Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story Is The Next True Crime Series To Watch
Back in 2022, Netflix scored one of its biggest hits with its series based on the life of notorious killer Jeffery Dahmer, despite generating something of a controversy. That series was the first in its Monster anthology, which follows different infamous true crime stories, and the streamer is following it up this month with a new season based on Erik and Lyle Menendez.
The highly publicised case from the late 80s and early 90s involved the two brothers murdering their parents, and like Dahmer, it appears this might ignite some controversy. It stars Nicholas Chavez (General Hospital) and Cooper Koch (Swallowed) as Erik and Lyle, while Javier Bardem (Dune Part 2) and Chloë Sevigny (Feud: Capote vs. The Swans) act as their parents. Here’s all you need to know:
What is Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story about?
In 1989, Jose and Kitty Menendez, who live in the glamorous and affluent Beverly Hills in California, are murdered by gunshot in their home. The brothers would eventually be arrested for their involvement in the murders, despite claiming they were elsewhere at the time of the killings. They then changed their story and admitted that they did shoot both of their parents, but that the reason for doing so was due to years of abuse and neglect, and claimed they were forced to. Meanwhile, the prosecution claims that the brothers carried out the killings in order to claim their parents’ insurance, citing specifically their grandiose spending in the months after the incident.
Soon, the case caught media attention, and as the aftermath and trial dragged into the 1990s, it became a national news sensation. Netflix’s series portrays the two as being happy to bask in the media spotlight, with their trial being televised in the US and both brothers believing they can get away with their story. From the teaser trailer and marketing, it appears the series will flip between the years following the murders, and the family’s life together before the horrific event. Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny look quite different from their usual selves in their roles here and given something of a transformation, with the flashbacks potentially the most interesting parts. Of course, those flashbacks could well show things as Lyle and Erik claimed things happened, giving an extra layer of intrigue across the series.
Also starring is Nathan Lane (Only Murders In The Building) who plays the investigative journalist and Vanity Fair columnist Dominick Dunne, who covered the Menendez trials as they unfolded, along with Ari Graynor (Surface), Dallas Roberts (The Good Wife) and Leslie Grossman (10 Things I Hate About You). The series will consist of nine episodes when it arrives on streaming on 19th September.