capote, one so grimly hypnotic it is hard to take your eyes off him”.
The Independent awarded the series four stars while hailing the A-list cast that leads a “salacious tale of scrapping celebrities”. In particular, the review spotlighted the “fantastic collection of actresses”, adding that creator Ryan “knows how to handle an A-list ensemble”.
However, The Guardian was less impressed, asking how its all-star cast – including a “deliciously evil Truman Capote” – and “style to die for and supreme scandal” could be “such a dud”.
It concludes: “Above all, it simply isn’t fun. Lange aside, it isn’t even camp. It’s cautious, dry, almost worthy in parts” that is “just enough to spike your flagging interest and keep hope alive that the Murphy magic will arrive. But it never does.”.
The latest wave of reviews comes after the show’s January premiere in the US, with the LA Times writing that “it’s worth staying the course, for the emotional payoff”, while The Wall Street Journal described the show as an “irresistibly gossipy tale”.
Feud: Capote vs. The Swans is available to watch on Disney+ now. Watch the trailer below: