\Following the massive success of Dahmer, Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan return with a new season of their Monster anthology series, this time delving into the lives and crimes of the notorious Menendez brothers.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, premiering on Netflix on September 19, stars Nicholas Chavez and Cooper Koch as Lyle and Erik Menendez. These real-life brothers were convicted in 1996 for the brutal 1989 murders of their parents, entertainment executive Jose Menendez (portrayed by Javier Bardem) and his wife, Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez (Chloë Sevigny). This true-crime drama comes two years after its controversial predecessor, which became only the third series to surpass one billion hours viewed within its first 60 days on Netflix, while sparking debate over its portrayal of infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer (Evan Peters).
“I was never interested in Jeffrey Dahmer, the monster. I was interested in what made him,” Murphy explained to Variety in 2022 regarding the show’s controversy. “I think that the fact that all of the characters in this are seen as true humans makes some people uncomfortable. I understand that and I try not to have an opinion on that.”
Now, The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story aims to explore who the “real monsters” were in the Menendez case. The 10-episode season investigates whether the brothers were cold-blooded killers out for their family’s fortune, as the prosecution claimed, or victims of lifelong physical, emotional, and sexual abuse by their parents, as the defense argued and the brothers continue to assert.
