
Dahmer: Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Seasons: 1
Created By: Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan
Starring: Evan Peters, Richard Jenkins, Molly Ringwald, Niecy Nash, Michael Learned
One of the biggest series on Netflix in 2022 and one that definitely caused chatter up and down the internet comes courtesy of Ryan Murphy. Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story arrived as an otherwise surprise drop on Sept. 21, 2022, and set the internet ablaze… and not in a good way.
Monster was originally marketed as putting the stories of the victims at the forefront, which you wouldn’t necessarily glean from the title of the series. (After all, the serial murderer’s name is in the show’s title not once but twice for some reason.)
In spite of its astronomical viewership figures, the Netflix series holds a middling 57% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of this post and has been denounced by family members of the victims. While some critics and viewers have praised the series’ attempts to shine the light on Dahmer’s victims, others have criticized the 10-episode series for exploiting a story that has been told before.
Curiosity and discourse seem to have propelled the series into popularity, though that doesn’t make it an immediate must-watch. Yes, it’s extremely popular, but those who haven’t yet watched the limited series are probably better off just skipping this one. Monster season 2 is also in the works on Netflix, this time following the real-life story of the Menendez brothers.
VERDICT: SKIP