Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story Unveils Chilling First Look

Aug 05, 2026 - 01:17
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Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story Unveils Chilling First Look

Ryan Murphy Makes Rare Red Carpet Appearance With 12-Year-Old Son Logan

“Lizzie Borden took an axe…”

We won’t split hairs over how the rest of the schoolyard rhyme goes. After all, most people know how the story of Lizzie Borden ends: She was accused—and later acquitted—of the murders of her father and stepmother in 1862, who were both found dead at their Massachusetts home with hatchet wounds.

Over 150 years later, director Ryan Murphy is hoping to make viewers’ blood run cold when he brings the story to the small screen in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.

While Murphy has previously brought to life the stories of serial killers Jeffrey Dahmer and Ed Gein, as well as brothers Lyle Menendez and Erik Menendez, this is the first time he’s setting his sights on a female killer—however alleged.

And helping make it all happen is actress Ella Beatty, who is playing Borden in the Netflix series. And if the first look image of Beatty in character—and covered in blood—wasn’t enough to prove that she’s willing to put her blood, sweat and tears into this role, allow the 26-year-old to speak for herself.

“I am so excited for viewers to experience our exploration of Lizzie Borden’s story and the questions that her life animates to this day,” Beatty told Tudum in an article published Aug. 4. “It has been a dream come true to investigate this complicated person’s psychology and to examine an American crime that feels almost mythic in proportion.”

Courtesy of Netflix

The actress, who previously teamed up with Murphy in The Feud: Capote vs The Swans, added, “This season gives us our first female Monster and delves into female rage and repression which I’ve found to feel strikingly relevant. I cannot wait to share it with the world.”

Also starring in in the period piece are Charlie Hunnam—the anthology series’ season three lead—and Rebecca Hall as Borden’s father Andrew Borden and stepmother Abby Borden as well as Vicky Krieps as the family’s live-in maid Bridget Sullivan. Rounding out the cast are Billie Lourd as Borden’s older sister Emma Borden and Jessica Barden as Nance O’Neil, a friend of Borden’s. 

Netflix

But while history and true crime fans alike may think they already know Borden’s story, it would appear Murphy’s interpretation suggests there was more than meets the eye.

“When the repressed daughter of a wealthy New England family and her rebellious maid find themselves trapped in a house built on humiliation and cruelty,” the series’ logline reads, “they escape into a fantasy of sex, power, and revenge.”

It continues, “The gruesome unsolved murders that follow don’t just shock the world—they give birth to an icon who refuses to live imprisoned in a cage, choosing instead to forge her own legend: shocking, monstrous, and gloriously free.”

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story premieres on Netflix Sept. 17. Until then, read on for more exciting series hitting the small screen. 

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