Netflix's most popular crime show ever is returning next month
A new pair of monsters is under the spotlight, after Dahmer had us transfixed in 2022
Remember when Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer caused an almighty stir when it arrived on Netflix back in 2022? It may be about to happen again.
Netflix has confirmed season two of the show, Monster: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, is coming soon.
It’s out on September 19, and “tells the story of two brothers who killed their parents on Aug. 20, 1989, and the events surrounding the brutal slayings,” says Netflix’s Tudum blog.
Netflix has released a brief sub-1-min teaser for the show:
The biggest stars of this show are actually the murdered parents, not the murderers.
Javier Bardem stars as the father, Chloë Sevigny as the mother. Lyle and Erik Menendez are played by relative newcomers Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch.
An open casting call was announced for the murderous pair in May 2023, giving some clues as to what to expect from the series. “Tennis skills very helpful. Role involves sexual situations and potential nudity,” the job ad read.
That’s as far as we’ll go into spoilers, though.
This newcomer casting could be a reaction to the backlash the original season received, some suggesting the show glorified Dahmer, who was played by American Horror Story veteran Evan Peters.
Other notable castings for Monster season 2 include Nathan Lane as an investigative reporter, Leslie Grossman as a fellow patient of Erik Menendez’s therapist and Ari Graynor as Erik’s defence lawyer.
As with Monster's original Dahmer season, Monster season 2 is headed up by Ryan Murphy. He’s was the driving force behind American Horror Story, explaining why we see actors from that show popping up all over the place in Monster.
Of course, dealing with a campy murderous scenario, as in American Horror Story, is a different ball game to covering real-life murders and crimes where some of the affected parties are still alive.
The Lyle and Erik Menendez murders took place during the the years in which Dahmer was an active serial killer, but these are obviously less well-known figures globally.
This second season will consist of nine episodes, down from the 10 of Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Despite causing a backlash, that first series was hugely popular. With 1.03 million hours streamed in its first 91 days on stream, it’s the third most popular piece of English language TV on Netflix ever, below Wednesday: Season 1 and Stranger Things 4.
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