Ryan Murphy called Joey Pollari from a gazebo in Minnesota, and the phone call changed everything. “I got a call, from Ryan who said, ‘I have a project for you. I wrote this role,'” Pollari recalled at the show’s red carpet premiere in New York on Wednesday night. “Then he went into it: ‘This character, John Morse, is obsessed with his knives. He was a really uncanny figure.'”
That’s the premise of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, the newest season of Netflix’s anthology series. Pollari plays Lizzie Borden’s knife-wielding uncle, a character the show treats as an overlooked murder suspect. But the uncle is only the beginning of what’s unsettling in this tale. The whole story revolves around a Massachusetts woman tried and acquitted for the gruesome axe murders of her father and stepmother in 1892, at the age of 32.
The show’s creators, executive producer Ryan Murphy and showrunner Ian Brennan, took real creative liberties with the case. There isn’t much confirmed information surrounding the murders, so they built their own version. That approach sets this season apart from its predecessors.
Lourde on the Difficulty of Researching the Case
Billie Lourde, who plays Lizzie’s sister Emma, spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the challenge of bringing the Borden story to life. “There’s a lot of information, but there’s not a lot of information,” she said. “Researching this character was really difficult because there wasn’t all this media that we have now in the 1800s. It’s not like today, when we have TikTok and documentaries and books.”
The lack of verified details gave the team room to improvise. “So what was so fun about that is we got to create our own version,” Lourde continued. “We’ve been talking about it being more like a painting than a documentary. It’s an interesting way of doing this because most of the other seasons have been by the book, down-to-the-word true.”
Lourde’s description of the character captures the core of the show’s approach. “A person who has never felt seen, a person who has never felt loved, who is really eager to experience the world,” she said.
Brennan on Why the Show Treats Borden as a Lesbian
One major creative liberty involves sexuality. The show leans on a theory that Lizzie Borden, who was never married, was a lesbian. Brennan addressed why the team decided to explore that idea, even if it’s unproven.
“In the context of the really repressive northeastern WASP-y Victorian mores, it’s an interesting thing to play with dramatically,” Brennan said. “So even if we didn’t think it was true, I’d still do it. But I actually happen to think that was true.”
The show’s approach to killers is familiar territory in the Monster universe. But this season focuses on a woman who was never found guilty of any crime. That acquittal is central to the story.
“It’s interesting that she’s ultimately acquitted, and was something that I didn’t know. I just assumed she had been found guilty. So when I actually approached the story, the reasons why were such a great thread to pull on,” Brennan said.
Krieps on Breaking the Pattern of Male Killers
Star Vicky Krieps, who plays the Borden family’s maid Bridget, offered a broader reflection on why the show tells a woman’s story. “The question of, why would you do a story about different serial killers? and, why would you do it about a man or a woman? is about exploring what is in between — the black and white, right and wrong, good and evil,” she said.
“The truth is usually in the middle, and I think the same goes with sexuality,” Krieps added. “We have a very simple way of seeing stories, and I think in this case, it is really breaking that pattern. Why not a woman? Why wouldn’t a woman also be killer? Why wouldn’t women be able to have that complexity? Paradox is very important for the human experience. We need the paradox because we carry paradox.”
Krieps also noted that Lizzie is one of the women theorized to have had a relationship with Bridget, as portrayed in the series.
The Acquittal as the Central Thread
The tension around women’s potential runs through the entire series. The show’s chosen course is to explore why Lizzie might have committed the murders, not whether she did. That framing comes directly from the cast.
“It’s not about if Lizzie did or didn’t do it. It’s about if she did it, why?” Ella Beatty, who plays Lizzie, told THR.
Brennan also pointed to the social context of the time. “No one could believe that a woman could do something like this. Women didn’t even have the right to vote. How could they kill someone?” he noted.
The court case, with a jury of all men, becomes a lens on how 1800s society viewed women. “To see this in the court case and how that all shook out with a jury that was all men,” Lourde said.
Winkler on the Symbol of What She Represents
The show’s director and executive producer, Max Winkler, described the series’ overall vision. “When Ryan and Ian pitched me what their overarching vision was from episode one to episode eight, we knew the story we wanted to tell, which is not just about Lizzie, but the symbol of what she represents,” he said.
“Everything we told was through that lens of making sure we could land the final episode, and, according to our research, do the best version of our story of Lizzie,” Winkler added.
Hunnam on Violence Across Seasons
Charlie Hunnam, who played last season’s serial killer Ed Gein, sees a continuity in the show’s themes. “It’s about exploring the human condition and what drives people to do extraordinary things. We all feel the same things,” he explained.
“There are some really important and relevant gender issues that are explored in the show in terms of the oppression of women during this period of time, which we still have not fully escaped 100 years later,” Hunnam added. “But in terms of the capacity for violence or the capacity for rage, they share that because we’re all made in the same place.”
The Key Facts From the Story
- Show: Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, Netflix anthology series
- Characters: Lizzie Borden (Ella Beatty), Emma Borden (Billie Lourde), Bridget (Vicky Krieps), John Morse (Joey Pollari)
- Murders: 1892, Lizzie tried and acquitted for the axe murders of her father and stepmother
- Setting: Massachusetts, late 19th century
The show’s creators are taking a risk by telling a story about a woman who was never convicted. That’s a bold choice for a series that typically focuses on male killers. It’s also a chance to explore female rage in a way that feels fresh.
The show’s willingness to admit it’s inventing details is refreshing. Most true-crime adaptations pretend to be documentaries. This one doesn’t. It’s a painting, not a photograph.
The result is a portrait of a woman who was never seen, never loved, and desperate to experience the world. The show asks why she might have done it, and it offers answers that aren’t always comfortable. That’s the kind of storytelling that makes Monster worth watching.
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