Netflix has done it again. Following the massive success of its hit true crime series Monster, the show is back with a brand new season, and this time with a whole new killer — or pair of killers, actually. The new season will feature the notorious Menendez brothers, who took every angsty youth’s teenage thoughts too far, by actually killing their own parents. The story shocked the nation, as the outwardly-pampered Beverly Hills brothers’ dark family secrets began to leak out. Here’s everything we know so far about the upcoming season of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
Netflix’s hit true crime series Monster premiered in September of 2022 and came from the brilliant mind of American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy. It featured the story of Jeffrey Dahmer, one of the most notorious and gruesome serial killers of all time. The series starred Evan Peters as the seemingly innocuous, even nerdy, Jeffery Dahmer, who would lure young boys and men back to his apartment to kill them, and later eat them. Peters gave an award-winning performance and the show itself had one of the highest viewership in Netflix history. The series was reportedly part of a three-season deal, so the new season will be the second installment in the three-part agreement.
Season 2 will premiere sometime in 2024 and was announced on May 1 of 2023. Netflix revealed the next installment in the series will detail the shocking story of the Menendez brothers. While most people know the basic premise of their story, the intimate details of the trial, the dark family secrets that were revealed, and much of the behind-the-scenes information, will all be new to viewers. Here’s what we can probably expect from the new season.
The shocking revelations of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
Lyle and Erik Menendez were very unusual killers. The only children of a posh Beverly Hills family, their names were more likely to be seen in a movie script than a true crime documentary. Their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, seemed like the perfect couple, with Menendez a Cuban native, working as a successful executive at several big film firms such as International Video Entertainment and RCA, and his wife of over 20 years, Mary Lou “Kitty” Mendez, as a dedicated stay at home mom. The couple’s two sons also seemed the models of Beverly Hills bliss, as they were avid tennis players, and their son Lyle attended the prestigious Princeton University. Yet behind closed doors, things were apparently very different than they appeared.
On August 20th, 1989, the quiet Beverly Hills community was racked with scandal. Lyle Menendez, then 21, and his brother Erik, then 18, made a 911 call revealing someone had shot their parents. It turned out that “someone” was them. It was hard to believe. Could these two young men really plot to kill their parents, and if so, why? The series will most likely dig into the boys’ privileged upbringing and the events leading up to the night of the murder. Yet the part of the story most likely to be explored by the series is the resounding — and controversial — question of motive.
The Menendez brothers’ motive for murder
Within the circle of the murdered couple’s friends and extended family, there was a divide in opinion about motive. Opinions ranged from some seeing it as an extreme but justified reaction to abuse, to others believing it was just a case of some spoiled kids lashing out after not getting their way. We can certainly expect to see some of the family members, and their perspectives, being portrayed as they are echoed in the trial itself.
The brothers’ legal team claimed the murders were “imperfect self-defense,” the culmination of a lifetime of abuse. Meanwhile, the prosecution put forth the same motive as that held by many family members; that the boys were just spoiled Beverly Hills brats who were not getting their inheritance fast enough, so they decided to speed up the process. The boys reportedly spent more than $700,000 of their inheritance before their arrests in 1990.
The trial itself was full of veritable bombshells, probably the most wrenching of which were some photographs found among the father Jose Menendez’ belongings. The pictures were shocking in nature, and seemed to back up Lyle and Erik’s claims; although not quite damning, they were highly suspicious at minimum. We are fully expecting the details of those pictures and their contents to be revealed during the season. We won’t spoil the details for you here, but trust us, they are a bombshell for the defense.
While the case has had extensive media coverage over the years, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix claims that they have “exclusive access” to the Menendez brothers themselves. So we are guessing there might even be some all-new reveals and never-before-heard details in the upcoming series. The brothers are currently incarcerated in the RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California. The boys (now men) have been incarcerated since 1996, although until recently they were in separate facilities.
While details of the exact release date and casting have been held back, we do know a few things for sure. The series will reveal intimate details of two of the most notorious killers of our time, and might even shed new light on a case that rocked the nation to its core. We can’t wait to see what Netflix and Ryan Murphy have come up with.