Netflix faces renewed backlash after reveal of Monster season 2 subjects

Los Gatos, California - Netflix has officially revealed the follow-up to its hit true crime TV show, DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, which will be titled Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

Season 2 of the Netflix anthology series Monster will tell the story of Erik (c) and Lyle Menendez (l), who were convicted of murdering their parents in 1996.
Season 2 of the Netflix anthology series Monster will tell the story of Erik (c) and Lyle Menendez (l), who were convicted of murdering their parents in 1996.  © Collage: MIKE NELSON / AFP & Jerod Harris / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

The streaming service had one of its biggest hits yet with Monster, which broke several viewership records shortly after its release last fall and scored a Golden Globe for lead actor Evan Peters.

The series received a rare double renewal from Netflix in November 2022, with co-creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan revealing that each season "will focus on other monstrous figures who have impacted society."

The next figures the show will highlight will be Erik and Lyle Menendez, a pair of brothers convicted of murdering their parents in 1996.

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Netflix unveiled the latest subjects in a teaser video posted on Monday, which featured the 911 call placed by the brothers on August 20, 1989, in which they told the operator "someone" had fatally shot their parents.

The announcement has renewed the criticisms that season 1 faced, with many once again slamming the exploitative nature of the show.

Netflix's Monster announcement renews backlash

Erik (l) and Lyle Menendez (c) were convicted of murdering their parents in 1996.
Erik (l) and Lyle Menendez (c) were convicted of murdering their parents in 1996.  © IMAGO/ZUMA Wire

The Dahmer-centric season received considerable backlash amid its impressive streaming numbers, with several family members of the serial killer's victims speaking out against it and calling it "retraumatizing."

"Thank you Ryan Murphy, not only are you tormenting murder victims loved ones again, but you are, a second time, glorifying murderers," one user wrote.

"Netflix continues to profit off of others trauma, It's insane that these keep getting green lit," another said.

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Others pointed to the defense that was at the forefront of the Menendez brothers' trial, which included testimony that they had endured years of abuse from their father, and argued that the comparison to Dahmer is unjust.

"If you know anything about the Menendez brothers story- what happened to them and why they did what they did- you'd see how ghoulish this is," another user said.

Per Deadline, Netflix has "exclusive access" to the brothers, who have been serving a life sentence without parole at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, for a separate documentary about the case.

The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story will hit Netflix next year.

Cover photo: Collage: MIKE NELSON / AFP & Jerod Harris / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

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