Monster Season 4: Everything we know so far about the next chapter of Netflix’s hit crime anthology

Netflix’s Monster Season 4 is gearing up again to push the limits of the acclaimed Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s crime anthology series even further. Since its 2022 release with Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, the series has become a cornerstone of Netflix’s true-crime catalogue.

Each season has focused on historically infamous persons in American criminal history through a socially reflective, albeit disturbing, lens. Following the success of stories on Jeffrey Dahmer, the Menendez brothers, and Ed Gein, Season 4 of Monster now takes a bold turn by featuring its first-ever female character as the centre of its story.

What will Monster Season 4 be about? Details explored

Monster Season 4 will re-examine the disturbing story of Lizzie Borden, whose name became synonymous with one of the most infamous murders in American history. The season will focus on the 1892 murders of Andrew and Abby Borden in Fall River, Massachusetts. Both were discovered dead, following multiple hatchet wounds; suspicion quickly fell on Lizzie, their 32-year-old daughter.

Lizzie Borden was tried and acquitted of the double murder in 1893, but the story has continued to capture the public’s imagination through songs, plays, and even movies. The case’s contribution to folklore and her infamy assure she’ll forever be caught between the allure of mystery and the darkness of murder.

Ryan Murphy told Variety in an exclusive interview that the decision to make Monster Season 4 about Borden was part of the series’ desire to investigate who gets the label of villain in society.

“It talks not just about Lizzie, but other infamous women who were branded as monsters. There’s many different monsters that float through the season.”

This installation intends to investigate further beneath the terror of murder into matters of public perception, morality, and what it means to be a “monster.” In re-creating the time period and bringing his own psychological touch, the signature of Ryan Murphy's Monster Season 4 is the continuation of the anthology in redefining true crime, this time, through a cultural and emotional hero rather than straightforward sensationalism.

Actors set to star in Monster Season 4

Netflix announced that Ella Beatty would star in Monster Season 4, in her first lead role to date. Beatty, a Juilliard alum and daughter of Hollywood power couple Annette Bening and Warren Beatty, plays Lizzie Borden. Charlie Hunnam stars as her father, Andrew Borden, with Rebecca Hall as Lizzie’s stepmother, Abby Borden.

Vicky Krieps, who starred in Monster: The Ed Gein Story, also returns to the series as Bridget Sullivan, the Bordens’ housekeeper and key witness in the trial. Billie Lourd has also been cast as Emma Borden, Lizzie’s older sister, while Jessica Barden has been added to the cast as stage actress Nance O’Neill, who becomes a friend of Lizzie’s and is at the centre of a rift between the Borden sisters.

Earlier, Murphy told Variety that the team doesn’t choose its subjects just because of crime, but what those crimes say about us as a society. He said:

“When you look at those crimes, what are the themes there? It doesn’t ask you any questions about society. It feels too murderous — not interesting enough."

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The season’s first episode will be helmed by Max Winkler, son of actor Henry Winkler, with multiple credits in the Murphy universe. Winkler has also directed episodes of Feud, Monster, and American Horror Story. The show will again be produced by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan for Netflix after their Emmy-winning success with the series.

Filming for Monster Season 4 has already begun following the release of Monster: The Ed Gein Story. As in previous chapters, the production will be blended with the rigorous historical research of stylised storytelling with Murphy’s creative vision.

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