Overview
- The series, which began streaming Thursday, September 17, 2026, is the fourth season of Netflix’s Monster anthology and stars Ella Beatty as Lizzie Borden with creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan credited.
- The show dramatizes the 1892 axe killings of Andrew and Abby Borden but makes major fictional changes, including portraying Lizzie as younger, imagining a romantic and conspiratorial relationship with the maid Bridget, and adding cross-era figures such as Aileen Wuornos and Countess Elizabeth Báthory.
- Early reviews are mixed, with several outlets praising the season’s audacious tone, visuals and performances while others criticize heavy sensationalism, uneven tone and large departures from the historical record.
- Coverage of the real case noted by critics and explainers keeps key facts: the double murders in Fall River, Lizzie’s 1893 trial and acquittal, circumstantial evidence cited at the time, and the fact that the killings remain officially unsolved.
- The season has renewed debate about how popular media fictionalizes unsolved crimes, with critics warning that dramatic liberties can reshape public memory and advocates arguing the show uses anachronism to explore gender, repression and violence.