Netflix's Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story secured 12.1 million views during its opening week. The true-crime anthology series currently leads the streamer's Top 10 chart.
The 12.1 million views that defy the Netflix slump
The debut of Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is a statistical anomaly for the streaming giant. According to Tudum, the series amassed 12.1 million views and 80.1 million hours of watch time between September 14 and September 20. This performance is particularly striking because Netflix often sees a significant decline in viewership for returning seasons of its shows.
For comparison, the report notes that Sweet Magnolias season 5 experienced a 30% drop in premiere-week viewership when compared to the premiere of season 3. In contrast, the Lizzie Borden installment nearly matched the 12.2 million viewers who tuned in for the previous season, Monster: The Ed Gein Story, suggesting the anthology format is uniquely resilient to audience fatigue.
Ella Beatty and the 1892 Fall River axe murders
The current season stars Ella Beatty as Lizzie Borden, the woman famously tried and acquitted for the 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts.. The production features a high-profile ensemble including Vicky Krieps , Charlie Hunnam, and Rebecca Hall,with recurring roles played by Sarah Paulson and Billie Lourd.
In a stylistic choice that bridges different eras of crime, the show features Sarah Paulson as Aileen Wuornos, a serial killer convicted of six murders between 1989 and 1990. This thematic link allows the series to explore the nature of female violence across nearly a century, though it remains to be seen if this narrative device resonated with the broader audience or contributed to the show's polarized reception.
A 42% Rotten Tomatoes score amidst chart-topping success
While the numbers are high, the critical response to Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story has been tepid. The series currently holds a 42% rating on the Rotten Tomatoes critic-driven Tomatometer. Even more telling is the user-driven Popcornmeter, which sits at a lower 37%, indicating that the general viewing public may be less impressed than the data suggests.
This disconnect between viewership and approval is a recurring theme for the Monster franchise.. The high volume of views suggests that the notoriety of the subjects—in this case, the Borden family tragedy—is a more powerful draw than the actual quality of the writing or direction.
From Jeffrey Dahmer to the Menendez brothers' 19.5 million views
The success of the Lizzie Borden chapter is part of a larger trend of true-crime obsession that Netflix has capitalized on since September 2022. The anthology began with Jeffrey Dahmer and moved through the lives of Lyle and Erik Menendez. As reported by Deadline, the Menendez season earned 12.3 million views in its first four days and reached 19.5 million views by the following week.
The consistent performance across these seasons suggests that the Monster brand has created a reliable pipeline of viewers.. However, a gap in the data remains: Netflix did not release the exact first-week viewership for the first season, leaving a void in the complete historical record of the series' growth.
Will Dennis Rader or Luigi Mangione lead season 5?
Despite the mixed reviews, the commercial viability of the series makes a fifth season likely. Showrunner Ian Brennan has revealed in a recent interview that several figures are being considered as potential subjects. These include Dennis Rader (the BTK killer), Ted Bundy, Gary Ridgway (the Green River Killer), and Luigi Mangione.
The final decision rests with Ian Brennan and creator Ryan Murphy, who both maintain that the subject must be somoene they find "worth the effort and worth the time." While the potential list is extensive, the production team has yet to officially confrim which of these figures will anchor the next installment of the series.
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