6 May, 2024 Siobhan Marie Day 0 Comments 3 categories

Diane Lane, Demi Moore, Chloë Sevigny, Molly Ringwald, Naomi Watts, Calista Flockhart as "The Swans" in "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" (2017-) Photo Credit: FX/Hulu

Truman Capote’s Swan Song…

Feud is an anthology drama television series created by Ryan Murphy, Jaffe Cohen, and Michael Zam, which premiered on FX on March 5, 2017. Conceived as an anthology series, the second season of the anthology series, titled Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, was directed by Gus Van Sant, Max Winkler, and Jennifer Lynch, it was written by Jon Robin Baitz. The eight-episode season is based on the 2021 book Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era written by Laurence Leamer. Its first two episodes premiered on January 31, 2024, with episodes available on Hulu the day after broadcast on FX.

Genre: Docudrama, and Anthology, Created by Ryan Murphy, Jaffe Cohen, and Michael Zam, with Composer: Mac Quayle, Country of origin: United States, Original language: English, No. of seasons 2, No. of episodes: 8, Executive producers: Ryan Murphy, Dede Gardner, Tim Minear, and Alexis Martin Woodall, with Producers: Jaffe Cohen, Renee Tab, Michael Zam, Jessica Lange, and Susan Sarandon, Production locations: Los Angeles, California, with Cinematography by Nelson Cragg, and Editors: Andrew Groves, Adam Penn, and Ken Ramos, Running time: 45–58 minutes, Production companies: Plan B Entertainment, Ryan Murphy Productions, 20th Television, and FXP, Original Network: FX (2017-)

Ryan Murphy at the premiere of "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" held at MOMA on January 23, 2024 in New York City. Photo by John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images

Writer Jaffe Cohen attends the Television Academy's celebration for Emmy nominees for Outstanding Writing at Saban Media Center on September 11, 2017 in North Hollywood, California. Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images

Writer Michael Zam attends the Television Academy's celebration for Emmy nominees for Outstanding Writing at Saban Media Center on September 11, 2017 in North Hollywood, California. Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images

Created by Ryan Murphy, Jaffe Cohen, and Michael Zam, Starring: Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Chloë Sevigny, Calista Flockhart, Demi Moore, Molly Ringwald, Treat Williams, Joe Mantello, Russell Tovey, Tom Hollander, No. of episodes: 8, Original network: FX/Hulu, and Original release: January 31 – March 13, 2024 (2024)

Gus Van Sant attends FX's "Feud: Capote VS. The Swans" New York Premiere at Museum of Modern Art on January 23, 2024 in New York City. Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Director Max Winkler attends the "Jungleland" photo call during the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival at Princess of Wales Theatre on September 12, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. Photo by Dominik Magdziak Photography/WireImage

Jennifer Lynch attends an ICON360: New York Fashion Week Screening Event in support "Bob Marley: One Love" at the Crosby Street Hotel on February 09, 2024, in New York, New York. Photo by John Nacion/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures

Jon Robin Baitz attends FX's "Feud: Capote VS. The Swans" New York Premiere at Museum of Modern Art on January 23, 2024 in New York City. Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

DON’T MISS FX’s FEUD: CAPOTE VS. THE SWANS—THE ORIGINAL SERIES BASED ON THE BESTSELLING BOOK—NOW AVAILABLE TO STREAM ON HULU! New York Times bestselling author Laurence Leamer reveals the complex web of relationships and scandalous true stories behind Truman Capote's never-published final novel, Answered Prayers—the dark secrets, tragic glamour, and Capote's ultimate betrayal of the group of female friends he called his "swans." “There are certain women,” Truman Capote wrote, “who, though perhaps not born rich, are born to be rich.” Barbara “Babe” Paley, Gloria Guinness, Marella Agnelli, Slim Hayward, Pamela Churchill, C. Z. Guest, Lee Radziwill (Jackie Kennedy’s sister)—they were the toast of midcentury New York, each beautiful and distinguished in her own way. Capote befriended them, received their deepest confidences, and ingratiated himself into their lives. Then, in one fell swoop, he betrayed them in the most surprising and startling way possible. Bestselling biographer Laurence Leamer delves into the years following the acclaimed publication of Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1958 and In Cold Blood in 1966, when Capote struggled with a crippling case of writer’s block. While enjoying all the fruits of his success, he was struck with an idea for what he was sure would be his most celebrated novel…one based on the remarkable, racy lives of his very, very rich friends. For years, Capote attempted to write Answered Prayers, what he believed would have been his magnum opus. But when he eventually published a few chapters in Esquire, the thinly fictionalized lives (and scandals) of his closest female confidantes were laid bare for all to see, and he was banished from their high-society world forever. Laurence Leamer re-creates the lives of these fascinating swans, their friendships with Capote and one another, and the doomed quest to write what could have been one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century.

