Monster · Season 4 · Now streaming
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story
Updated
- Status
- Now on Netflix
- Released
- September 17, 2026
- Episodes
- 8 — all at once
- Rating
- TV-MA
- Created by
- Ryan Murphy & Ian Brennan
- Setting
- Fall River, Massachusetts · 1892
The setup (spoiler-free)
Fall River, Massachusetts, 1892. A wealthy businessman and his wife are found killed in the family's home on a summer morning, and his youngest daughter — Lizzie Borden — becomes the suspect at the center of one of the most famous trials in American history. The season dramatizes the household, the investigation, and the question the verdict never settled: did she do it?
That question is the point. Lizzie Borden was accused of the killings and acquitted at trial in June 1893 — history never delivered the certainty the rhyme did. The series takes a side. The true-story guide keeps the documented case separate from that choice.
Official trailer
Episode guide
All eight episodes dropped at once on September 17, 2026. Each guide recaps the hour and flags what the series invents. The finale has a separate ending explainer.
- E1
Bloodbath
A cruel Fall River household, a new maid, and the legend the rest of the season will argue with — before the axe becomes the plan.
September 17, 2026
- E2
Strong Kitty
Abby kills Lizzie's doves. The first murder plot fails. The axe on the table becomes the next idea.
September 17, 2026
- E3
Whack Job!
A relative returns to lean on Andrew. Maggie is punished. The series invents a first killing as rehearsal.
September 17, 2026
- E4
R.I.P. (Rest in Pestilence) Abby Borden
Abby looks for a way out of the marriage. The show answers the rhyme's first verse — and cuts to a century later.
September 17, 2026
- E5
41
Andrew drinks, buries, and remembers. The title is the rhyme's second number — not a court count.
September 17, 2026
- E6
Bed and Breakfast
The cleanup, the shaky statement, and the investigators who start looking at the daughter.
September 17, 2026
- E7
The Trial of the Century
A national spectacle, a performance in court, and the verdict the historical jury actually returned.
September 17, 2026
- E8
Carnival
After the acquittal: Maplecroft, Emma's exit, Maggie's return, and a Wuornos coda the 1893 record cannot support.
September 17, 2026
How this season differs
- The anthology's first season centered on a woman accused rather than a killer who was caught.
- The engine is a question — did she do it? — instead of the how-they-were-caught structure of earlier seasons.
- The series answers that question on screen. The 1893 jury did not.
- A later-era Aileen Wuornos thread sits beside the 1892 case. That connection is the show's, not the historical record's.
The cast at a glance
Ella Beatty leads as Lizzie Borden, with Vicky Krieps as the family's maid, Charlie Hunnam as Andrew Borden, Rebecca Hall as Abby, Billie Lourd as Emma, and Jessica Barden as Nance O'Neil. Sarah Paulson joins in a cross-era role as Aileen Wuornos. The cast guide maps every actor to the real person behind the role.
Ending explained
Spoilers. What Carnival decides after the verdict, and what the 1893 jury actually decided.
True story vs. the show
The documented 1892 timeline, the rhyme that isn't evidence, and what the series invents.
Cast vs. real people
Who plays whom — and who the historical figures actually were.
FAQ
Release date, episode count, rating, where to watch, and Season 5 status.
Why Aileen Wuornos is in it
Sarah Paulson's cross-century thread, scene by scene — and what the real 1989–1990 case says.
Monster Season 5
Not announced. What has been said, what hasn't, and how past seasons were confirmed.
Season 4 soundtrack
Netflix's published ten-song list, why it crosses eras, and one corrected track title.