Draft:Monster (2022 TV series)

Monster
Genre	Crime thriller Biographical drama
Created by	Ryan Murphy Ian Brennan
Showrunner	Ryan Murphy
Starring	Evan Peters Richard Jenkins Molly Ringwald Niecy Nash Michael Learned
Music by	Nick Cave Warren Ellis
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	10
Production
Executive producers	Ryan Murphy Ian Brennan Janet Mock Carl Franklin Alexis Martin Woodall Eric Kovtun Evan Peters
Producers	David McMillan Mathew Hart Todd Kubrak Reilly Smith Lou Eyrich Rashad Robinson Richard Jenkins
Cinematography	Jason McCormick
Editors	Stephanie Filo Taylor Joy Mason
Running time	45–63 minutes
Production companies	Netflix Prospect Films Ryan Murphy Television 20th Television (uncredited)
Original release
Network	Netflix
Release	September 21, 2022 (2022-09-21) – present

Monster is an American true crime anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. Murphy serves as showrunner, and is an executive producer along with Brennan. The first season, Dahmer, focuses on the life of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer (Evan Peters). Other cast members are Richard Jenkins as Dahmer's father Lionel, Molly Ringwald as his stepmother Shari, Niecy Nash as suspicious neighbor Glenda, and Michael Learned as grandmother Catherine. The second season, The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, focuses on the murder case of the Menéndez brothers (Nicholas Chavez as Lyle Menéndez and Cooper Koch as Erik Menéndez).

Cast

Dahmer

Main

• Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer, the titular serial killer
  • Nick A. Fisher as young Jeffrey
• Richard Jenkins as Lionel Dahmer, Jeffrey's father
  • Josh Braaten as young Lionel
• Molly Ringwald as Shari Dahmer, Lionel's second wife and Jeffrey's stepmother
• Niecy Nash as Glenda Cleveland, Jeffrey's neighbor
• Michael Learned as Catherine Dahmer, Jeffrey's paternal grandmother

Recurring

• Penelope Ann Miller as Joyce Dahmer (née Flint), Jeffrey's abusive and mentally unstable mother and Lionel's first wife
  • Savannah Brown as young Joyce
• Dia Nash as Sandra Smith, Glenda’s daughter
• Nigel Gibbs as Rev. Jesse Jackson
• Michael Beach as Det. Dennis Murphy, one of the lead detectives on the Dahmer case
• Colby French as Det. Patrick Kennedy, one of the lead detectives on the Dahmer case
• Matthew Alan as Off. Joseph Gabrish, one of the police officers responding to the Konerak Sinthasomphone incident
• Scott Michael Morgan as Off. John Balcerzak, one of the police officers responding to the Konerak Sinthasomphone incident
• David Barrera as Chief Arreola, the Milwaukee chief of police
• Shaun J. Brown as Tracy Edwards, one of Jeffrey’s intended victims
• Dyllón Burnside as Ronald Flowers, one of Jeffrey’s intended victims
• Cameron Cowperthwaite as Steven Hicks, the hitchhiker who is Jeffrey’s first victim
• Vince Hill-Bedford as Steven Tuomi, Jeffrey’s second victim
• Rodney Burford as Tony Hughes, the deaf aspiring model who is Jeffrey’s twelfth victim
• Kieran Tamondong as Konerak Sinthasomphone, the Laotian boy who is Jeffrey’s thirteenth victim
• Karen Malina White as Shirley Hughes, the mother of Tony Hughes
• Khetphet Phagnasay as Southone Sinthasomphone, the father of Konerak Sinthasomphone
• Phet Mahathongdy as Somdy Sinthasomphone, the mother of Konerak Sinthasomphone
• Brayden Maniago as Somsack Sinthasomphone, the older brother of Konerak Sinthasomphone and one of Jeffrey’s intended victims
• Scott Paophavihanh as Anouke Sinthasomphone, the older brother of Konerak Sinthasomphone
• Brandon Black as Dean Vaughn, one of Jeffrey's intended victims
• Ken Lerner as Joe Zilber
• DaShawn Barnes as Rita Isbell, sister of Errol Linsey who is Jeffrey's eleventh victim
• Furly Mac as Christopher Scarver, an inmate who murdered Jeffrey and Jesse Anderson
• Jeff Harms as Jesse Anderson, an inmate who was murdered alongside Jeffrey
• Dominic Burgess as John Wayne Gacy, a serial killer and sex offender
• Shane Kerwin as Ed Gein, a serial killer and body snatcher

Lyle and Erik Menéndez

Main

• Nicholas Chavez as Lyle Menéndez, one half of a homicidal duo.
• Cooper Koch as Erik Menéndez, the other half of a homicidal duo.
• Javier Bardem as José Menendez, Lyle and Erik's abusive father
• Chloë Sevigny as Kitty Menéndez, Lyle and Erik's mother with a tragic past.
• Nathan Lane as Dominick Dunne, a columnist for Vanity Fair who covered the Menendez trials.
• Ari Graynor as Leslie Abramson, Lyle and Erik's attorney who's one of the most famous criminal defense lawyers in history.
• Dallas Roberts as Dr. Jerome Oziel, Erik's unethical psychologist who helps him after the murder of his parents.
• Leslie Grossman as Judalon Smyth, a mistress who accidentally became a vital part of the Menendez brothers' arrests.

