The newest chapter of Ryan Murphy’s true crime anthology, Monster: The Ed Gein Story, has pulled in a massive audience, scoring 12.2 million views in its first three days on Netflix. Despite this strong start, the series entered the charts at No. 2, unable to dethrone the reigning champion, the thriller series Wayward.
How the New Monster Season Performed
Monster: The Ed Gein Story began streaming on October 3, 2025. In the week from September 29 to October 5, its 12.2 million views secured the second spot on Netflix’s English TV Top 10 list. The number one show was Wayward, which attracted 14.1 million views for a second consecutive week.
The debut of The Ed Gein Story is strikingly similar to the premiere of the previous season, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, which had 12.3 million views in its opening window. However, the Menendez season had an extra day in its first reporting period, as it launched on a Thursday. When looking at the average daily viewership, The Ed Gein Story actually had a slightly stronger initial pull, with about 4.1 million views per day compared to the Menendez season’s 3 million.
A Look at the Latest Monster Installment
The series stars Charlie Hunnam as Ed Gein, the infamous “Butcher of Plainfield” whose grave robbing and murders in the 1950s later inspired iconic horror characters like Norman Bates in Psycho and Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The cast also features Laurie Metcalf as his domineering mother, Augusta.
The show explores Gein’s troubled life and gruesome crimes, but some critics argue it struggles with its focus. A review from Variety noted the season is “a baffling, graphic and endless retelling,” pointing out that the tone shifts dramatically and the narrative includes fabricated plot points, such as a fictional storyline where Gein helps the FBI capture Ted Bundy.
The season has also faced criticism for its depiction of violence and its handling of sensitive topics. The Guardian‘s review was highly critical, stating the series “returns to midwest murk and, especially in its early episodes, makes far less of an effort to do anything other than grimly titillate.” The review also questioned the show’s “moral” stance, suggesting it exploits its subject matter under the guise of cultural analysis.
Viewer Reactions to the Show’s Portrayal
While the series has found a large audience, it has sparked debate among viewers, particularly regarding its final episode. Some viewers have taken to social media to express that the series seemed to “romanticize” the serial killer or present him in an overly sympathetic light.
One viewer wrote, “Not only is it an apology for Gein, it ends by turning him into a saintly figure, benevolently presiding over the world of serial killers.” Another added, “Finished this Ed Gein series and…I feel like, towards the end, I was being gaslit into feeling empathy for this man.”
However, other viewers found the psychological exploration compelling. A different perspective offered, “The ending really made me think hard about mental illness too and I saw him in a different light in a strange way.”
The Monster Anthology’s Track Record
Monster: The Ed Gein Story is the third season in Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s anthology series for Netflix. The first season, 2022’s Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, became a global phenomenon and one of Netflix’s most-watched series ever. The second season, 2024’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, was also a major success. It debuted at number one worldwide and earned 11 Emmy nominations.
The performance of The Ed Gein Story indicates that the Monster franchise continues to be a major draw for Netflix subscribers. The series was kept from the top chart position by Wayward, a series starring Toni Collette about a mysterious school for troubled teens. The most-watched title overall on Netflix for the week was the film KPop Demon Hunters, which remained the number one film with 18.1 million views.
Also Read: The True Story Behind Evelyn Hartley in Netflix’s ‘Monster: The Ed Gein Story’
