Netflix has found its latest crime thriller hit in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, the fourth season of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan‘s true-crime anthology. The eight-episode series premiered on September 17, 2026, and shot to the top of Netflix’s English-language TV chart with 12.1 million views in its first four days. That debut puts it in the same conversation as Mindhunter, the David Fincher crime series that Netflix cancelled in 2020 after two seasons. Where Mindhunter struggled to hold a large audience, the new Monster season has become a global streaming success in under a week.
How Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story Performed on Netflix
Netflix’s official viewership data shows the series pulled 12.1 million views and 80.1 million hours viewed from September 14 to September 20, 2026, making it the #1 ranked show on the platform’s Top 10 chart for that period. It also topped the English TV list worldwide, beating titles like Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Again?, which held the number two spot with 11.3 million views.
The numbers place the Lizzie Borden season almost level with previous Monster installments. Monster: The Ed Gein Story debuted with 12.2 million views in its first four days, and Monster: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story opened with 12.3 million views over the same window. The fact that a fourth season is matching those debuts is unusual, since most Netflix shows see a drop in viewership as they age.
Netflix’s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story debuted at the top of the English TV list with 12.1 million views.
Netflix later confirmed the season has already passed 80 million views worldwide.
Why Mindhunter Comparisons Are Being Made
Mindhunter followed FBI agents in the late 1970s as they interviewed imprisoned serial killers to build a new field of criminal profiling. The show was praised by critics and built a loyal audience, but Netflix cancelled it after two seasons in 2020 because the production cost was high and the viewership did not match the expense. A third season was never made.
Monster takes a different route to the same subject. Each season dramatizes a well-known criminal case with a stylized, fictional approach. Both shows mix real events with invented conversations and timelines. The difference is in the results. Mindhunter ended early with a small but devoted fan base. Monster has turned every season into a major Netflix event, and the Lizzie Borden chapter is following that pattern.
The approach has drawn criticism from some viewers who prefer the slower, more investigative style of Mindhunter. Still, the streaming numbers show that Murphy’s method reaches a much larger global audience.
The Cast Behind the New Season
Ella Beatty leads the season as Lizzie Borden, the woman accused of killing her father and stepmother with an axe in 1892. Beatty is the daughter of actors Annette Bening and Warren Beatty, and this is her first major leading role. Netflix described her casting as the result of an extensive search.
The supporting cast includes several well-known actors:
- Charlie Hunnam as Andrew Borden, Lizzie’s father
- Rebecca Hall as Abby Borden, Lizzie’s stepmother
- Vicky Krieps as Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan, the family’s maid
- Billie Lourd as Emma Borden, Lizzie’s sister
- Sarah Paulson as Aileen Wuornos, the serial killer, in a guest role
The inclusion of Aileen Wuornos is one of the season’s most unusual choices. Wuornos was executed in 2002 for the murders of seven men in Florida, and she has no direct connection to the Borden case. The show places her in the Borden house in a present-day storyline, where she becomes obsessed with Lizzie’s story. Episode 5 shows Wuornos staying overnight in the Borden home, which is now a bed and breakfast. The finale features an imagined scene where Wuornos meets Lizzie’s ghost in the afterlife.
What Critics and Audiences Are Saying
The season has received mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the critics’ score sits at around 50%, and the audience score is one of the lowest in the franchise’s history. Several critics called the season messy and overly violent. The Guardian described it as “bonkers, blood-soaked, borderline-fetishistic.” JoBlo called it “the weakest entry in the anthology to date.”
Some reviews were more positive about the acting. Rebecca Hall and Sarah Paulson received praise for their performances, with Joblo noting they gave “two of the best performances of the year.” Roger Ebert’s review said the show has “images and performances so captivating that it’s hard to dislike it completely.”
The gap between the viewership numbers and the critical response is not new for the Monster franchise. Previous seasons also attracted strong audiences while drawing criticism for their approach to real crimes and real victims.
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Where to Watch Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is available to stream on Netflix in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, India, and other regions where the service operates. All eight episodes were released at once on September 17, 2026. The season is rated TV-MA for mature audiences.
Ian Brennan, the co-creator, has said he has plans to develop up to 10 seasons of the Monster anthology. Netflix has not confirmed how many more seasons will be made.
For more coverage of Netflix crime thrillers, Monster, and true-crime series, stay with VvipTimes.
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