Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story brings one of America’s oldest unsolved murder cases to Netflix on September 17, 2026. The fourth season of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s anthology series stars Ella Beatty as Lizzie Borden, a Sunday school teacher accused of killing her father and stepmother with a hatchet in Fall River, Massachusetts, in August 1892. Lizzie was tried and acquitted in June 1893, and the case has never been solved.
The eight-episode season marks the first time the Monster franchise focuses on a female suspect. Charlie Hunnam plays Andrew Borden, Rebecca Hall plays Abby Borden, and Vicky Krieps plays the family’s maid, Bridget Sullivan. Sarah Paulson appears as Aileen Wuornos in scenes that connect the two stories. All episodes arrive on Netflix on the same day for viewers worldwide.
What Happened to Lizzie Borden’s Parents
The murders took place on a hot summer morning at the Borden family home on 92 Second Street in Fall River. Abby Borden, Lizzie’s 64-year-old stepmother, was killed first, likely around 9:30 a.m. She was struck 18 or 19 times with a hatchet in an upstairs bedroom. Andrew Borden, a wealthy bank president, returned home from running errands about an hour later. He was attacked while resting on the living room sofa and suffered 11 hatchet blows. Lizzie discovered her father’s body shortly after 11:10 a.m. and called for help. The murder weapon was never found.
Lizzie, then 32, was the only person home besides the family’s Irish maid, Bridget Sullivan. Her older sister, Emma, was away on holiday, and a house guest had gone out. Friends and neighbours later said there was tension in the household. Andrew was known to be wealthy but tight with money. He kept his daughters in a shabby part of town and made them scrimp on expenses, while giving money to his second wife’s family.
The day before the murders, Lizzie tried to buy prussic acid from a local pharmacy. She claimed she needed it to clean a fur cape. That detail later became important in the investigation.
Why Lizzie Borden Became the Main Suspect
Lizzie’s story about where she was on the morning of the murders kept changing. She first said she was in the barn looking for fishing sinkers. Later she said she was in the barn eating pears. Then she said she was in the house. She also admitted she did not look for her stepmother after finding her father dead.
Police found a hatchet with a broken handle in the cellar and a bucket of bloody rags in the basement. There was no blood on the hatchet that could prove it was the murder weapon. Lizzie said the rags were for her menstruation. A friend later told a grand jury that Lizzie had burned a dress in the stove a few days after the killings. Prosecutors believed the dress may have been bloody evidence.
A local pharmacist claimed Lizzie had tried to buy poison the day before the murders. A judge had her arrested and jailed. Formal murder charges followed in December 1892, and a trial date was set for the following June.
The Trial and the Acquittal
Lizzie’s trial began on June 5, 1893, in New Bedford. She hired prominent defence lawyers, including former Massachusetts governor George D. Robinson. The prosecution relied on circumstantial evidence and witness testimony. Their strongest piece of evidence was Lizzie’s inquest testimony, but the judge ruled it inadmissible because her lawyer had not been present.
The prosecution called Bridget Sullivan as a star witness. Sullivan testified that Lizzie was in the Borden home at the time of the murders. Another key witness, Lizzie’s friend and neighbour Alice Russell, said she saw Lizzie burn a blue dress three days after the killings. Prosecutors suggested the dress was bloody evidence, but Lizzie said the fabric had been ruined with paint. Her sister Emma backed up that story.
Lizzie did not take the stand in her own defence. Robinson argued that she was a respectable woman who could not have committed such violence. He also highlighted the bond between Lizzie and her father during closing arguments. The jury was convinced that Lizzie did not have the physical strength or the character to be what the prosecution called a “feral… insane fiend.” On June 20, 1893, the all-male jury acquitted her after about 90 minutes of deliberations.
“There’s something about an acquittal that’s open-ended. And the case has a lot of what we look for in a detective story: limited number of suspects, it hinges on alibis of timing, and if we are saying that Lizzie Borden is the killer, then this is really a story of deep psychological drama.” – Cara Robertson, author of The Trial of Lizzie Borden, to the BBC
No one else was ever tried for the murders. The case remains one of America’s most famous unsolved mysteries.
Who Is in the Monster Season 4 Cast
Ella Beatty leads the cast as Lizzie Borden. Beatty is the daughter of Hollywood actors Annette Bening and Warren Beatty. She previously appeared in Murphy’s Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. She shared the casting news on Instagram, writing that she could not “believe” she would get to work alongside “geniuses” Rebecca Hall and Vicky Krieps.
