Ryan Murphy & Netflix Developing Jeffrey Dahmer Mini-Series

Following the release of his latest series Ratched, Netflix and Ryan Murphy have determined the next series the prolific TV creator will bring to the streaming service. According to a report from Deadline, Murphy is developing a mini-series titled Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, focusing on the American serial killer but with a twist. Murphy co-created the series with his frequent collaborator Ian Brennan which has Academy Award nominee Richard Jenkins attached to star (though not as Dahmer himself). Carl Franklin (Mindhunter, The Leftovers) is set to direct with Janet Mock (Pose, Hollywood) also attached to write and direct on the show.

Production on the show is slated to begin in January with Jenkins set to play Dahmer's father Lionel. According to the report, the series will be told from the point of view of Dahmer's victims and span from the 1960s to the 1990s when he was apprehended. The show will also dramatize the police incompetence surrounding the case including the times when Dahmer was apprehended by police and let go.

It's unclear who will take on the role of Jeffrey Dahmer for the series, but the trade reports that "Murphy and the rest of the producers are casting a wide net" for someone to fill the role. Casting is also underway for the part of Glenda Cleveland, a former neighbor of Dahmer's that attempted to tell law enforcement about him with frequency. This role is also described as a leading one

Murphy famously signed a huge overall deal with Netflix in 2018 and quickly began developing a robust slate of programming for the series. To date Murphy has co-created and worked on TV shows The Politician, Hollywood, and Ratched, and feature films Circus of Books, A Secret Love, and The Boys in the Band. Recently a premiere date for The Prom, a feature film based on the Broadway musical which Murphy directed, was given a December 11 premiere date.

Though he remains committed to his Netflix originals, Murphy is still very much involved with FX and the American Horror Story franchise as well, which he began years before the deal. The series is set to return for a tenth season on the cable network, with three additional seasons already ordered. An anthology spinoff series, American Horror Stories, is also in the works which will feature self-contained, one-hour episodes.

(Cover Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for TIME)