The true crime series from Netflix, Monsterreturns in September. The second part of the series by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan focuses on the case of Lyle and Erik Menendez. The brothers were convicted of murdering their parents José and Kitty Menendez in 1996.
Netflix’s official logline states: “While prosecutors argued they wanted to inherit their family’s fortune, the brothers maintained – and continue to maintain to this day, as they serve life sentences without the possibility of parole – that their actions were based on fear of a lifetime of physical, emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of their parents.” Monster: The Story of Lyle and Erik Menendez delves into the historic case that took the world by storm, paving the way for today’s audiences’ fascination with true crime, and in turn asks the audience the question: “Who are the real monsters?”
Here is everything we know so far about Monster:
The main roles are played by Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch.
Chavez and Koch play brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez. The rest of the cast is as follows (all play real people):
- Javier Bardem as Jose Menendez, her father
- Chloë Sevigny as Kitty Menendez, her mother
- Nathan Lane as Dominick Dunne, an investigative journalist
- Ari Graynor as Leslie Abramson, Erik Menendez’s defense attorney
- Dallas Roberts as Dr. Jerome Oziel, Erik Menendez’s therapist
- Leslie Grossman as Judalon Smyth, a former patient and lover of Dr. Jerome Oziel
- Jason Butler Harner as Les Zoeller, the detective in charge of the case
- Enrique Murciano as Carlos Baralt, Lyle and Erik’s uncle
- Michael Gladis as Tim Rutten, Leslie Abramson’s husband
- Drew Powell as Tom Linehan, another detective in the case
- Charlie Hall as Craig Cignarelli, a friend of Erik
- Gil Ozeri as Dr. William Vicary, a forensic psychiatrist who testified at the trial
- Jeff Perry as Peter Hoffman, a business partner of Jose
- Tessa Auberjonois as Dr. Laurel Oziel, Jerome’s wife
- Tanner Stine as Perry Berman, a friend of the brothers and former tennis coach
- Larry Clarke as Brian Andersen, another uncle of Lyle and Erik
- Jade Pettyjohn as Jamie Pisarci, a tennis pro who dated Lyle
- Marlene Forte as Marta Cano, an aunt of Lyle and Erik
The show premieres on Netflix on September 19th.
The season will consist of nine episodes.
Watch on Netflix
Emily Burack (she/her) is the senior news editor of Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals and a variety of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was deputy editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture website. Follow her at @emburack on Þjórsárdalur and Instagram.
