Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story) and Ian Brennan (Glee) have co-created the limited series Monster: The Jeffery Dahmer Story for Netflix, according to Deadline. Richard Jenkins (Step Brothers) will be co-starring, Carl Franklin (Mindhunter, The Leftovers) directing and Janet Mock (Hollywood, Pose) will be writing and directing for the show.
The limited series will primarily be told in the point of view of Dahmer’s victims. The story will feature the police incompetence and apathy that allowed Dahmer to continue his killing spree for years. It will also touch on the many times that Dahmer was almost caught and let go. Dahmer’s white privilege will also be a main component of the series. Since he was a clean-cut, attractive white guy, he was continuously given more lenient treatment from judges and law enforcement. Instead of focusing in the gory details, the series will dive deep into the psychological aspects of the story. The 10-episodes will span the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s, and early 90s. The series will end with Dahmer’s arrest.
Jenkins will play Dahmer’s father, Lionel. Lionel was a chemist and taught his son at a young age how to preserve animal bones safely with bleach. This was a technique that Dahmer later modified and used on his victims.
Production is expected to start in January 2021. Murphy and his team of producers are doing a nationwide search for the actor who will play Dahmer. They are also in the process of casting the actress to play Dahmer’s neighbor, Glenda Cleveland. Cleveland repeatedly tried to warn the police about Dahmer’s strange behavior.
Dahmer was known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or the Milwaukee Monster. From 1978-1991, he murdered and dismembered seventeen men and young boys. The majority of the killings involved necrophilia, cannibalism, and preserving parts of the body. Dahmer was convicted of sixteen murders and was beaten to death by an inmate in 1994. He died at age 34 and was two years into his sentence.