The first trailer for “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” has arrived. Netflix released this glimpse at its upcoming original roughly two weeks ahead of the Season 2 premiere of “Monsters” on Sept. 19.
The trailer starts with the night of the murders. As Lyle (Nicholas Chavez) and Erik (Cooper Koch) get out of their car with shotguns in hand, Dr. Jerome Oziel (Dallas Roberts) says, “I’m going to need you to walk me through what happened.” As he talks, Lyle and Erik enter their house. Only flashes of gunfire are seen next.
“Part of this process is the two of you reconnecting, growing closer as brothers,” Dr. Oziel continues.
“Erik and I killed our parents together, so I’d say that makes us pretty close,” Lyle counters while sitting on the therapist’s couch with his brother.
As The Adventures of Stevie V’s “Dirty Cash (Money Talks)” plays, the trailer then shows the aftermath of José (Javier Bardem) and Kitty Menendez’s (Chloë Sevigny) murders, yo-yoing between scenes of extreme opulence and darkness. One moment, Erik is crying in the shower. The next Lyle, clad in only a robe, pink underwear and sunglasses, is ordering all of the shrimp room service has to offer. Celebratory hugs on the tennis court are followed by José hitting one of his sons.
“Our life was one thing, and we decided we weren’t going to take that anymore,” Lyle says as the camera shows them buying new clothes and cars and practicing at a shooting range. “Starting right now, we’re going to demand more out of life. And we are never going to f–king go back.”
“You don’t murder your parents that way, literally defacing them. That’s not about money. That’s about something deeper and darker,” Vanity Fair reporter Dominick Dunne (Nathan Lane) says. Watch the full trailer below:
The second season in Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s “Monster” anthology series, this installment will follow the Menendez brothers case. A trial that unfolded before O.J. Simpson’s, the Menendez trial was one of the first to take modern America by storm. Court TV’s gavel-to-gavel coverage of the legal event is even credited as putting the network on the map.
On Aug. 20 1989, Erik and Lyle Menendez walked into the mansion where they lived with their mother and father with two shotguns. By the end of the onslaught, José Menendez was shot six times and Kitty Menendez had been shot 10 times. Though the brothers initially denied having involvement in the murders, they later admitted they were responsible. Thus set the stage for one of the most complicated and divisive trials of the ’90s.
The prosecution argued that Lyle and Erik murdered their parents so that they could inherit their vast fortune. As evidence, they pointed to the spending spree both brothers went on shortly after José and Kitty’s death. The defense countered that the brothers, who always had access to money, never needed to kill their parents to get more. Instead they proposed a far more chilling explanation for the deaths, arguing that the emotionally and physically abusive José Menendez sexually assaulted both of his sons from childhood and their mother knew all along. According to that argument, Lyle and Erik killed their parents out of fear their parents would kill them first.
The first trial for the case ended in two deadlocked juries. Eventually, thanks to a second trial, both brothers were convicted on two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to murder and were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Netflix original takes a look into the case that paved the way for how true crime is now consumed as it asks audiences “Who are the real monsters?” a press release for the series reads.
“The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” stars Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men”) and Chloë Sevigny (“FEUD: Capote vs. The Swans”) as José and Kitty Menendez, respectfully. Additionally, Nicholas Alexander Chavez (“General Hospital”) will play Lyle Menendez and Cooper Koch (“Power Book II: Ghost”) will play Erik Menendez.
“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” is created by Murphy and Brennan, who also serve as the series’ executive producers. Brennan also writes and directs this season, and Murphy writes. Other executive producers include Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, Scott Robertson, David McMillan, Louise Shore, Carl Franklin and Javier Bardem.
Though it’s going by a slightly different name, “Monsters” is the successor to “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.” The true crime drama premiered in 2022 and became a major Netflix hit, scoring over 115.6 million views in its first 91 days. That makes it the fourth most-watched Netflix series behind “Squid Game” Season 1, “Wednesday” Season 1 and “Stranger Things” Season 4.
In addition to high viewership, the series was an awards winner. Evan Peters won the Golden Globe for Best Actor – Limited Series, Anthology Series or Television Motion Picture for his portrayal of Dahmer, and Niecy Nash won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for playing Glenda Cleveland.
