Netflix's Monster anthology returns on 17 September with its first female subject: Lizzie Borden, the woman tried and acquitted in the 1892 axe killings of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts.

All eight episodes of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story drop that day on Netflix, according to the platform's own Tudum newsroom (Netflix Tudum). Deadline independently confirmed the same date (Deadline).

Ella Beatty takes the title role. The cast around her is stacked: Charlie Hunnam plays her father, Andrew Borden; Rebecca Hall plays her stepmother, Abby; and Vicky Krieps plays Bridget Sullivan, the Borden household servant. Sarah Paulson, Billie Lourd, Joey Pollari and Jessica Barden round out the ensemble (The Hollywood Reporter).

Ian Brennan serves as creator, writer and executive producer. Max Winkler directs all eight episodes, sharing the chair with Sarah Adina Smith on episodes four and six. Ryan Murphy heads a long list of executive producers that also includes Winkler, Eric Kovtun, Scott Robertson, Louise Shore, Nissa Diederich, Todd Kubrak, Carl Franklin and Tanase Popa (The Hollywood Reporter).

The anthology's track record gives the season a built-in audience. Season one, Dahmer, starred Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer and earned him an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a limited or anthology series. Season two turned to the Menendez brothers, with Cooper Koch as Erik and Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Lyle. Season three cast Hunnam as Ed Gein — making his return in season four a second consecutive appearance in the franchise (The Hollywood Reporter).

Netflix France's own release calendar flagged the Lizzie Borden season as a 2026 title back in April, listing Murphy, Beatty and Hunnam by name (Netflix France). The full premiere date and cast confirmation landed this week.

For viewers, the appeal is straightforward. The Borden case is one of American history's most enduring true-crime mysteries — acquitted by a jury, never formally cleared by public opinion. The Monster formula, which dramatises the lives of notorious figures rather than simply recounting their crimes, now turns that ambiguity into a season of television.