Laurence Leamer at the premiere of "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" held at MOMA on January 23, 2024 in New York City. Photo by John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images

The second season surrounds acclaimed writer Truman Capote when he ruins his friendships with “the Swans”, a socialite group of New York City high society, by writing a thinly veiled fictionalized account of their scandalous and hedonistic lives in his (ultimately unfinished) novel, Answered Prayers. When Esquire publishes the chapter “La Côte Basque 1965”, after the restaurant of the same name frequented by the Swans and Capote himself, several vow to ruin his life in revenge. The eight episodes deal with Capote’s relationship prior to the fallout with the Swans, the years that followed after the Esquire article was published and Capote’s outcast from high society that eventully leads to his declining condition through drinking and substance abuse that ultimately leads to his death in 1984. The anthology series stars Naomi Watts, Diane Lane, Chloë Sevigny, Calista Flockhart, Demi Moore, Molly Ringwald, Treat Williams, Joe Mantello, Russell Tovey, and Tom Hollander as Truman Capote.

Tom Hollander as Truman Capote in "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" (2017-) Photo Credit: FX/Hulu

"Answered Prayers" is an unfinished novel by American author Truman Capote, published posthumously in 1986 in England and 1987 in the United States. Photo Credit: Google Images

The "Esquire" - November 1975 issue featuring the Truman Capote article, "La Cote Basque 1965" from his unfinished book, "Answered Prayers" that set off the events surrounding the women of high society in New York that he socialized with and talked about in the article that got him banned from his social circle. Photo Credit: Esquire

La Côte Basque was a New York City restaurant. It opened in the late 1950s and operated until it closed on March 7, 2004. In business for 45 years, upon its closing The New York Times called it a "former high-society temple of French cuisine at 60 West 55th Street." Photo Credit: Google Images

Socialites Jean Murray Vanderbilt (left) and Barbara 'Babe' Paley with writer Truman Capote, circa 1957. Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images

Chloë Sevigny, Molly Ringwald and Tom Hollander in "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" (2017-) Photo Credit: FX/Hulu

Naomi Watts and Tom Hollander in "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" (2017-) Photo Credit: FX/Hulu

Joe Mantello and Tom Hollander in "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" (2017-) Photo Credit: FX/Hulu

Molly Ringwald and Tom Hollander in "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" (2017-) Photo Credit: FX/Hulu

Naomi Watts as Babe Paley in "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" (2017-) Photo Credit: FX/Hulu

Diane Lane as Slim Keith in "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" (2017-) Photo Credit: FX/Hulu

Chloë Sevigny as C. Z. Guest in "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" (2017-) Photo Credit: FX/Hulu

Calista Flockhart as Lee Radziwill in "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" (2017-) Photo Credit: FX/Hulu

Demi Moore as Ann Woodward in "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" (2017-) Photo Credit: FX/Hulu

Molly Ringwald as Joanne Carson in "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" (2017-) Photo Credit: FX/Hulu

Treat Williams as Bill Paley in "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" (2017-) Photo Credit: FX/Hulu

Joe Mantello as Jack Dunphy in "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" (2017-) Photo Credit: FX/Hulu

Russell Tovey as John O'Shea in "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans" (2017-) Photo Credit: FX/Hulu

Truman Garcia Capote, born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984, was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958) and the true crime novel In Cold Blood (1966). His works have been adapted into more than 20 films and television productions. Capote had a troubled childhood caused by his parents' divorce, a long absence from his mother, and multiple moves. He was planning to become a writer by the time he was eight years old, and he honed his writing ability throughout his childhood. He began his professional career writing short stories. The critical success of "Miriam" (1945) attracted the attention of Random House publisher Bennett Cerf and resulted in a contract to write the novel Other Voices, Other Rooms (1948). Capote earned the most fame with In Cold Blood (1966), a journalistic work about the murder of a Kansas farm family in their home. Capote spent six years writing the book, aided by his lifelong friend Harper Lee, who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird (1960). Photo Credit: Getty Images

Feud: Capote vs. The Swans is the Featured Television Blog of the month for May! You can expect a detailed critique of the series episodes. There is also a detailed recommendation of the series with the history of Truman Capote and the Swans. There is also a detailed review of the 2021 book the series is based off of titled Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era, and the 1975 Esquire feature by Truman Capote, “La Côte Basque 1965”, that started the beginning of the end for Capote & his Swans. For the interview, Tom Hollander and his Swans sit down with ABC News to talk about their roles in the series Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. There is also a Top Ten List, and for Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, the list is My Top Ten New York City Series. Last but not least, the Featured Television Blog of the month includes an Official Trailer for the featured series!