First Look Photos and Poster For Ryan Murphy’s MONSTER: THE LIZZIE BORDEN STORY
Ryan Murphy's Monster anthology is heading back to Netflix, and the first look at Season 4 has officially arrived.
Along with a new batch of images, fans have also gotten a striking poster for Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, offering a creepy glimpse at the series' take on one of America's most infamous murder cases.
This season shifts the spotlight to Ella Beatty, who takes on the role of Lizzie Borden, the woman forever linked to one of the most shocking double murders in American history.
If these first images are any indication, this chapter of Monster is leaning hard into both the unsettling horror and the eerie elegance of the Victorian era.
The newly released photos showcase Beatty in a haunting appearance that immediately sells the unsettling tone of the series. The images recreate events surrounding the murders that took place 134 years ago, with detailed period costumes, candlelit interiors, and grim makeup that all work together to bring the late 1800s to life.
The preview also gives us our first look at Charlie Hunnam as Andrew Borden and Rebecca Hall as Abby Borden, Lizzie's father and stepmother, whose brutal murders remain one of history's most talked-about unsolved crimes.
While the photos fully embrace the Victorian setting, the newly released poster takes things in a completely different direction. Bathed in a vivid blood-red color palette, it has the feel of a modern horror movie rather than a traditional period drama.
It even brings to mind the visual style of female-driven horror films like Carrie and Pearl, giving this season its own distinct identity.
This marks the fourth installment in Murphy's Monster anthology, following stories centered on Jeffrey Dahmer, the Menendez brothers, and Ed Gein. It's also the first season to focus on a woman accused of murder.
The series will explore the case of Lizzie Borden, who stood accused of brutally murdering her father and stepmother with an axe.
Despite suspicious behavior leading up to the killings, including an aborted attempt to purchase poison, Borden was ultimately acquitted because prosecutors couldn't produce enough evidence to convict her.
Public attitudes at the time also played a major role, as many simply couldn't believe that a respectable, upper-class woman who attended church would be capable of committing such horrific crimes.
That mindset is something co-creator Ian Brennan wanted to examine while developing the season. Speaking with Vanity Fair, he explained:
“They literally thought that a woman was too weak to pick up an axe. To be a woman in that period was to be almost a completely different species. You were treated like you were incapable of not only actions, but thoughts that a man was capable of.”
It's a fascinating angle for the anthology to explore because the Lizzie Borden case has fueled debate for well over a century. Whether viewers believe she was guilty or innocent, the story remains one of America's greatest true crime mysteries, and it feels like exactly the kind of material that fits the Monster series.
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story will consist of eight episodes and is set to premiere on September 17, 2026.
