Sarah Paulson says Ratched will not return for season 2

According to the show's star, Netflix has effectively lobotomized the TV drama, an origin story of the "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" character.

By
Maureen Lee Lenker
Author Maureen Lee Lenker
Maureen Lee Lenker

Maureen Lee Lenker is a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly with over seven years of experience in the entertainment industry. An award-winning journalist, she's written for Turner Classic Movies, Ms. Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, and more. She's worked at EW for six years covering film, TV, theater, music, and books. The author of EW's quarterly romance review column, "Hot Stuff," Maureen holds Master's degrees from both the University of Southern California and the University of Oxford. Her debut novel, It Happened One Fight, is now available. Follow her for all things related to classic Hollywood, musicals, the romance genre, and Bruce Springsteen.

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Updated on February 5, 2024 08:34PM EST

Nurse Ratched can put away her scalpel.

While greeting fans at the stage door of her Broadway play Appropriate, Sarah Paulson, who starred as the titular villainous nurse, addressed the question of a potential second season of the Netflix drama — and said it's not happening.

Ratched, which premiered all the way back in Sept. 2020, was originally given a two-season order, but when a fan asked whether we'd be getting a Ratched season 2, Paulson somberly replied, "No." The exchange can be viewed in a video shared via an American Horror Story fan account on social media.

Developed by Ryan Murphy, Ratched depicted the origin story of the infamous Nurse Ratched (Paulson) from Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which was also adapted into a 1975 film in which Louise Fletcher portrayed Ratched. The eight-episode drama followed Mildred Ratched's journey from her earliest days working her job at a psychiatric hospital, navigating the brutal mental healthcare system to her ultimate assumption of the role of head nurse in Cuckoo's Nest.

It's not terribly surprising that the drama isn't returning. After all, it has been nearly four years since the first season premiered. Although the show did nab four Emmy nominations, including one for Best Guest Actress for Sophie Okenedo.

RATCHED, Sarah Paulson
Sarah Paulson on 'Ratched'.

Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

Paulson is a regular in the Murphy television universe, however, appearing on multiple seasons of AHS and earning critical acclaim for her performances in both the Monica Lewinsky and O.J. Simpson seasons of American Crime Story.

Representatives for Paulson and Netflix did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.

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