Charlie Hunnam returns to the Monster franchise as Andrew Borden. He played Ed Gein in the show’s third season and earned an Emmy nomination for that role. Rebecca Hall plays Abby Borden, Lizzie’s stepmother. Vicky Krieps plays Bridget Sullivan, the family’s maid, who is also known as Maggie in the series. Billie Lourd plays Emma Borden, Lizzie’s older sister. Jessica Barden plays Nance O’Neil, an actress and close friend of Lizzie. Joey Pollari plays John Morse, a house guest who was staying with the family at the time of the murders.
Sarah Paulson appears as Aileen Wuornos, a serial killer convicted of six murders in Florida between 1989 and 1990. Wuornos appears at the end of the trailer and says, “No one really knows what happened that day,” before adding, “Oh, I f—ing know what happened”. Beatty explained the connection between the two women in an interview with Netflix’s Tudum.
“The show is exploring a legacy of female rage and reaction to the set of circumstances that they are presented with. I think there’s a connection [between Borden and Wuornos] that Ryan and Ian were interested in mapping and exploring.” – Ella Beatty to Netflix Tudum
How the Show Tells the Story
The series opens in April 1892, months before the murders. Viewers see Lizzie being treated poorly by her family. Her stepmother calls her an “imbecile” and “a true freak of nature.” Her father and older sister are indifferent to the abuse. The show also depicts an intimate relationship between Lizzie and the maid, Maggie. Maggie pushes Lizzie toward the crime. “Your parents, and the way they treat you… they deserve it,” Maggie tells her in the trailer.
Creator Ian Brennan told TV Insider that the team felt it was time to look at a female killer. “The second Lizzie came up, it immediately felt right. And as we started writing, [her story] leapt off the page,” he said. Brennan also said Beatty’s face has “a real blank slate” quality that fits Lizzie’s unbridled rage simmering under the surface.
The show takes creative liberties. Historian Cara Robertson told the BBC that many novelists and filmmakers have “found the story as is kind of inadequate” and invented a male love interest, or more recently, found someone in the house, namely the maid. Robertson pointed out that Lizzie never bothered to call Sullivan by her real name and instead called her Maggie, the name of a previous maid.
When and Where to Watch Monster The Lizzie Borden Story
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story premieres on Thursday, September 17, 2026, on Netflix. All eight episodes will be available to stream on that date. The season is rated FSK 18 in Germany, meaning it is meant for mature audiences only.
Netflix is available in more than 190 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and India. Viewers can watch the series on the Netflix website or through the Netflix app on smart TVs, phones, tablets, and streaming devices. A subscription is required. The series will be available to stream worldwide at the same time.
The show is created by Ian Brennan and Ryan Murphy. Murphy, Brennan, Max Winkler, and several others serve as executive producers. The third season of Monster, which focused on Ed Gein, premiered in fall 2025. The first season told the story of Jeffrey Dahmer in 2022. The second season focused on Lyle and Erik Menendez.
“We really felt like it was time to investigate a female killer. The second Lizzie came up, it immediately felt right.” – Ian Brennan to TV Insider
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Early Reactions to the Trailer
The first trailer for the season dropped in August 2026. Fans flooded YouTube comments with strong reactions. “This looks even more horrifying than Dahmer,” one person wrote. Another praised it as “Oscars for best in a trailer performance”.
Some viewers questioned the decision to make a show about a woman who was acquitted. “Lizzie Borden was acquitted, and there’s a lot that speaks against her having killed her parents,” one fan commented under the trailer. Others were excited about the season and the possibility of a future season focused on Aileen Wuornos. “Can’t wait!! So excited. Oh, is the ending on the teaser of the next monster?” one person wrote.
The case of Lizzie Borden has inspired books, films, and TV shows for more than a century. The 1975 TV film The Legend of Lizzie Borden starred Elizabeth Montgomery. Christina Ricci played Lizzie in the 2014 Lifetime movie Lizzie Borden Took an Ax. Chloë Sevigny starred in the 2018 film Lizzie. The new Monster season adds another chapter to that long list. Stay with VvipTimes for more updates on the biggest true-crime stories hitting your screens.
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