Recurring

• Jason Butler Harner as Det. Les Zoeller
• Enrique Murciano as Carlos Baralt
• Michael Gladis as Tim Rutten
• Drew Powell as Det. Tom Linehan
• Charlie Hall as Craig Cignarelli
• Jeff Perry as Peter Hoffman

Episodes

Season 1: Dahmer

Main article: Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	1	"Bad Meat"	Carl Franklin	Ryan Murphy & Ian Brennan	September 21, 2022 (2022-09-21)
In 1991, Glenda Cleveland, a woman who lives in the Milwaukee apartment next to Jeffrey Dahmer's, has concerns about the noises and smells coming through their shared vent. Dahmer courts his next potential victim, Tracy Edwards, in a bar and takes him home, but Tracy manages to escape and flag down police. Dahmer is arrested and gruesome discoveries are made in his apartment.
2	2	"Please Don't Go"	Clement Virgo	Ryan Murphy & Ian Brennan	September 21, 2022 (2022-09-21)
Dahmer's life as a pre-teen and adolescent, living with Joyce, a drug-addicted mother and Lionel, an oft-absentee father, is explored. The youngster starts to exhibit great interest in dissecting dead animals, with encouragement from his father. In 1991, an adult Dahmer buys alcohol for 14-year old Konerak Sinthasomphone and brings him to his apartment under the guise of paying the teen for lewd photographs. Dahmer drugs the teen, then experiments by using a power drill to drill into the boy's skull. While Dahmer goes out to buy more alcohol, a woozy Konerak awakes and tries to escape but only makes it to the stairwell where Glenda and her daughter find him. Glenda is concerned about the boy's age, and calls police, but the police take Dahmer's word that the boy is an adult who is Dahmer's boyfriend and simply drank too much. The police escort Konerak back inside, and Dahmer kills him after they leave. A real 1991 recording between Glenda and one of the Milwaukee police officers (discussing Konerak) is played over the ending credits.
3	3	"Doin' A Dahmer"	Clement Virgo	Ryan Murphy & Ian Brennan	September 21, 2022 (2022-09-21)
As a high school senior in 1977–78, Dahmer continues to show interest in animal dissection while also becoming fully aware of his sexual preference for men. After his father and mother divorce, Lionel moves in with his new girlfriend Shari and soon after Joyce moves away with Jeffrey's younger brother David. Jeffrey is left alone in the house to fend for himself. He begins drinking heavily, lifting weights, and fantasizing about having a male companion in the house. He later picks up a hitchhiker named Steven Hicks and invites him to drink beer and work out. When Steven rejects Dahmer's sexual advances, Dahmer hits him with a dumbbell and then strangles him to death. Two police officers stop him when they see his car swerving, but let him off with a warning despite seeing several garbage bags in the car's back seat. Dahmer destroys Hicks' bones and scatters the ashes on the family property.
4	4	"The Good Boy Box"	Jennifer Lynch	Ryan Murphy & Ian Brennan	September 21, 2022 (2022-09-21)
Lionel and Shari return to the Dahmer residence after three months, surprised to hear Joyce moved out, and discovers Jeff's drinking. Jeff attempts to talk to his father about his homicidal thoughts, but is interrupted by Lionel planning to send him to Ohio State University. At OSU, Dahmer is expelled for attendance issues, causing his father to enlist him in the Army in another attempt to get his son's life on track. In 1981, Dahmer is honorably discharged due to alcohol abuse. Lionel sends him to live with his grandmother, Catherine. At her suggestion, Dahmer goes to a state fair, where he gets drunk and is arrested for indecent exposure. He takes a job as a phlebotomist, where he steals blood bags and drinks from them. Dahmer later begins going to a gay bathhouse but is soon banned for spiking drinks. In 1987, Dahmer accidentally drugs himself in a hotel room with Steven Tuomi, then wakes up the next morning to discover he had murdered him. He takes the body back to Catherine's house to dismember it in the basement. He seals the man's head in a bag and places it in a lock box Catherine gave him.
5	5	"Blood On Their Hands"	Jennifer Lynch	Ian Brennan	September 21, 2022 (2022-09-21)
In 1987, Dahmer takes a job at a chocolate factory. He begins to seek out victims with the conscious intention of killing, beginning a cycle of bringing men to Catherine's house, drugging them, strangling them to death, and dismembering them in the cellar. The smells coming from the cellar prompt a confrontation with Catherine and Lionel. When Dahmer tells them that it is caused by his taxidermy hobby, Lionel excoriates him for not cleaning up after it adequately, leading Dahmer to reassure them that he will cease that activity. Dahmer invites Ronald Flowers Jr., a man struggling with his car, to Catherine's house in an attempt to drug and kill him. After Flowers falls unconscious in her living room, Catherine finds him and forces Jeffrey to put him on a bus. After Flowers reports this to the police, they question Dahmer and Catherine, but find no evidence to arrest him. Dahmer is later arrested after another victim, Somsack Sinthasomphone, Konerak's older brother, escapes from him. Dahmer is found guilty of sexual assault and sent to prison. Lionel writes a letter to the judge, asking him to put Jeffrey in a treatment program for alcohol abuse, but the letter is ignored and he is released from custody a year later.
