‘Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story’ Trailer Reveals Ella Beatty, Sarah Paulson and a Blood-Soaked New Chapter
The Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story trailer has arrived, giving Netflix viewers their fullest look yet at Ella Beatty’s portrayal of the Massachusetts woman whose 1892 murder trial became one of America’s most enduring true-crime stories. Netflix released the new trailer Thursday, August 20, ahead of the eight-episode season’s September 17 premiere.
The fourth installment of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s anthology is the first Monster season centered on a woman. Netflix’s official series guide confirms Beatty as Lizzie Borden alongside Vicky Krieps, Charlie Hunnam, Rebecca Hall, Billie Lourd, Jessica Barden and Sarah Paulson.
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story trailer expands Netflix’s first look
Netflix had already introduced the season through earlier promotional material, but the latest trailer provides a broader sense of the series’ approach to the Borden story. The drama is not being presented as a documentary reconstruction. Instead, Netflix describes it as a dramatized exploration of repression, power, violence and the mythology that developed around Borden after the killings.
Borden was accused of killing her father, Andrew Borden, and stepmother, Abby Borden, in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1892. She was acquitted at trial the following year. The murders were never legally attributed to another person, leaving the case embedded in American popular culture long after the proceedings ended.
The new season places Beatty at the center of that mythology rather than approaching Borden only as a historical case file. Netflix’s official description frames the character through questions of confinement, revenge and the cultural transformation of an accused woman into an enduring symbol.
Ella Beatty leads a cast that includes Charlie Hunnam and Rebecca Hall
Beatty plays Lizzie opposite Charlie Hunnam as her father, Andrew, and Rebecca Hall as her stepmother, Abby. Billie Lourd portrays Lizzie’s older sister, Emma, while Vicky Krieps plays Bridget Sullivan, the family’s live-in maid.
Jessica Barden appears as actor Nance O’Neil, while Paulson has one of the season’s most unexpected roles as Aileen Wuornos.
Netflix’s companion feature on Paulson’s character explains that Wuornos appears in sequences set much later than the central Borden story. The anthology uses her presence to connect the season’s broader interest in how female violence is perceived, interpreted and mythologized across different eras.
That means viewers should not read Paulson’s casting as a suggestion that the historical Wuornos had any direct connection to Borden. The link is thematic and dramatized within the series.
The new season continues Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s Monster anthology
The Lizzie Borden Story follows installments focused on Jeffrey Dahmer, Erik and Lyle Menendez, and Ed Gein. Netflix says the new chapter is the anthology’s first centered on a female figure.
The creative team is again led by Murphy and Brennan. Netflix’s Media Center listing identifies both as creators and executive producers and confirms the principal cast.
BroadwayWorld’s August 20 coverage of the trailer lists the season at eight episodes and credits Max Winkler and Sarah Adina Smith as directors. Brennan is credited as writer.
The season’s treatment of its real historical subjects will likely receive particular scrutiny because Monster blends documented events with dramatized storytelling. Netflix’s own synopsis makes clear that the production is constructing a thematic narrative rather than claiming to resolve the still-famous questions surrounding the Borden case.
Sarah Paulson’s role broadens the season beyond 1892
Paulson’s appearance as Wuornos provides one of the strongest indications that the season will not remain confined to a conventional period retelling.
Netflix says the later sequences are designed to examine Borden’s cultural legacy and the way women associated with extreme violence have been interpreted across generations. Beatty has described the season’s thematic focus in terms of female rage and repression, while discussing the creative questions Murphy and Brennan wanted to explore.
That approach differentiates the season from a straightforward courtroom or procedural drama. It also creates a narrative structure in which the historical Borden and the mythology surrounding her can operate separately.
Netflix sets September 17 premiere
All eight episodes are scheduled to arrive on Netflix September 17. The full trailer gives the streamer nearly a month to build on an existing promotional campaign that has already introduced Beatty’s transformation, the principal supporting cast and the season’s interpretation of one of America’s most recognizable crime stories.
The Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story trailer also makes one editorial distinction particularly important: the series is a dramatization. Borden was accused and tried, but acquitted. Any fictionalized relationships, motives, conversations or interpretations presented by the show should therefore be understood as part of the production’s narrative rather than established historical findings.
With Beatty leading the anthology’s first female-centered installment and Paulson extending the story’s thematic reach beyond the 19th century, Netflix is positioning the September season as another reinvention of the Monster format rather than a simple continuation of what came before.
About the author
Annelise Sylta
Annelise Sylta is an accomplished digital marketing and public relations professional with an MBA from FIDM. Her academic background and industry experience have shaped her strategic approach to communications, branding, and audience engagement. She has also been invited to contribute to The Showbiz Journal, where she shares insights informed by her expertise and professional perspective.
