This new series will follow the story of Lizzie Borden – the woman accused of murdering her father and stepmother
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE BY NETFLIX
“Women-driven, feminist, lesbian, dirty, unapologetic.” That’s how Ryan Murphy is describing his latest instalment in the true crime Monster anthology series. We’re sold.
While Murphy’s previous Monster series have focused on infamous male serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer or Ed Gein, this new series is all about women who kill – specifically Lizzie Borden. This 19th century woman was tried and acquitted for the axe murders of her father and stepmother in Massachusetts. The crime was never solved.
Since the 1890s, the Lizzie Borden story has captured the frenzied imaginations of producers and writers alike. In 2018, Chloë Sevigny and Kristen Stewart starred in a sapphic reimagining of the case, picturing Lizzie falling in love with her maid. While there’s no actual proof that Lizzie was a lesbian in real life, the association between her story and queerness seems to be firmly locked in the public consciousness.
Speaking to Vanity Fair about this new series, series co-creator Ian Brennan said, “They literally thought that a woman was too weak to pick up an axe…. To be a woman in that period was to be almost a completely different species. You were treated like you were incapable of not only actions, but the thoughts that a man was capable of.”
In Murphy’s new series, Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, Ella Beatty stars as Lizzie Borden. Sapphics will be pleased to hear that Vicky Krieps will take on the role of Lizzie’s maid, Bridget Sullivan.
Speaking about playing Bridget, Vicky explains that she wanted her to feel like a “visit from the future”, complete with a wolf cut. “In the beginning, her look was really almost punk…. I refused a corset. Because if she’s the future, I want her to move like the future. And in order to move like the future, you can’t just be stiff like a candle.”
“I was afraid [because]…it wasn’t written by a woman,” she added. “And yes, I could tell, to be honest with you.”
Murphy is no stranger to LGBTQIA+ storylines in his shows. From Glee to Pose, his work has often championed the LGBTQIA+ community. However, last year, Pose star Indya Moore called out Murphy for not standing up for the trans+ community.
“Ryan Murphy, we need you to do more. You need to address the racism, the violence, and the targeting of people on your productions, Ryan Murphy. You do need to make sure trans people are paid equally,” Indya said on an Instagram Live video.
You can watch Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story on 17 September.
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