Netflix will release Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story on September 17, with Ella Beatty taking the lead role in the fourth season of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan‘s anthology series. The new installment examines Lizzie Borden, the Massachusetts woman whom authorities accused of killing her father and stepmother with an axe in 1892.
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The case entered American folklore through a schoolyard rhyme that described the killings and greatly exaggerated the number of blows. A jury acquitted Borden in 1893, and the murders remain unsolved. Her name continued to inspire books, films, plays and public debate, giving Murphy and Brennan the subject for the anthology’s first season focused on a woman.
Murphy and Brennan selected Beatty after an extensive casting search. Beatty previously appeared in Murphy’s Feud: Capote vs. The Swans and in Mary Bronstein’s Oscar-nominated Sundance film If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. Netflix’s first image from the season shows Beatty as Borden with blood covering her face and clothing.
Beatty described the production as an exploration of Borden’s psychology and the questions that still surround the crime. She also pointed to the season’s examination of female rage and repression. The actor called the case almost mythic in scale and expressed excitement about presenting the anthology’s first female subject.
The series follows Lizzie as the repressed daughter of a wealthy New England family. She lives in a home marked by humiliation and cruelty alongside Bridget Sullivan, the family’s rebellious live-in maid. The two women seek refuge in fantasies involving sex, power and revenge.
A series of brutal murders soon transforms Lizzie into a notorious public figure. The season examines how the crime changed popular ideas about women and violence while tracing the creation of Borden’s lasting public identity. The plot presents her as a woman determined to escape the restrictions surrounding her and shape her own legend.
Vicky Krieps plays Bridget Sullivan. Krieps previously appeared in Phantom Thread and Monster: The Ed Gein Story. Charlie Hunnam plays Lizzie’s father, Andrew Borden, following his appearance in the anthology’s Ed Gein installment and his earlier work in Sons of Anarchy.
Rebecca Hall plays Abby Borden, Lizzie’s stepmother. Hall’s credits include Christine and Passing. Billie Lourd joins the cast as Emma, Lizzie’s older sister, after roles in American Horror Story and The Last Showgirl.
Jessica Barden plays Nance O’Neil, an actor and friend of Lizzie. Barden previously starred in The End of the F**ing World* and appeared in Dune: Prophecy.
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story continues Murphy and Brennan’s anthology after seasons devoted to Jeffrey Dahmer, Lyle and Erik Menendez, and Ed Gein. The fourth installment turns toward one of America’s most famous unresolved murder cases, examining the family conflict, repression and public fascination that shaped Borden’s legacy.
Lizzie Borden’s case has inspired several screen adaptations. Elizabeth Montgomery played her in the 1975 television film The Legend of Lizzie Borden, earning an Emmy nomination for her performance. The production also received a Golden Globe nomination and won Emmy Awards for costume design and editing. In 2018, Chloë Sevigny took the title role in Craig William Macneill’s Lizzie, with Kristen Stewart as Bridget Sullivan. The film presented an intimate interpretation of their relationship and connected the murders with repression inside the Borden home.
Christina Ricci delivered the most entertaining screen portrayal in Lifetime’s Lizzie Borden Took an Ax and its 2015 continuation, The Lizzie Borden Chronicles. The 2014 film attracted 4.4 million viewers during its premiere and led to an eight episode series that imagined Lizzie’s life after her acquittal. Ricci gave the character wit, menace and a mischievous confidence, creating a performance that understood the production’s heightened tone. Clea DuVall returned as Emma Borden, while the series followed fictional crimes and suspicions surrounding the sisters. Both productions proved highly enjoyable, with Ricci’s excellent performance giving the series its energy and making her version of Lizzie especially memorable.
Netflix will premiere Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story on September 17.
