FX recently released the trailer for the second installment of Ryan Murphy's Feud anthology, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.

The first featured the legendary rivalry of Bette Davis (Susan Sarandon) and Joan Crawford (Murphy's frequent collaborator Jessica Lange).

The show is based on Laurence Leamer's 2021 book Capote's Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era. The book recreates celebrated author Truman Capote's friendships with the elite women of the time, whom he dubbed his “swans”. They were the subject of his short story La Côte Basque 1965 published in Esquire in 1975.

Capote and his “swans”

The cast features Calista Flockhart (Lee Radziwill), Diane Lane (Slim Keith), Naomi Watts (Babe Paley) and Chloë Sevigny (C.Z. Guest). The late Treat Williams plays former CBS chief and media Tycoon Bill Paley, his final role before he died in June in a motorcycle accident at 71.

Joining the cast are Demi Moore (Ann Woodward), Molly Ringwald (Joanne Carson), Ella Beatty (Kerry O'Shea) and Tom Hollander (Truman Capote).

The show was directed by Gus Van Sant, Max Winkler and Jennifer Lynch. It was written by Jon Robin Baitz who also served as showrunner.

Capote vs. The Swans details the story of  Truman Capote's friendships with the society doyennes of the time. In his Esquire short story, he used pseudonyms for some and real names of the others.

The show itself uses the socialites real names. Lee Radziwill was former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' sister. Slim Keith, Lady Keith (having married British banker Kenneth Keith, Baron Keith of Castleacre) was a socialite and fashion icon in the 1950s and '60s.

Babe Paley was a magazine editor (particularly Vogue, where she got her start in fashion) and Bill Paley's wife. C.Z. Guest was a stage actress, horsewoman and fashion designer.

Ann Woodward started out as a showgirl and married banking heir William Woodward Jr. She was suspected to have murdered her husband but was never convicted. Joanne Carson was late night talk show legend Johnny Carson's wife and one of Capote's closest friends. Kerry O'Shea was the daughter of Capote's longtime lover John.

When Truman Capote published the short story, the “swans” banded together to effectively exile him from high society. It was rumored that his banishment caused him to abuse alcohol and drugs more so than usual since he reportedly didn't anticipate the backlash from the story.

The series will premiere with two episodes on Jan. 31 on FX at 10 p.m. The show will be available the next day on Hulu.