Topics: Netflix, True Crime, Jeffrey Dahmer, TV and Film, TV
The creator of Netflix’s Jeffrey Dahmer series of Monster has hit out at the suggestion the series ‘humanises’ killers.
The series, which tells the story of society’s most famous killers, is making a typically controversial return to Netflix this week.
Starring Charlie Hunnam, the new third season stars the Geordie actor as Ed Gein, a double killer who became infamous for graverobbing to make furniture and clothes out of skin.
While Hunnam has spoken about how he visited Gein’s grave to decompress from the stressful role and there has been criticism of him being portrayed as ‘sexy’, this is not the most common part of the show to be critiqued.
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The first season, starring Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer, was by far the most successful and most controversial of the soon-to-be three seasons of Monster.
In English-speaking TV shows on Netflix, Dahmer: Monster is fourth all time, sitting above massive shows such as Queen’s Gambit, Bridgerton, and Fool Me Once.
Despite this though, the true crime series came under particular fire for being perceived to glamorise horrific killers and make money off tragedy.
Jeffrey Dahmer was by far the most deadly of the three sets of killers covered so far, with The Menendez Brothers and Ed Gein both killing two people each.
Dahmer carried out the murder of 17 young boys and men, many of whom were Black and gay, from the late 70s to 1991, as well as crimes involving cannibalism and necrophilia.
One of the victims was a 19-year-old named Errol Lindsey, whose sister Rita Isbell was portrayed in the series.
Isbell said she was not told about the series, even though it features an actor portraying her reading out a victim impact statement in court.
Ryan Murphy claimed he had reached out to 20 victims' families despite several claiming he had never contacted them.
Murphy’s Monster co-creator Ian Brennan, has also responded ahead of the release of the newest season, specifically addressing claims they ‘humanise’ and even glorify killers by giving them glitzy sympathetic Netflix season’s played by sexy Hollywood stars.
Brennan claimed there was ‘a distinction’, saying to Variety: “We’re, if not humanizing, Homo sapiens-izing.
“What’s interesting is showing that these are human beings without trying to humanize them or make them sympathetic.”
When talking about the success of the show, with the Dahmer season having been viewed for over a billion hours, he said: “The thing that always blows me away is that a billion people watch it.
“I was very squeamish about it at first. And then I was like, no, no, no — this is actually quite important work.”
In the interview with Variety, Ryan Murphy also provides some clarity on the potential future of the series.
In addition to ruling out Ted Bundy, Murphy admits that they have considered a season on Luigi Mangione before deciding it is too early to go ahead with.
Murphy said: “We have a ‘maybe one day’ file… We know nothing about [Mangione].”
Monster: The Ed Gein story releases on Netflix October 3.
