Monsters season 2: Who are Lyle and Erik Menendez? Subjects explored

Monsters season 2, the second iteration of the Monster anthology series on Netflix, will premiere on September 19, 2024. The first season deals with Jeffrey Dahmer’s heinous murders between 1978 and 1991.

The second season, titled Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, will be about two brothers, Lyle and Erik Menendez. The Menendez family consisted of Jose and Kitty Menendez, and their two sons, Lyle and Erik. On August 20, 1989, the brothers killed their parents.

Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18 when they committed the crime. As per Tudum's August 20, 2024 report, the synopsis of Monsters season 2 reads:

“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story follows Lyle and Erik Menendez, two brothers who fatally shot their parents in their Beverly Hills home in 1989. During their trials, the brothers cited years of abuse as the reason for murdering their parents.”

As per a report published by The Hollywood Reporter on August 20, 2024, following the emphatic success of Dahmer, Netflix ordered two more installments of the true crime anthology series. Monsters season 2, the first of the two installments, deals with the Menendez brothers, who were convicted in 1996 for the murder of their parents.

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Monsters season 2: Real-life stories of Lyle and Erik Menendez explored

The Netflix show will chronicle the Menendez brothers’ case. On August 20, 1989, Jose and Kitty Menendez, their parents, were found murdered in their mansion, shot several times with a shotgun. The 21-year-old Lyle Menendez called 911 and informed the police, "Someone killed my parents."

Lyle and Erik Menendez claimed that they were out of the house when the murder happened. A police investigation started right away, and initially, it was thought that the couple may have been killed as a result of Jose’s business dealings. However, as the Monsters season 2 teaser shows, the brothers were far from innocent.

Suspicion fell on Lyle and Erik Menendez months after the murder had taken place. Judalon Smyth, the partner of a psychologist Lyle and Erik Menendez had been talking to, informed the police that the brothers had, in therapy, confessed to the murder of their parents.

Smyth had an audiotaped recording of the admission. Based on this, on March 8, 1990, Lyle Menendez was arrested by the Beverly Hills Police. Erik surrendered soon after.

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The trial of Lyle and Erik Menendez began on July 20, 1993

Monsters season 2 will delve deep into the highly publicized and intriguing trial of the Menedez brothers. Several truths emerged during the trial that complicated a third person’s perception of the case.

For instance, both brothers claimed that they were s*xually abused by their parents. Lyle claimed, that the alleged abuse started when he was just six years old. Additionally, Erik claimed that even though Lyle was exempted from the abuse when he was 8, it went on till the age of 18 in Erik’s case.

The prosecutors, however, alleged that the Menendez brothers had killed their parents for money. The trial went on for years till in 1996, the brothers were deemed guilty of first-degree murder. They were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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Monsters season 2: Cast and crew

Like season 1, Monsters season 2 will be run by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan. Along with the two, Alexis Martin Woodall, David McMillan, Louise Shore, and Carl Franklin will serve as executive producers.

The cast of season 2 includes:

• Javier Bardem as Jose Menendezand
• Chloë Sevigny as Kitty Menendez
• Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Lyle Menendez
• Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez
• Nathan Lane as Dominick Dunne
• Ari Graynor as Leslie Abramson
• Leslie Grossman as Judalon Smyth
• Dallas Roberts as Dr. Jerome Oziel
• Jason Butler as Les Zoeller
• Michael Gladis as Tim Rutten
• Drew Powell as Tom Linehan
• Charlie Hall as Craig Cignarelli

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Monsters season 2 will premiere on Netflix on September 19, 2024. In the meantime, stream Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story on the platform.