Ryan Murphy's Monster Anthology Series at Netflix to Focus on Lyle and Erik Menéndez in Season 2

By Patrick Cavanaugh

Ryan Murphy's Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story was one of last year's most popular and most controversial series, with Netflix confirming today that Season 2 of the series will focus on Erik and Lyle Menéndez, with a title announcement revealing the follow-up season will be dubbed Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. While the first season focused on the many crimes committed by Jeffrey Dahmer, the Menéndez brothers are instead known for the tragic crime of killing their parents in 1989, with their trial then being broadcast on Court TV in the '90s. No premiere date has been released for Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

On August 20, 1989, José and Mary Menéndez were killed in their Beverly Hills home, with their sons calling 911 to report that someone had killed their parents, as they claimed they were out that evening seeing Tim Burton's Batman. In the months after the murders, the brothers lived relatively affluent lifestyles, thanks to the inheritance from their parents, which partially contributed to authorities believing the brothers were the only ones with a motive for the murders. Erik would go on to confess his crimes to his psychologist in 1990, leading to the pair's arrest.

The trial of the Menéndez brothers revealed that the pair had been physically, emotionally, and sexually abused by their parents over the course of years, leading to the night of their murder, in which the brothers claimed they feared for their own lives. The initial trial resulted in a deadlocked jury, with their retrial being less publicized as it wasn't broadcast on TV. The brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for their crimes in 1996.

Between the salacious details of the crimes, the televised trial, and growing infatuation the public held for cable TV, the trial and the brothers themselves became a major staple of pop culture in the early '90s. Last year's Monster was a major event for Netflix, topping its most-watched charts for weeks, and star Evan Peters earned various awards for his portrayal of Dahmer. The controversies largely centered around what some audiences felt was an exploitative and humanizing portrayal of Dahmer, with victims' families expressing their disappointment with Netflix and Murphy for the series' existence. With Season 2 focusing on one specific crime, it would seem more likely that the series will spend just as much time exploring the public's obsession with the crimes as the crimes themselves.

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Stay tuned for details on Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

Are you looking forward to the new season? Let us know in the comments!

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