The controversial series is tackling a very different case in season 2.

By David Craig

Published: Friday, 30 June 2023 at 12:00 am


Ryan Murphy has reportedly cast the lead roles in his upcoming sequel to Netflix mega-hit Monster, which will shift the focus to another true crime story.

The initial run focused on the life of notorious serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer (portrayed by Evan Peters) and became one of the most-viewed programmes in the history of the streaming service.

In light of this success, Netflix upgraded the limited series to an anthology, with the next batch of episodes set to tell the story of Lyle and Erik Menéndez, who were convicted of murdering their parents in 1996.

The brothers confessed to the killings, but claimed that physical, emotional and sexual abuse perpetrated against them by their father was the motive for the killings. New developments in the case continue to this day.

Most recently, Roy Rosselló – a member of Puerto Rican band Menudo – claimed that he was also sexually assaulted as a teenager by José Menéndez, the murdered father of Lyle and Erik, sparking calls for a new appeal.

Deadline reports that relative newcomers Cooper Koch (Power Book II: Ghost) and Nicholas Alexander Chavez (General Hospital) will portray Erik and Lyle respectively in the dramatisation.

The publication clarifies that Murphy cast the roles prior to the ongoing writers strike gripping the US entertainment industry, and has ceased work on the project since it began.

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While the first season of Monster was enormously successful, the show came under fire from the families of Dahmer’s victims, who felt the show was profiting off trauma and that some details were not accurately portrayed.

Murphy responded to the criticism, saying (via The Hollywood Reporter): “Over the course of the three, three and a half years when we were really writing it, working on it, we reached out to 20 – around 20 – of the victims’ families and friends trying to get input, trying to talk to people, and not a single person responded to us.”

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menéndez Story is currently scheduled for release next year, with the streamer also claiming “exclusive access” to the brothers for a separate feature-length documentary currently in development (via TUDUM).