The first trailer has arrived for Netflix's Ratched, which will tell the origin of the titular nurse from Ken Kesey's 1962 book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
The series, which was given a two-season order of 18 episodes back in 2017, will debut on Sept. 18 on Netflix. Produced by Ryan Murphy, it stars Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story) as Nurse Ratched, taking place in 1947 and charting the character's course as she evolves into one of literature's most notorious villains.
Created by newcomer Evan Romansky, the show was quickly picked up by Netflix once American Horror Story and Glee creator Ryan Murphy became attached as a producer. From there, Murphy had to secure the rights to the character from the estate of Saul Zaentz, the owner of the film rights for 1975's Cuckoo's Nest. Paul Zaentz, the son of the original producer, will also oversee the series, alongside Michael Douglas, who co-produced the original film.
In the book and film, Nurse Ratched is a cruel and uncompromising employee of the psychiatric facility holding protagonist Randle Patrick McMurphy and narrator "Chief" Bromden. As the trailer teases, the show will explore the conditions that led to the character audiences know, though it's clear that many of Ratched's more vicious tendencies are already present once the series begins. And while Murphy won't be running the show, his highly stylized aesthetic is prominent throughout the first trailer.
Ratched stars Sarah Paulson, Cynthia Nixon, Sharon Stone, Corey Stoll, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jon Jon Briones, Finn Wittrock, Charlie Carver and Sophie Okonedo, with recurring appearances by Rosanna Arquette and Don Cheadle. Season 1 premieres Sept. 18 on Netflix.