What is Monster season 2 all about? Release date, plot, and everything we know about the Netflix release

Monster season 2, the second installment of the highly anticipated Monsters anthology series, is based on a 1989 parricide case. Titled Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the upcoming season will follow the story of brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez, who were charged with killing their parents in the late 80s.

At the time of the crime, Lyle was 21 and Erik was 18. They were convicted of first-degree murder and subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The dramatized version of this high-profile case will be released on September 19, 2024, on Netflix. Monster season 2 is directed and created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan.

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What is the plot of Monster season 2?

Monster season 2 revolves around the Menendez brothers, who are convicted of killing their parents, José and Kitty Menendez. The couple was murdered with a shotgun on August 20, 1989, in their Beverly Hills home. Their bodies were found by their two sons, Lyle and Erick.

Initially, it was concluded that the couple was killed because of José's business dealings. However, as the investigation progressed, the brothers were charged with murdering their parents.

Lyle and Erick argued that they were s*xually abused by their parents. They strongly believed their parents were going to kill them on the night of the crime to keep them from speaking out. The brothers then shot their parents in self-defense. Today, there are two differing opinions on the case. One faction believes that the brothers acted in self-defense and in response to sustained trauma. Another side sees them as shrewd criminals.

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New evidence in the Menendez case

In 2023, two important developments emerged in the favor of the Menendez brothers. Cliff Gardner, one of the brothers' appellate attorneys, told CBS News, that he found a letter that Erik wrote to his cousin Andy Cano in December 1988, which was eight months before the killings.

In the letter, Erik mentions being afraid of his father. He reportedly wrote,

"It's still happening Andy but it's worse for me now…Every night I stay up thinking he might come in."

This letter was reportedly discovered by Marta Cano, who is Andy’s mother and Jose Menendez’s younger sister.

On April 18, 2023, Roy Rosselló, a Puerto Rican singer and member of Latino boyband Menudo, appeared on the Today Show. He said that José Menendez allegedly r*ped him when he was 14. At the time, Menendez was an executive at RCA Records, which was Menudo's recording company.

Gardner told CBS News that if the severity of the abuse allegations is proved, then the brother's first-degree murder charge might be reduced to manslaughter, resulting in a much shorter prison term. Gardner filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in Los Angeles Superior Court last year, requesting that the brothers' convictions should be revoked.

It will be interesting to see how many new updates the showmakers add in Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.

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Cast and characters of Monster season 2

Here is a list of the final cast of the upcoming series Monster season 2.

• Javier Bardem as José Menendez
• Chloë Sevigny as Kitty Menendez
• Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Lyle Menendez
• Cooper Koch 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 Harner as Les Zoeller
• Enrique Murciano as Carlos Baralt
• Michael Gladis as Tim Rutten
• Drew Powell as Detective Tom Linehan
• Charlie Hall as Craig Cignarelli.
• Gil Ozeri as Dr. William Vicary
• Jeff Perry as Peter Hoffman
• Tessa Auberjonois as Dr. Laurel Oziel
• Tanner Stine as Perry Berman
• Larry Clarke as Brian Andersen
• Jade Pettyjohn as Jamie Pisarcik
• Marlene Forte as Marta Cano

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Before watching Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, one can also rewatch Monster season 1: Dahmer on Netflix.