Netflix released two trailers for Ryan Murphy’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, starring actors Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez as the infamous Menendez Brothers, as well as Chloë Sevigny and Javier Bardem as their parents, José and Mary Louise (“Kitty”). The series follows the well-known case of real-life brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, who were convicted in 1996 for the murders of their parents.
The second season of ‘Monsters’ is similar to the first season, which focused on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer (portrayed by Evan Peters). Season 2 of Monsters explores what really happened leading-up to Aug. 20, 1989, when Lyle (Chavez) and Erik (Koch) fatally shot José (Bardem) and Mary Louise (Sevigny) in the den of their family’s Beverly Hills mansion.
The limited series’ synopsis reads: “While the prosecution argued they were seeking to inherit their family fortune, the brothers claimed — and remain adamant to this day, as they serve life sentences without the possibility of parole — that their actions stemmed out of fear from a lifetime of physical, emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of their parents. ‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’ dives into the historic case that took the world by storm, paved the way for audiences’ modern-day fascination with true crime and in return asks those audiences: Who are the real monsters?”
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story also stars Nathan Lane as Dominick Dunne (the Vanity Fair investigative journalist who covered the trial); Ari Graynor as Leslie Abramson, the brothers’ lawyer; Dallas Roberts as Dr. Jerome Oziel, Erik’s psychologist to whom the brother confessed; and Leslie Grossman as Judalon Smyth, Dr. Oziel’s mistress whom he told about Erik’s confession that led to the brothers’ arrests.
The legal team for the Menendez brothers argued in court that José sexually and physically abused Lyle and Erik for years, and their mother Kitty knew about it. The brothers claimed that they committed the murders out of fear that their father would kill them after they threatened to expose his behavior. The Menendez Brothers were first tried separately, resulting in a deadlocked jury for each case; and were later tried together which prevented them from mentioning the abuse defense. A single jury for the second trial -found Lyle and Erik both guilty, and sentenced each of them to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story will premiere all 10-episodes Sept. 19 on Netflix.
Check out the first trailer: HERE; and the final, second trailer before the series premiere: HERE.
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