After three seasons focusing solely on male murderers, the fourth installment of Monster will pull back the veil on “female rage and repression.”
Netflix has released the first photo of series star Ella Beatty from Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story. She inhabits the infamous role of the 1890s axe murderer who killed her parents, inspiring schoolyard rhymes and countless depictions in media. Monster co-creator Ryan Murphy previously worked with Beatty, the daughter of Annette Bening and Warren Beatty, on four episodes of Feud: Capote vs. the Swans.
“I am so excited for viewers to experience our exploration of Lizzie Borden’s story and the questions that her life animates to this day,” Beatty told Netflix’s Tudum. “It has been a dream come true to investigate this complicated person’s psychology and to examine an American crime that feels almost mythic in proportion. This season gives us our first female Monster and delves into female rage and repression which I’ve found to feel strikingly relevant, and I cannot wait to share it with the world.”
Read on for everything to know about Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.
THE CAST
Beatty is joined in the star-studded ensemble by Vicky Krieps as Bridget Sullivan, the Bordens’ live-in maid; Rebecca Hall as Abby Borden, Lizzie’s stepmother; Oliver Spenceman as Stephen; Charlie Hunnam as Andrew Borden, Lizzie’s father; Billie Lourd as Emma Borden, Lizzie’s older sister; Jessica Barden as Nance O’Neil, an actor friend of Lizzie’s; Joey Pollari in an undisclosed role; and Sarah Paulson as Aileen Wuornos, a 1990s serial killer. The appearance of Wuornos suggests that this season will span several timelines, just like Monster: The Ed Gein Story did last year.
THE PLOT
Here is the official Netflix logline: “When the repressed daughter of a wealthy New England family and her rebellious maid find themselves trapped in a house built on humiliation and cruelty, they escape into a fantasy of sex, power, and revenge. The gruesome unsolved murders that follow don’t just shock the world — they give birth to an icon who refuses to live imprisoned in a cage, choosing instead to forge her own legend: shocking, monstrous, and gloriously free.”
THE RELEASE DATE
Monster Season 4 arrives on Netflix on Sept. 17. As usual, all eight episodes will be available to stream at once. The fall release date for The Lizzie Borden Story is right in line with the previous three installments, which debuted on Sept. 21 (The Jeffrey Dahmer Story), Sept. 19 (The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story), and Oct. 3 (The Ed Gein Story).
THE CREATIVES
Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan are co-creators and producers on the project. Their fellow EPs include Max Winkler, Eric Kovtun, Scott Robertson, Louise Shore, Nissa Diederich, Todd Kubrak, Carl Franklin, and Tanase Popa. Brennan is the writer, and Winkler and Sarah Adina Smith are the directors.
AWARDS PROSPECTS
The Monster franchise is an awards powerhouse, with The Jeffrey Dahmer Story earning 13 Emmy nominations and one win (supporting actress Niecy Nash-Betts), The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story receiving 11 noms and one win (picture editing), and The Ed Gein Story garnering seven noms (wins are currently pending).
We’ll find out at the 2027 Emmys if the love for the franchise continues, but the precedent has already been set for Beatty to contend for prizes by playing Borden.
In 2015, Christina Ricci took on the role of the axe murderer in Lifetime’s The Lizzie Borden Chronicles and wound up earning a surprise nomination at the Actor Awards (then known as the SAG Awards). And in 1975, Elizabeth Montgomery nabbed an Emmy nom for playing Borden in the made-for-TV-movie The Legend of Lizzie Borden.
