Ryan Murphy (American Horror Story, The Shards) and Ian Brennan’s (Glee, Monster) new season of Monster will be released this Thursday on Netflix. According to Hollywood Reporter, the history of the case and the lack of solid evidence make it such a compelling story to retell and add to the series.
The Netflix true-crime series has focused its attention to gruesome serial killers from different timespans, including Jeffrey Dahmer played by Evan Peters (American Horror Story, The Beauty), Lyle and Erik Menendez played by Cooper Koch (Swallowed) and Nicholas Alexander Chavez (Grotesquerie), and Ed Gein played by Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy).
The fourth season now focuses the story on the unsolved case of the infamous Lizzie Borden, played by Ella Beatty (Feud). Based on the nursery rhyme, the Borden case takes place in the Summer of 1892 at Fall River, Massachusetts. Socialite Lizzie Borden found her father, Andrew Borden, to be dead in the parlor of their home with. Then her stepmother, Abby Borden, was found in the guest room. Her mother received 40 whacks from an axe while her father received 41 whacks (similar to the nursery rhyme). Lizzie was put on trial under suspicions of being around the murder scene after attempting to buy specific poisonous acid. She was found not guilty as many supported her through her time of need, but public’s opinion changed over the years. The mysterious murder was never solved as details of the charges were unclear and physical evidence was not obtainable, keeping the case circumstantial. The verdict believed a woman is unable to commit such a crime at the time.
ABC made a film adaptation in 1975 called The Legend of Lizzie Borden, played by Elizabeth Montgomery. It was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe. The film’s version of the story has the character commit the act and clean herself from her parents’ blood. The dialogue is formed from the trial and all knowledge of what happened during that day.
In 2014, another adaptation on Lifetime was made called Lizzie Borden Took an Ax, that had Christina Ricci (The Addams Family, Casper) as the main role. Though it had less consistency to the events, it still had success in its feature and provided a series to the Borden sisters (Lizzie and her sister, Emma) after their parents’ death, The Lizzie Borden Chronicles.
In 2018, the feature film, Lizzie, covered everything from the crime and followed new theories in the murders with added characters and forbidden relationships.
The new series may not be an accurate adaptation of Lizzie Borden’s story, but it might still captivate the mystery of the crime.