"You Can't Play Power—You Have to Be Power": Ari Graynor on the Monsters Role of a Lifetime


Since its premiere on Netflix last month, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has created a cultural frenzy. The biographical crime drama centering on the 1989 murders of José and Kitty Menendez at the hands of their sons is currently the streamer’s most-watched series for two weeks running, turning a new spotlight on the case that captivated so many Americans 35 years ago. The show has TikTok For You pages running rampant with original trial footage and interviews, and viewers are now fawning over its breakout stars—Cooper Koch, who plays Erik Menendez, is the internet’s new “babygirl.” Now, Los Angeles prosecutors are reviewing new evidence in the case to determine whether or not the brothers should be serving life sentences.

The Ryan Murphy effect is a powerful thing.