Intro for October 15, 2026
– 3 min read
Dear Gossips,
Ryan Murphy’s latest unwatchable series is American Horror Story 13, which brings back a lot of fan favorites from the AHS franchise for its 13th season. AHS 13 features Paul Anthony Kelly, hot off his breakout role in Love Story.
And congrats to Paul Anthony Kelly’s publicist, because despite being widely derided for his acting ability—or lack thereof—he’s one of four cover stars for Esquire UK’s “Better Men” winter issue.
“The Golden Boy”? I see we’re just saying words now.
Much more apt is Aaron Pierre, another of the cover stars, who is also hot off a television starring role in Lanterns. Pierre is dubbed “The Beacon”, probably because he’s now Green Lantern in the DC Universe, and despite Lanterns wobbling in its finale episodes, overall, people liked the show and especially like Aaron Pierre as John Stewart.
Aaron Pierre is a Very Handsome Man; he is also a great actor. We don’t debate his talent because he shows up every time he is cast in something, from Barry Jenkins’ The Underground Railroad to Jeremy Saulnier’s Rebel Ridge—seriously, if you haven’t seen this, it’s on Netflix, check it out—to his West End turn as McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest earlier this year.
Aaron Pierre’s talent speaks for itself. I 100% understand the marketing reasons for dubbing him “The Beacon”—because Green Lantern is all “in darkest night” and whatnot—but given the year he’s had, with great performances on stage, in television, and in film (Rachel Morrison’s Love of Your Life, never mind Starfighter and Man of Tomorrow coming up next year), Aaron Pierre should be the golden boy. He’s having a spotlight moment.
The other two cover stars are Tom Hiddleston as “The Leading Man”, and Chiwetel Ejifor as “The Shapeshifter”, two well-established talents in the British acting industry. They’re both deep into their careers, so these kind of stately superlatives make sense, though “shapeshifter” is kind of weird for Ejiofor, almost like they couldn’t think of anything else to call him. Also, in his interview, Tom Hiddleston refers to Zawe Ashton as “my wife”, which is for us gossips.
Mostly, though, I am stuck on including Paul Anthony Kelly who has been in two TV shows and received negative reviews for both. Again, kudos to his publicist, this is a coup. I, however, will not be pretending that Paul Anthony Kelly is on Aaron Pierre’s level. Aaron Pierre is on the cusp of mega-stardom, and he has the talent and charisma to back it up. Paul Anthony Kelly is on the cusp of falling into Ryan Murphy’s Home for Hot But Stilted Actors. These are not the same.
Attached - Aaron Pierre at the premiere of Love of Your Life last week in New York.
Live long and gossip,
Sarah
Aaron Pierre at the New York premiere of Love of Your Life, October 7, 2026
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