It’s the show that has everybody talking. The story of Truman Capote and his feud with a group of rich American socialites.
Capote vs The Swans is the latest iteration of the celebrated Feud series, which debuted in 2017. Season one, titled Bette and Joan, examined the long running enmity between Joan Crawford and Bette Davis (played by Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon), which took place during and after the production of the 1962 horror film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Now, season two promises even more intrigue, rivalry and scandal – and with a killer cast, it’s one to watch out for. Here’s what you need to know.
What’s the show about?
As might be guessed from the title, Capote vs The Swans dramatises the feud between the celebrated author Truman Capote (most famous for his novella Breakfast At Tiffany’s) and a group of jet-settling socialites in New York City, nicknamed the Swans.
They numbered magazine editors, models and actresses, and Capote formed close friendships with them, getting them to open up to him about their scandalous and hedonistic personal lives. He then proceeded to use their innermost secrets as inspirations for a novel and short story.
When extracts from the short story were published in Esquire, they caused a scandal and led to him being banished from this inner circle, sending Capote (as per the show’s logline) “into a spiral of self-destruction from which he would ultimately never recover."
Who stars?
As might be expected from a show about celebrity culture, Feud features a fair few celebs of its own in the cast list.
Top of the list is Tom Hollander (who recently appeared in season two of The White Lotus) as Truman Capote, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg:
Naomi Watts as Babe Paley
Diane Lane as Slim Keith
Chloë Sevigny as C.Z. Guest
Calista Flockhart as Lee Radziwill
Demi Moore as Ann “Bang-Bang” Woodward
Molly Ringwald as Joanne Carson
Treat Williams as Bill Paley
Joe Mantello as Jack Dunphy
Russell Tovey as John O'Shea
Chris Chalk as James Baldwin
Jessica Lange as Katharine Graham
When is Capote vs The Swans out in the UK?
The show is already out in the US, of course, it will be airing in the UK on April 17.
Is there a trailer?
There is indeed: one which sees Tom Hollander rocking heavy make-up and a shrill Trump-like voice as Capote, as well as some gorgeous looking period wardrobes on the Swans.
"We made New York the capital of the world," one says. "The centre of everything. And who is at the centre of that centre?" The answer, of course, is Capote: "our great protector and our best friend."
"We tell him everything, even the awful things we've all done to each other." Ominous stuff.
