Ryan Murphy’s latest true crime drama has a full trailer, and it’s giving Challengers-meets-murder in a haunting retelling of the Menendez brothers’ story.
Murphy is no stranger to true crime, and his latest, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez story, is upping the ante with a true tale of wealth, secrets, and murder. Based on the real-life crime of Lyle and Erik Menendez, who murdered their parents in cold blood.
The trailer makes the new TV show seem on par with Murphy’s other projects. Pounding music, excessive displays of wealth, and lots of dramatic rage roaring off the screen set Monster Season 2 up to be a polarizing installment in his collection.
But no moment in the trailer stands out as much as the scene depicting Erik and Lyle in a therapy session, where they talk openly about the murder. “Erik and I killed our parents together, so, I’d say that makes us pretty close,” says Lyle.
This is clearly a dramatization of a very real part of the actual case that took place in the early ’90s, when recordings of the brothers’ therapy sessions with psychologist Jerome Oziel were used as evidence in court against them.
Typically, such conversations are protected under doctor-patient confidentiality, but in the case of the Menendez brothers, the privacy element had been “evaporated” when the brothers allegedly made threats against the therapist.
While the tapes were used as evidence in the court case, there was much controversy surrounding the ethical implications of their use. But the biggest twist arrived when Oziel’s mistress and former patient, Judalon Smyth, switched from being a witness for the prosecution to the defense.
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She later argued that Oziel had manipulated the brothers into making the tapes, and that she had previously been “brainwashed” by the therapist.
Ultimately, following two mistrials, both brothers were charged with the murders of their parents, José and Kitty, and sentenced to life in prison without parole, although they are currently fighting the case.
“Netflix is cashing in on this story. The Menendez Brothers have a very intense, emotional, and complicated relationship with their parents. It’s not always picture-perfect. There’s always hatred in places where you might not expect to find them in,” one YouTube reply read.
With such scenes included in the show, it’s safe to say that Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez isn’t afraid of unpicking every detail within the shocking case.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez arrives on Netflix on September 19.
Until then, take a look at our guides on the Laci Peterson case, the Schoolboy 9 documentary, and what happened to Latoya Ammons. Don’t miss all the other new TV shows coming to streaming this month, too.