Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story Brings Back Sarah Paulson, Adds Charlie Hunnam — and It Looks Unhinged

Nearly every kid in America knows the nursery rhyme: Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother forty whacks. Now Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan are turning that blood-soaked children's chant into the most anticipated Netflix premiere of the month. "Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story" — the fourth season of the pair's runaway anthology series behind Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and Monster: The Ed Gein Story — officially hits the streamer on September 17, 2026. And based on the trailer, it's gloriously, violently unhinged.

A Cast That Goes Straight for the Jugular

This season trades serial killers for one of American history's most famous unsolved murder cases. On August 4, 1892, Lizzie's father Andrew Borden and stepmother Abby Borden were found bludgeoned to death by an axe in their Massachusetts home. Lizzie was tried, scrutinized for her wildly contradictory testimony, and ultimately acquitted — no one else was ever charged. It's a perfect canvas for Murphy's maximalist storytelling, and he's loaded it with an Emmy-magnet cast.

Fresh-faced Ella Beatty (daughter of Warren Beatty and Annette Bening) takes the title role of Lizzie, playing the "repressed daughter of a wealthy New England family" who, alongside her rebellious maid, "escapes into a fantasy of sex, power and revenge." Joining her are Vicky Krieps, Charlie Hunnam, and Rebecca Hall — plus returning franchise favorites Sarah Paulson and Billie Lourd, both of whom know their way around Murphy's universe. Joey Pollari and Jessica Barden round out the eight-episode run.

More Than Just an Axe

Don't let the gore fool you — the trailer leans hard into sensuality and psychological tension, framing Lizzie's story less as a whodunit and more as a twisted liberation saga. "The gruesome unsolved murders that follow don't just shock the world — they give birth to an icon who refuses to live imprisoned in a cage," the press release teases. Ian Brennan writes and exec-produces alongside Murphy, with Max Winkler directing the bulk of the episodes and Sarah Adina Smith handling the rest.

A Stacked September for Streamers

Lizzie isn't the only big name dropping this month. Netflix is also rolling out The Gentlemen Season 2 with Theo James, the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run arc, and the Jacob Tremblay-led UNABOMBER on September 25. Over on HBO Max, Jay-Z's new documentary In 8 premieres September 18, and Law & Order: Season 25 keeps the Dick Wolf machine humming later in the month. But for pure, chaotic, must-watch energy, Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is the one to clear your calendar for.

Mark September 17. Ryan Murphy is about to make Borden a household name all over again.