Ryan Murphy Praises Kim Kardashian, ‘All’s Fair’ Cast as “Lady Avengers”

It’s a rare thing in Los Angeles when a world premiere is just that — a world premiere. Typically, by the time the first scene hits the screen, handfuls (more likely hordes) of people have had first looks including cast, crew, friends, family, media, agents, managers, publicists, etc.

But Ryan Murphy doesn’t do things like the rest of Hollywood. So, when Hulu presented the world premiere of the über producer’s latest, All’s Fair, on Thursday night at DGA Theater Complex, it truly was the first time anyone in town had seen the first full episode of the legal drama series. “Ryan likes it that way,” one rep told The Hollywood Reporter on the lush bordeaux-colored carpet.

It’s a good strategy as it helped electrify the festivities and amp up the anticipation to see Kim Kardashian, Glenn Close, Naomi Watts, Sarah Paulson, Niecy Nash-Betts, Teyana Taylor and Matthew Noszka in the series that follows a team of female divorce attorneys who leave a male-dominated firm to open their own powerhouse practice.

They all had a lot of eyes on them anyway as they posed together against a stunning All’s Fair backdrop outside the theater, complete with luxe floral display, brilliant lighting, a GlamBot and Cole Walliser. After thanking the crew for the great lighting, it was Paulson who called out to find Murphy to join the group shot but he skipped the carpet and didn’t do any interviews in favor of letting the women shine on their big night. Once inside, studio boss Dana Walden had the honors of introducing the show and its creator in front of a capacity DGA Theater crowd.

“This show is original. It’s sexy, it’s aspirational,” praised the co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, who oversees ABC Entertainment, ABC News, Disney Television Studios, FX, Hulu Originals, National Geographic, global streaming platforms, direct-to-consumer, technology, ad sales and more. “Honestly, I would live in any of the houses and I would like to have all of the clothes and you’re about to see what I’m talking about. It’s really juicy and there’s nothing like it on television. In other words, what I’m saying is, it’s a Ryan Murphy show.”

Walden had more nice things to say about Murphy: “Over and over again, Ryan has brought us giant, culture-defining hits and he’s really done it again with this one.” But he’s done something else with All’s Fair and that is reel in Kardashian to be No. 1 on the call sheet for her first starring role in a television series. Well, outside of the world of reality TV.

“Ryan has been a big fan of Kim’s for a long time. He loves her Hulu show, The Kardashians, as we all do, and the fact that Kim is savvy. She has the most incredible work ethic. And just like her remarkable mother, Kris Jenner, she is remarkably kind and generous,” praised Walden who then noted that she was the one who facilitated the first meeting between Murphy and the Kardashian clan.

“A couple years ago when I started working with the Kardashians, Ryan said, ‘I want to have dinner with Kris,’ and so I set the two of them up for dinner. It was actually Kris who put together this incredible powerhouse partnership,” Walden said of the mogul-manager who serves as an executive producer of the series alongside Kardashian. “Finally, the last time I was on stage with Ryan, I was helping to induct him into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. While that usually signals that an artist is slowing down, this one is moving faster than ever.”

With that, Walden welcomed Murphy to the podium. He delivered his first public comments about the show and how it all came together by mentioning that dinner facilitated by Walden (and featured on an episode of The Kardashians). He also revealed that the first project he tossed their way didn’t land. “I went to Kris’s house and I did something I’ve never done in my career, which was I brought a reality pitch and it wasn’t good,” Murphy recalled. “I started my pitch and I was kind of excited. Anybody in the future who pitches to Kim, you’ve lost Kim when she starts texting on her phone. I finished my pitch and I was sort of nervous and Kris said, ‘That was really good sweetie, but you should write a role for Kim.’”

So that’s what he did with American Horror Story: Delicate. “And Kim was fantastic,” he said. “I was so curious about her because she has a huge life. She has a huge, wonderful family. I was so startled that she would agree to do this. When asked why, she said ‘because it’s iconic and I like iconic shit,’ which is very Kim.”

Murphy went on to describe All’s Fair as a show “that’s inspirational and aspirational,” adding that it brings fashion back to television “in a really big way.” That should come as no surprise to anyone who watched the trailer and noticed the luxe wardrobes worn by the female legal eagles. Speaking of the trailer, Murphy mentioned how “astounded” the team was to see it explode on YouTube. Though he cited 134 million views, it has since topped 144 million since its debut as of press time for this article.

“For all of us on the All’s Fair group chat, we’re very astounded by this fact. In between talking about vaginal rejuvenation tips, we wrote, ‘What does this mean? How is this possible?’ We’re so grateful,” Murphy said. “I myself pondered that question and then I kind of understood it. 134 million views of a trailer is something that’s usually granted to superhero movies. And when you think about it, with this cast, we’ve given the world what they really need right now, and that’s cultural superheroes.”

“Think about it,” he continued. “In the past 20 years or more, the women of this cast have more than jumped buildings in a single bound. They are icons, every single one of them. They’ve changed culture, they’ve all done good works, virtuous works. In many cases, they fought the bad guys and won. They’ve run empires and inspired millions of people all over the world and won countless awards, sometimes wearing capes. To me, the appetite for the show makes sense on and off screen. These women and the characters they play in the show are here to inspire, conspire, and uplift in very dark and troubling times.”

With that, Murphy then welcomed his cast to the stage, in alphabetical order, by calling them “this season’s lady Avengers.” After soaking in the wild applause for a moment, all the actresses disappeared with Murphy through the back door except for Kardashian. She broke from the pack with the help of a bodyguard to slowly came down the stairs (due to a tight Schiaparelli creation) and take a seat in the theater. World premiere or not, she didn’t want to miss her big moment.

“I still need to do some interviews,” Kardashian announced to the crowd as she made her way up the aisle. “So I want to start watching and when I sneak out to go do them, don’t think I’m leaving because it sucks when I’m walking out.”