‘Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story’ Release Date, Cast, Plot and Everything Else You Need to Know About the Ella Beatty Show

Ryan Murphy’s true crime anthology is trading serial killers in modern settings for a corseted Victorian nightmare, and it looks just as unsettling. ‘Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story‘ is about to give the franchise its first female lead, and early details suggest this season leans hard into psychological horror dressed up as period drama.

The new installment retells the infamous 1892 axe murders that turned a quiet Massachusetts spinster into one of America’s most enduring true crime legends. With a stacked cast and a chilling trailer already making the rounds, anticipation is building fast.

‘Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story’ Release Date

‘Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story’ is set to premiere on Netflix on September 17, 2026, with all eight episodes of the limited series dropping at once for a full binge experience. All eight episodes are scheduled to be released worldwide on Netflix on September 17, 2026. That means fans will get the complete axe murder saga in a single sitting rather than waiting week to week.

This marks the fourth season of the anthology created by Ian Brennan, following previous installments centered on Jeffrey Dahmer, the Menendez brothers, and Ed Gein. The season marks the first time the Monster anthology has centered its story on a woman, a shift that Murphy has reportedly framed as long overdue.

Production on the season wrapped months before the premiere. Principal photography began in Los Angeles in September 2025 and wrapped in March 2026, giving the creative team plenty of time to polish the final cut ahead of its fall debut.

‘Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story’ Trailer

Netflix teased fans with an initial trailer before dropping a longer, more revealing look at the season. An extended, two-minute trailer debuted on Aug. 20, giving fans their first look at Sarah Paulson as Aileen Wuornos. The choice to bring in Paulson as a completely different, real life killer immediately raised eyebrows among longtime viewers of the franchise.

That casting twist points to a structural choice that fans of the show will recognize. The inclusion of Wuornos suggests that this season will span several timelines, just like Monster: The Ed Gein Story did last year. So instead of a straightforward retelling, expect the story to jump between Lizzie’s own era and a more modern lens on true crime obsession.

The footage itself leans into the show’s signature blend of glamour and gore. In the trailer, a museum curator remarks that no one truly knows what happened inside the Borden house that day, a line that captures the mystery the series is clearly leaning into.

‘Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story’ Cast

Ella Beatty takes the title role as Lizzie Borden, and the casting has generated plenty of buzz given her family pedigree. The woman bringing Borden to life is Ella Beatty, a Juilliard trained actor and the daughter of Hollywood royalty Warren Beatty and Annette Bening. This is her highest profile project to date after previously working with Murphy on ‘Feud: Capote vs. the Swans.’

She is surrounded by a heavyweight ensemble that includes several ‘Monster’ franchise veterans. Vicky Krieps plays Bridget Sullivan, the Bordens’ live in maid, Charlie Hunnam plays Lizzie’s father Andrew Borden, and Rebecca Hall plays her stepmother Abby Borden. Hunnam previously played Ed Gein in the franchise’s prior season, making his return in a completely different role notable for fans tracking the anthology’s recurring faces.

Rounding out the cast are several more recognizable names in supporting roles. Billie Lourd appears as Emma, Lizzie’s older sister, while Jessica Barden plays Nance O’Neil, an actor friend of Lizzie’s. Sarah Paulson’s dual timeline appearance as Aileen Wuornos adds another layer of star power to an already loaded roster.

‘Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story’ Plot

The official logline sets up a household defined by repression and simmering rage long before the murders occur. 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, they escape into a fantasy of sex, power, and revenge. That escape, according to Netflix, eventually spirals into the killings that made Borden infamous.

The real case remains genuinely unresolved more than a century later, and the show appears to be leaning into that ambiguity rather than offering easy answers. Lizzie was never convicted because the evidence was circumstantial and there was no clear murder weapon tied to her. Despite the acquittal, her name has stayed synonymous with the crime ever since.

Thematically, the creative team is using the murders as a lens for broader social commentary. According to the show’s creator, the season explores misogyny, gender roles, and the societal expectations placed on women in the Victorian era, while also examining class and sexuality through Lizzie’s relationship with Bridget Sullivan.

With a true crime mystery this layered, a cast this stacked, and a dual timeline structure connecting Lizzie Borden to Aileen Wuornos, ‘Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story’ looks poised to spark plenty of debate over whether Lizzie really did take the axe. Do you think this season will finally convince you of her guilt, or will you be firmly in her corner by the time the credits roll?