Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story: Release Date, Cast, Trailer, and Everything to Know

Netflix's Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, from creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, was a massive hit, so it only makes sense that the streamer would order more of it. And it did! In November 2022, Netflix renewed the series for two more seasons, which will take us into the lives of other famous killers. Season 2 is focusing on the Menendez brothers, who killed their parents in 1989 — it was a case that actually got a little bit of play in Ryan Murphy's FX series American Crime Story: The People vs OJ Simpson, since both trials happened simultaneously in LA in 1995. But now Lyle and Erik Menendez are taking center stage.

Below, we'll answer some questions you might have about what to expect from the new season of the anthology series, including when Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story will be released, what it will be about, and who will be in it. 

Here's what we know about Monster Season 2 on Netflix. 

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story latest news

We finally have our first look at Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, thanks to a lengthy trailer that Netflix dropped. It's not a particularly illuminating or detail-filled trailer, but it does a great job of setting the mood. It certainly looks like it's got the energy of a new Ryan Murphy thing, anyway. Check it out in the trailers section below.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story release date

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story will premiere Thursday, Sept. 19 on Netflix.

Who will Monster Season 2 be about?

In May 2023, Netflix revealed that Lyle and Erik Menendez will be the subjects of Season 2. The brothers were convicted of murdering their parents, José and Kitty, with shotguns at their Beverly Hills home on Aug. 20, 1989, in one of the most famous murder cases in the United States. Lyle was 21 years old and Kyle was 18 years old at the time. The Menendez brothers claimed that they suffered from lifelong abuse at the hands of their parents and murdered them out of fear for their own lives. Both are currently serving life sentences without parole in prison.

Monster renewal news

Netflix renewed Monster for Seasons 2 and 3 — and Murphy and Brennan's The Watcher for Season 2 — on Nov. 7, 2022. "The future installments of Monster will tell the stories of other monstrous figures who have impacted society," according to Netflix. There has been no word on who will be the subject of Season 3.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story trailer

In early September, Netflix unveiled the first trailer for the series, and it has some serious energy. Maybe too much energy for a show about murdering your parents? Or maybe it's just the perfect amount of gusto for that late-'80s/early-'90s vibe that the show is going for, complete with the shirtless brothers in speedos and feeling like celebrities after they off their parents. Hmm. 

Netflix also released a chilling teaser to announce the show's title back in May 2023. 

Monster Season 2 cast

Though Murphy has a track record of working with the same actors, he also likes to work with new younger actors, which is what he's doing with the two leads. Nicholas Alexander Chavez, a Daytime Emmy winner for playing Spencer on the soap General Hospital, will play Lyle Menendez, and Cooper Koch (Swallowed) will play Erik Menendez. 

Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny will play the Menendez brothers' parents, José and Kitty.

Other members of the cast include Nathan Lane as journalist Dominick Dunne; Ari Graynor as Erik's defense lawyer, Leslie Abramson; Dallas Roberts as Erik's therapist, Dr. Jerome Oziel; and Leslie Grossman as Oziel's mistress, Judalon Smyth. 

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story cast:

• Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Lyle Menendez
  
• Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez
• Javier Bardem as José Menendez, the father of Erik and Lyle
• Chloë Sevigny as Kitty Menendez, the mother of Erik and Lyle
• Nathan Lane as Dominick Dunne, a Vanity Fair journalist who covered the case
• Ari Graynor as Leslie Abramson, Erik's defense attorney
• Dallas Roberts as Dr. Jerome Oziel, Erik's therapist
• Leslie Grossman as Judalon Smyth, Oziel's mistress 
• Jason Butler Harner as Les Zoeller, the LAPD detective on the case
• Enrique Murciano as Carlos Baralt, Lyle and Erik's uncle
• Michael Gladis as Tim Rutten
• Drew Powell as Detective Tom Linehan
• Charlie Hall as Craig Cignarelli
• Gil Ozeri as Dr. William Vicary
• Jeff Perry as Peter Hoffman
• Tessa Auberjonois as Dr. Laurel Oziel
• Tanner Stine as Perry Berman
• Larry Clarke as Brian Andersen
• Jade Pettyjohn as Jamie Pisarcik
• Marlene Forté as Marta Cano

Where to watch Monster

Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is available to stream on Netflix. Further seasons will also be on Netflix.