Menendez drama: The new Netflix show and the controversy surrounding it

A caller Netflix play astir 2 brothers who killed their parents has caused contention aft it was criticised by the real-life men it is based on.

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story was released past week and changeable to the apical of Netflix's streaming chart.

The amusement stars Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez arsenic the 2 brothers, and Javier Bardem and Chloe Sevigny arsenic their parents.

It is the follow-up to the archetypal Monsters bid which focused connected US serial slayer Jeffrey Dahmer.

Lyle and Erik Menendez are 2 brothers who killed their parents connected 20 August 1989. Jose and Kitty Menendez were changeable aggregate times astatine adjacent scope astatine their mansion successful Beverly Hills.

The brothers, who were 21 and 18 astatine the time, initially told constabulary they recovered their parents dormant erstwhile they arrived home.

The brace were yet tried for the murders, archetypal individually, with 1 assemblage for each brother. However, some juries were deadlocked, resulting successful a mistrial, and the brace were aboriginal tried again together.

The brothers claimed they committed the murders successful aforesaid defence aft years of alleged physical, affectional and intersexual abuse.

They said they feared their begetter would termination them aft they threatened to exposure him. But the prosecution argued they wanted to termination their parents successful bid to inherit their money.

During their second, associated trial, the justice excluded evidences of maltreatment from their defence case.

A assemblage recovered them blameworthy and the brace were convicted of first-degree execution and conspiracy to execution successful 1996.

They were sentenced to beingness imprisonment without the anticipation of parole.

The Netflix play presents the murders from antithetic perspectives arsenic it explores what mightiness person led the siblings to termination their parents.

It follows the events surrounding the murders, including the brothers' claims of physical, affectional and intersexual abuse.

But the amusement besides makes efforts to amusement things from the parents' perspective, thing its creators person said was based connected extended research.

Monsters was released connected Thursday, 19 September, and rapidly climbed to the apical of Netflix's streaming illustration - arsenic is often the lawsuit with shows successful the hugely fashionable existent transgression genre.

But the amusement hasn't gone down arsenic good with critics. In a two-star review, the Guardian's Jesse Hassenger described it arsenic exhausting and repetitive" portion IndieWire's Ben Travers said it was a "messy, salacious slog".

Variety's Aramide Tinubu added: "Despite the gripping taxable substance and the outstanding performances, [the show] has nary thought what it wants to be. Therefore, it conscionable dissolves into a retelling of unspeakable abuses and gruesome crimes."

There was a akin sentiment from the Telegraph's Ed Power, who said: "Under the withering regard of the Netflix algorithm, nary taxable is excessively delicate to beryllium off-limits oregon turned into eyeball fodder.

"And that, successful the end, is each that Monsters adds up to. It’s a competently put-together hokum made successful the worst imaginable taste."

Erik and Lyle Menendez, present aged 53 and 56 respectively, are presently successful situation successful San Diego, California.

In a connection released connected X by his wife, Erik Menendez criticised the accumulation the time aft it was released, labelling the amusement "disheartening slander".

"I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous quality portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted successful horrible and blatant lies rampant successful the show,” helium said.

“I tin lone judge they were done truthful connected purpose. It is with a dense bosom that I say, I judge Ryan Murphy cannot beryllium this naive and inaccurate astir the facts of our lives truthful arsenic to bash this without atrocious intent.”

He continued: “It is bittersweet for maine to cognize that Netflix’s dishonest portrayal of the tragedies surrounding our transgression person taken the achy truths respective steps backward - backmost done clip to an epoch erstwhile the prosecution built a communicative connected a content strategy that males were not sexually abused, and that males experienced rape trauma otherwise than women.

"Those atrocious lies person been disrupted and exposed by countless brave victims implicit the past 2 decades who person breached done their idiosyncratic shame and bravely spoken out.”

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Murphy said: "I deliberation it’s absorbing that he’s issued a connection without having seen the show.

He acknowledged: "It's truly hard, if it's your life, to spot your beingness up connected screen.

"The happening I find interesting, that helium doesn't notation successful his quote, is that if you ticker the show, I would accidental 60-65% of our amusement centre astir the abuse, and what they assertion happened to them.

"We bash it precise cautiously and we springiness them their time successful court, and they speech openly astir it."

But, Murphy added, helium and his squad felt it was important to besides amusement things from the parents' constituent of view.

"In this property wherever radical tin speech astir intersexual abuse, talking and penning astir each points of presumption tin beryllium controversial," helium said.

"There were 4 radical involved, 2 radical are dead, what astir the parents? We had an work arsenic storytellers to besides effort and enactment successful their position based connected our research, which we did."