Monsters bonus episodes: Latest about Ryan Murphy’s Menendez Brothers Netflix series and why Cooper Koch won’t play Erik
RYAN Murphy’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story proved a big hit on Netflix, with millions of people watching it around the world.
Following the series’ global success, the filmmaker has teased bonus episodes of the show which follows two brothers who shot and killed their parents after years of abuse.
Monsters:The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story was released on Netflix on September 19, 2024.
The Ryan Murphy series follows the Menendez brothers from the days leading up to the murder of their parents Jose and Kitty, to the moment they’re transported to separate prisons after being sentenced to life without parole.
However, it doesn’t cover their time in separate prisons, the appeals they’ve submitted over the years, or their reunion.
The series attracted so much attention that supporters of the Menendez brothers launched a new campaign to get them freed.
On October 24, 2024, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon announced that he would ask a judge to consider resentencing Lyle and Erik.
The DA’s recommendation could see the two men released from prison by the end of 2024.
Possible bonus episodes of Monsters
Filmmaker Ryan said that he and Monsters co-creator Ian Brennan were both shocked that the show received so much attention.
Speaking to Variety, he said: “Ian and I are in absolute amazement and shock that this has happened, to be quite honest.
“When we were writing the Menendez Story – we’ve been working on this for two years – nobody was talking about the Menendez brothers.
“We never thought anybody ever would again.”
Ryan then said that following the show’s success, and if the Menendez brothers are released, he would consider filming bonus episodes.
It wouldn’t be a full series, just two extra episodes that would show Lyle and Erik’s time in jail, their appeals,and their freedom.
Ryan said: “It’s been discussed, I’ll tell you that much. Everyone has been interested in that.
“I think everyone wants to see how this story ends because this story is not over.”
Leading actor won’t return to Monsters
Monsters stars Cooper Koch as Erik, Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Lyle, Javier Bardem as José, Chloë Sevigny as Kitty Menendez.
However, one of these leading cast members has said they won’t be part of the bonus episodes, which would mean Ryan would need to recast.
Cooper, who played the younger Menendez brother, has revealed he is “ready to let the show go”.
Also speaking to Variety, the actor said:: “I think we told the story. We did it.”
“I think I’m ready to go on to the next thing.
“I’ve loved talking about it and I’ve loved advocating for them and I’m really excited for them to get out hopefully, but in terms of being Erik again, I think I’m ready to let that go.”
Since the release of Monsters, the star has been praised for his portrayal of Erik.
He even visited Lyle and Erik in prison, and he has been supportive of the brothers to be resentenced.
Timeline of the Menendez brothers case
Erik and Lyle Menendez have been serving a life imprisonment sentence without the possibility of parole since July 1996.
The brothers were being convicted of shooting their parents to death in their Beverly Hills home in August 1989.
Timeline:
August 20, 1989 – José and Kitty Menendez are found dead from multiple shotgun wounds.
March 8, 1990 – Lyle is arrested outside his parents’ Beverly Hills mansion.
March 11, 1990 – Erik turns himself into police after flying back into Los Angeles from Israel.
July 20, 1993 – The highly publicized trial of Lyle and Erik begins and ends weeks later in a mistrial.
October 11, 1995 – Lyle and Erik’s second trial begins.
March 20, 1996 – The Menendez brothers are convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
July 2, 1996 – Lyle and Erik are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and sent to separate prisons.
February 2018 – Lyle is transferred to the San Diego prison, where Erik is held.
April 4, 2018 – Lyle was moved into the same housing unit as Erik – the first time the brothers were reunited in over 20 years.
May 2023 – The attorney representing Lyle and Erik files a habeas petition after Roy Rosselló, a member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, made sexual abuse allegations against Jose Menendez.
September 19, 2024 – Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story releases on Netflix.
October 3, 2024: Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said his office was reviewing new evidence in connection with Lyle and Erik’s convictions.
October 7, 2024 – The Menendez Brothers documentary film comes out on Netflix.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.