Netflix will release Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story on September 17, 2026, chronicling the famous 1892 axe murder trial of the Massachusetts woman. All episodes of the 18+ crime drama anthology series will premiere on the streaming service on the same day.
Created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, the upcoming fourth season follows previous installments centered on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, parent killers Lyle and Erik Menendez, and 1950s body snatcher Ed Gein. The third season, focusing on Gein, debuted on October 3, 2025.
Netflix renewed the American anthology project for a fourth season in July 2025, with production launching in September 2025 and the release date officially announced in August 2026. Across its run, the multi-season franchise spans 27 total episodes.
Series cast and returning stars
For the first time in the history of the anthology, several actors from earlier seasons are returning to the cast in brand new roles. Ella Beatty, known for her role in Feud, has been cast in the lead role as Lizzie Borden.
Charlie Hunnam, who starred as Ed Gein in the third season, returns to play Lizzie's wealthy father, Andrew Borden. Vicky Krieps, who portrayed Nazi criminal Ilse Koch in season three, joins the cast as Bridget Sullivan, the Borden family maid who was present in the home during the murders.
Rebecca Hall, known for The Prestige, stars as Lizzie's stepmother, Abby Borden, while Billie Lourd of American Horror Story plays her older sister, Emma Borden. Jessica Barden from The End of the F***ing World joins the production as American actress Nance O'Neil, who was a close personal friend of Lizzie.
The 1892 Fall River murders
The new season centers on the true crime case of Lizzie Andrew Borden, who was born in 1860 in Fall River, Massachusetts. Her father, Andrew Borden, built a substantial fortune starting from a small furniture factory before heading multiple textile mills, construction projects, and manufacturing ventures.
Following the death of Lizzie's mother when Lizzie was two years old, her grieving father grew emotionally distant and devoted himself entirely to work. Despite his wealth, Andrew was known as a miser who refused to install indoor plumbing in his home, even as other affluent residents of Fall River equipped their mansions with modern amenities.
Lizzie and her older sister Emma received a strict religious upbringing. In her youth, Lizzie was deeply involved in church activities, teaching Sunday school to the children of recent immigrants and serving as secretary-treasurer for the Christian organization Endeavor.
Three years after his first wife's death, Andrew married Abby Durfee Gray. Lizzie resented her stepmother, believing Abby married her father solely for his fortune. Tensions mounted as Andrew purchased real estate for Abby's family, hired household staff, and spent money freely, while his daughters had grown up without indoor plumbing, electricity, or quality food.
Frequent arguments broke out between Lizzie and her father. Andrew routinely reproached his daughter for remaining unmarried, complained about the financial burden of supporting her, and criticized her household management while comparing her unfavorably to the daughters of his business associates.
The crime and trial of the century
In the summer of 1892, Lizzie and Emma left Fall River to take a break from the escalating family friction. When they returned, their maternal uncle, John Morse, was visiting the family home.
On the morning of August 4, 1892, John Morse left the residence and Andrew Borden went out for a morning walk. Lizzie, who was tasked with cleaning the guest room where her uncle had slept, went upstairs to make the bed. During that window, an intruder attacked Abby Borden, striking her repeatedly in the head with an axe.
Andrew Borden returned home shortly afterward and lay down on a sofa to rest. Roughly 30 minutes later, Lizzie called out from the ground floor after discovering her father's body, which had also been hacked to death with an axe.
Investigators noted that Lizzie provided contradictory and confused accounts during questioning. However, police failed to inspect her clothing for bloodstains, did not conduct a thorough search of her bedroom, and left axes found in the house basement uncollected.
Police arrested Lizzie on August 11, 1892, and formally charged her on December 2. Her trial began in 1893. Shortly before the proceedings opened, another woman in Fall River was murdered with an axe in similar fashion, though police later captured the killer and confirmed he had no connection to the Borden family.
A jury ultimately acquitted Lizzie Borden, but the proceedings created a national sensation dubbed the trial of the century. The identity of the killer was never officially established, though two primary theories remain: that Lizzie committed the murders and escaped conviction due to primitive 19th-century forensic methods, or that her uncle John Morse was responsible.
Following her acquittal, Lizzie became a social outcast in Fall River. In the early 20th century, a feud severed her relationship with her sister Emma, and the two never spoke again. Lizzie died of pneumonia in 1927, and Emma passed away just days later.
Social themes and screen adaptations
Showrunner Ryan Murphy told Variety in September 2025 that the creative team chooses subjects based on the broader social questions raised by the crimes rather than media notoriety. Murphy explained that infamous serial killers such as John Wayne Gacy and Joseph James DeAngelo were passed over because their crimes did not ask meaningful questions about society and were simply bloody without being interesting.
The fourth season will explore how the Borden murders impacted 19th-century American society. Actress Sarah Paulson is set to make an appearance as Aileen Wuornos, the real-life serial killer who operated in Florida during 1989 and 1990, with the series expected to draw narrative parallels between Borden and Wuornos.
The Fall River murders have inspired multiple previous screen adaptations, including the television series The Lizzie Borden Chronicles starring Christina Ricci, and the feature film Lizzie starring Chloe Sevigny and Kristen Stewart.
