Hitting streaming services on January 31st, this 8-part series is based on the 2021 book by Laurence Leamer " Capote's Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era". Directed by Gus Van Sant, the story revolves around the American novelist, playwright and actor Truman Capote, played in the series by Tom Hollander. Through his liaisons with New York's most glamorous socialites, Capote developed a circle of female friends, affectionately called his "swans". These women accompanied him around the world as his confidantes and entrusted him with secrets of their own.Â
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During his time as the toast of high society, Capote subsequently wrote an excerpt of his upcoming tell-all novel Unanswered Prayers which was published in a 1975 Esquire article entitled "La Côte Basque 1965". It featured thinly disguised aliases of Capote's friends, and sensationalized accounts of secrets they had disclosed to him. This apparent act of betrayal swiftly lead to his exile from his circle and a number of his "swans" cutting contact with him. The series starts out in the 1970s, during Capote's rise to social celebrity and follows him through to his battle with substance addiction and his death from liver disease in 1984.Â
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Given the tagline "the original housewives", it follows the six women whom Capote had an affinity with, and the drama which later ensued. Some of New York's most glamorous elites Babe Paley (Naomi Watts), Slim Keith (Diane Lane), C.Z. Guest (Chloë Sevigny), Lee Radziwell (Calista Flockhart), Ann Woodward (Demi Moore), and Joanne Carson (Molly Ringwald) take centre stage in this narrative of scandal and deception.Â
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This season serves as the second installment of American director and producer Ryan Murphy's docudrama anthology Feud. The first, subtitled Bette and Joan, follows the well-documented rivalry of Hollywood actresses Bette David and Joan Crawford during the production of their psychological thriller movie What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? in 1962.Â
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Feud: Capote Vs. the Swans is now available for streaming on FX and Hulu.Â
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