First Look: Ryan Murphy’s ‘Cuckoo’s Nest’ prequel ‘Ratched’

Nearly 45 years later, fans of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” will get the chance to return to the ward once again in Ryan Murphy’s upcoming Netflix series “Ratched.”

Starring long-time Murphy collaborator Sarah Paulson as the titular nurse, “Ratched” takes place 16 years prior to the film in 1947 as the heartless nurse Mildred Ratched begins her career in the psychiatric hospital. According to Netflix, the suspenseful drama will explore the origin story of asylum nurse in a hospital that has just begun testing new and unsettling experiments on patients.

Along with the show’s trailer and first-look images, Netflix announced Tuesday that the eight-episode series will debut Sept. 18.

The series stars Paulson as Ratched, Cynthia Nixon as Gwendolyn Briggs, Judy Davis as Nurse Betsy Bucket, Sharon Stone as Lenore Osgood, Jon Jon Briones as Dr. Richard Hanover, Finn Wittrock as Edmund Tolleson, Charlie Carver as Huck, Alice Englert as Dolly, Amanda Plummer as Louise, Corey Stoll as Charles Wainwright, Sophie Okonedo as Charlotte Wells, Brandon Flynn as Henry Osgood and Vincent D’Onofrio as Gov. George Wilburn.

“Ratched” debuts exclusively on Netflix September 18.

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