Ryan Murphy has a killer new Netflix show.
The streaming giant has green-lit Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, a limited series about the life of the queer serial killer.
Monster will be co-created by Ian Brennan, Murphy's longtime collaborator on shows including Glee, Scream Queens, and The Politician.Pose's Janet Mock has also signed on for writing and directing. Mock will serve as an executive producer with Murphy, Brennan, and Carl Franklin (Mindhunter), who will direct the pilot.
Production will begin January, reports Deadline. Oscar nominee Richard Jenkins (The Shape of Water) is set to play Dahmer's father, Lionel, a chemist who shows his child how to preserve animal bones — a chilling preparation for what's to come.
Known as the Milwaukee Cannibal, Dahmer killed 17 men and boys in his lifetime. Many of the bodies were dismembered, cannibalized, preserved, and subjected to acts of necrophilia. He eventually received life imprisonment for his crimes and was beaten to death by a fellow inmate in 1994 at age 34.
Deadline reports that the series will likely focus on white privilege — Dahmer was almost apprehended multiple times but avoided arrest due to his clean-cut image and race. It will also be told from the POV of his victims.
Monster also calls to mind another Murphy production, FX's The Assassination of Gianni Versace, which followed spree killer Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss). Unlike this star vehicle, though, Monster is undertaking a national search for its murderous lead.
This marks the latest iteration of Netflix's deal with Murphy, who also helmed The Boys in the Band, The Politician, Hollywood, and Ratched. Mock, who also has a deal with the platform, was an executive producer of Hollywood as well.
