First look at Sarah Paulson in Cuckoo’s Nest prequel series Ratched

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Netflix today has unveiled a gallery of first-look photos for RATCHED, an upcoming series that imagines the origin story of Nurse Mildred Ratched, the twisted and vindictive villain played by Louise Fletcher in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST.

Having met my fair share of ill-tempered nurses throughout the years, I'm pleased to report that I've never encountered one as disturbed or sinister as Nurse Ratched. Known to many cinephiles as the malevolent mental hospital caregiver who had Jack Nicholson’s character lobotomized in director Milos Forman's 1975 drama, Nurse Mildred Ratched might as well have graduated from the University of Annie Wilkes, if you catch my drift.

Scheduled to make the rounds on Netflix this September 18, RATCHED stars Sarah Paulson as the chilling Nurse Ratched. The show hails from the creator of AMERICAN HORROR STORY Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan and is produced by the film's producer Michael Douglas. Set in mid-20th century Northern California where Mildred Ratched (Paulson) lands a job at a psychiatric hospital as a nurse. The series will follow the nurse’s first days navigating the mental healthcare system and her journey to head nurse in Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel. (via Deadline)

Joining Paulson for the unnerving origin story, created by Evan Romansky, are Sharon Stone, Cynthia Nixon, Finn Wittrock, Jon Jon Briones, Charlie Carver, Judy Davis, Harriet Harris, Hunter Parrish, Amanda Plummer, Corey Stoll, Sophie Okonedo, and Vincent D’Onofrio.

Netflix tweeted an official poster and first-look images for the series on Wednesday, which features Paulson positively nailing the classic character's steely demeanor and no-nonsense approach to lording over her patients.

Recently while speaking with Vanity Fair about the upcoming series, Murphy explained why he'd found the Nurse Ratched character so appealing, and why she stands as a timeless embodiment for acts of barbarism.

I feel like Nurse Ratched is sort of a shorthand for barbarism. She became almost like a catchphrase for any sort of institutional abuse of power. What was interesting was trying to create an emotional character from a reputation that’s very cold…trying to figure out every little detail about her childhood, her relationships, her sexuality. Because when people think of Ratched, they think of her as shutoff and cruel and uncaring.

For more photos from the series feel free to check out the gallery below:

RATCHED, featuring the early exploits of one of cinema's most notorious villains, will clock into its shift on Netflix on September 18.