6	6	"Silenced"	Paris Barclay	David McMillan & Janet Mock	September 21, 2022 (2022-09-21)
In 1991, Tony Hughes makes a life for himself despite his deafness. He lands a job in Madison, but returns to spend time with his family in Milwaukee on weekends. One weekend evening, he dances at a bar and catches Dahmer's eye. Dahmer thinks about spiking Tony's drink at the bar, but reconsiders. Tony and Dahmer say they like each other, and they meet again the following weekend. Dahmer invites Tony into his apartment, where he again considers drugging him but resists. The two sleep together, and the following morning Tony says he has to leave for work. Dahmer gets a hammer, but lets Tony go. However, when Tony returns for his keys, Dahmer kills him with the hammer. Tony's mother, Shirley contacts police when her son has not checked in and missed work. They seemingly do nothing, so she posts "Missing Person" signs all over Milwaukee. As she does, she notices many other such signs near the gay bars. After killing Tony, Dahmer prepares a piece of meat, likely human flesh, cooks it and eats it.
7	7	"Cassandra"	Jennifer Lynch	Ian Brennan & Janet Mock & David McMillan	September 21, 2022 (2022-09-21)
After Dahmer is arrested and news of his victims becomes public, there is widespread outrage with police among the victims' families, and particularly with Glenda Cleveland. She is most upset over the murder of Konerak (whom she tried to help before police returned him to Dahmer's apartment) and has been severely traumatized by listening to the noises (screams and power tools) coming from Dahmer's apartment. Dahmer's building is considered hazardous due to the chemicals he used to dissolve body parts. The tenants are evacuated, forcing Glenda to get a motel room. Jesse Jackson takes an interest in the case due to the large number of black and brown victims, and he meets with Glenda, who tells him of the horrors she witnessed, including a time when an angry Dahmer served her a sandwich made with possible human remains. Disgusted, Jackson vows to hold the Milwaukee Police accountable for their oversights.
8	8	"Lionel"	Gregg Araki	Ian Brennan & David McMillan	September 21, 2022 (2022-09-21)
Lionel is horrified by Dahmer and what he has done. With his wife, he deals with his demons, alternately blaming himself and Joyce. Jesse Jackson continues working on behalf of the victims' families. The two officers who were suspended over Konerak's case are reinstated. Dahmer goes to trial after his insanity plea is denied. After he is sentenced to 15 life terms and victim statements are heard, Dahmer is given a chance to speak. He says he knows he is mentally ill, and apologizes to the families. Lionel finds writing a book about being Jeffrey's father to be therapeutic.
9	9	"The Bogeyman"	Jennifer Lynch	Ian Brennan & David McMillan & Reilly Smith	September 21, 2022 (2022-09-21)
Family members of Dahmer's victims deal with grief, fear, sleeplessness and nightmares. After convincing Shirley to sue Lionel Dahmer over the profits of his book, lawyer Joe Zilber brings a $14 million lawsuit against the City of Milwaukee on behalf of the victims' families. Lionel learns that any profits from his book will be paid to victims' families. In prison, Dahmer begins receiving "fan mail", with several people sending him money in exchange for autographed items. He obliges and sends them back. Joe Zilber, angered that people plan to profit by selling items removed from Dahmer's home, offers the dealers double their asking price. He then gives every victim's family a share of what he paid, saying all the items will be destroyed.
10	10	"God of Forgiveness, God of Vengeance"	Paris Barclay	Ian Brennan & David McMillan & Reilly Smith & Todd Kubrak	September 21, 2022 (2022-09-21)
After attending a church service in prison, Dahmer asks to be baptized, near the same time as John Wayne Gacy's execution. The $14 million lawsuit is settled out of court for less than $900,000. An inmate named Christopher Scarver kills Dahmer and another inmate, Jesse Anderson, with a metal bar, saying that God told him to commit the murder. Per Dahmer's wishes, his body is cremated, and no funeral is held, but his brain is kept for scientific research. Lionel insists that the brain also be destroyed, while Joyce wants it to be studied. Lionel explains that he and the victims' families just want closure, which would be made more difficult by retaining the brain. A judge sides with Lionel, and the brain is cremated. As Milwaukee residents watch, the Oxford Apartments are destroyed. Glenda meets with a city official to advocate for the site of the apartments to be turned into a memorial for the victims, but is warned that it will be a lengthy process. The photos and names of Dahmer's victims are displayed in the closing titles, which also state that no memorial has yet been built.

Season 2: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story

Main article: Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story

Production

Reception