Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is the second season of the American biographical crime drama anthology television series Monster, created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan for Netflix. The season centers on the 1989 parricides of José (Javier Bardem) and Kitty Menendez (Chloë Sevigny), who were killed by their sons, Lyle (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) and Erik (Cooper Koch). The narrative is structured around the Rashomon effect, which presents key events through unreliable narrators and allows viewers to form their own interpretations of the story.

It is the second installment in the Monster anthology series, following Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Having initially ordered the program in 2020 as a limited series, Netflix announced in 2022 that it had been renewed as an anthology series, with two further editions based on the lives of "other monstrous figures". The second season, which focuses on the Menendez brothers, was announced to be in development on May 1, 2023.

Upon its premiere on September 19, 2024, the season received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances (particularly those of Koch and Bardem) and the one-shot episode "The Hurt Man", but criticized its inconsistent tone, runtime, sexual content, and homoerotic themes. It was denounced by the real Erik Menendez for its factual inaccuracies and Lyle Menendez's portrayal, although Lyle later expressed gratitude for its depiction of child abuse. It further garnered controversy for implying an incestuous relationship between the brothers. Despite the controversies, the season achieved global commercial success, debuting as the number-one series on Netflix worldwide, the most-viewed streaming content on the Nielsen Streaming Chart, and the third most-watched Netflix series in the second half of 2024. At the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards, it earned 11 nominations, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Koch, and won for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. It also received three nominations at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards: Best Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film, Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film for Koch, and Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for Bardem.

A third season, titled Monster: The Ed Gein Story, was released on October 3, 2025, starring Charlie Hunnam as murderer and graverobber Ed Gein.

Synopsis

On August 20, 1989, in Beverly Hills, brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez killed their wealthy parents, José and Kitty Menendez. While the prosecution argued they were seeking to inherit their family fortune, the brothers claimed that their actions stemmed out of fear from a lifetime of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse.