Netflix has grabbed viewers’ attention with their new recent releases of Outer Banks Season 4 and Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. Monsters is a continuation of the collection “Monster” with the first part portraying the Jeffrey Dahmer story. This series, created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, depicts the real-life Menendez case in nine episodes.
In 1989, the Menendez Brothers, Lyle (Nicholas Alexander Chavez), and Erik (Cooper Koch) murdered their parents “Kitty” (Chloë Sevigny) and Jose Menendez (Javier Bardem) in their Beverly Hills mansion. The series shows the night of the murder the events leading up to it and the events after. The brothers went through trials to determine whether this was premeditated murder for their parents’ wealth or an act done out of fear because of the abuse they were going through.
The show received an 80% Rotten Tomatoes rating, but Kristen Lee ‘27 says, “Before the show, many people didn’t know who [The Menendez brothers] were and blamed the murder on them […] they did kill their parents but now we know why”. The series has brought a lot of attention to the case with more sympathy towards the brothers. Viewers still have controversial opinions after watching the show, but it puts people in the brothers shoes of the abuse the teenagers had to endure throughout their childhood
. Due to the case sparking more popularity, the case has been reopened to make the possibility of parole for the Menendez brothers since the release. The Brothers were originally sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and now that has changed since their sentencing a few years prior. Monsters is available for streaming on Netflix and is an interesting watch for true-crime fans.
Senior Cora Hanratty recently watched the show Monsters, and states that “the Menendez brothers do not deserve life in prison, due to the abuse they had to endure from their parents all of their life”. Many believe this after watching the show, but some who study the actual case think otherwise.
Now washing up on shore is the new Outer Banks Season 4, released on October 10th; the second part will be released on November 7th.
This season shows the crew of “pogues” returning to the Outer Banks after finding the gold in El Dorado in the previous season. The crew consists of John B, Sarah Cameron, Pope, JJ, Kiara, and Cleo played by (in order) Chase Stokes, Madelyn Cline, Jonathan Davis, Rudy Pankow, Madison Bailey, and Carlacia Grant.
As the pogues try to return to normal, they buy and renovate a home called “Poguelandia 2.0”. Life doesn’t become so normal when Wes Genrette offers the pogues a large sum of money to help him get rid of a family curse. Outer Banks has a 79% Rotten Tomatoes rating and has many differing fan opinions.
The first half of season 4 itself has brought in 15.5 million views, with fans eager to watch the second half. They brought in a fresh new show and a new season of an already well-loved show.
The two shows are receiving a lot of attention and deservedly so. Netflix has gained a lot of traction with the new shows because it attracts many types of audiences.
