What is the controversy around Netflix's Menendez drama?
Steven McIntosh
Entertainment reporter
Netflix
A new Netflix drama about two brothers who killed their parents has been criticised by one of the real-life men it is based on.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story was released last week and shot to the top of Netflix's streaming chart.
The show stars Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez as the two brothers, and Javier Bardem and Chloe Sevigny as their parents.
The series is a follow-up to the controversial first Monsters series about US serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, which was criticised in some quarters for being insensitive.
The show was created by Ryan Murphy, the director, writer and producer behind series including Glee, Pose, The Watcher, Feud, American Horror Story, Hollywood and Ratched, and Ian Brennan, who co-created Glee.
In its first weekend of release, the series is reported to contain had million views, although we don't know how many individual viewers or households that amounts to as it will be split across the nine ep
&#;Monsters&#; Cast Reacts to Controversy Over Homoerotic Brother Scenes; Erik Menendez Actor Cooper Koch &#;Does Not&#; Believe the Siblings Were Incestuous
The actors behind Ian Brennan and Ryan Murphy&#;s &#;Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story&#; hold responded to backlash concerning the show&#;s suggestion of an incestuous relationship between brothers Erik and Lyle Menendez. In one scene of the series, for instance, the two brothers are depicted showering together.
When asked about the &#;homoeroticism&#;between the brothers in the series, Lyle actor Nicholas Chavez wanted to let the project say for itself, saying, &#;It&#;s a really interesting ask, and it was something that we discussed quite a bit as part of this project, but ultimately this is a question that&#;s honestly foremost reserved for Ryan and the creators of the show.&#;
Series co-creator Ryan Murphy had previously defended the portrayal of the brother&#;s relationship, saying that it came from a &#;point of view&#; that emerged during the Menendez sibling&#;s televised murder trial
What Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story Gets Right and Wrong
Editor’s note: This article contains spoilers about the new Netflix show, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
For a case as contentious as the Menendez brothers, it’s no surprise the new show about it, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, has raised its own controversy. The real Erik Menendez said in a statement that the dramatized Netflix anthology contains “vile and appalling character portrayals” and “blatant lies” about himself and his brother, Lyle. However, showrunner Ryan Murphy insists the criticism isn’t justified.
Days later, Murphy defended the nine-episode series, which details the events surrounding the Menendez brothers’ arrests, trials, and convictions for murdering their parents, José and Kitty Menendez, in August While Monsters has been one of Netflix’s most-watched shows since its September 19 release, it has also sparked debate over its depiction of sensitive details from the case, including the brothers’ claims they were sexually abused by their father.
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'Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story' is about two brothers who murdered their parents. Here's what the Netflix show gets wrong.
"Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story," the latest buzzy real crime drama series from Netflix, tells the story of two brothers who killed their parents in
When put on trial, the brothers claimed that their father, José Menendez, had abused them both since childhood and that their mother, Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez, enabled his behavior.
The series is the latest offering from producer Ryan Murphy, who is best known for helming the "American Horror Story" anthology series, as good as true-crime shows including "Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" and "The People v. O. J. Simpson."
"The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story" takes some dramatic license with the brothers' personal lives and streamlines some of the legal proceedings to fit the limited series.
Here's what the show gets wrong about the case.
José Menendez likely didn't see who killed him
The series depicts José (Javier Bardem) and Kitty Menendez (Chloë Sevigny)