Among the TV crime dramas coming this fall, few are as highly anticipated as the third season of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan's Monster. After Dahmer and Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, Murphy and Brennan venture into darker territory still with Monster: The Ed Gein Story.
This season is based on the real-life serial killer and grave robber who inspired some of Hollywood's classics, like Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Silence of the Lambs.
When is Monster: The Ed Gein Story coming to Netflix?
Charlie Hunnam is set to portray Ed Gein, a role for which he went all the way to prepare. Hunnam read every book and watched every interview he could find to understand Gein and do him justice. As he claims, the center of the series will be who Ed Gein was, more than what he did.
Expect to see how obsession and isolation pushed Gein past the point of no return. All eight episodes of Monster: The Ed Gein Story will stream on Netflix on Friday, Oct. 3.
The trailer that dares you to look away
The trailer begins with a glimpse into Gein's life with his mother, Augusta (Laurie Metcalf), secluded in their house, and his awkwardness in town, particularly around young, attractive women. Thirty seconds is all it takes to get disturbingly darker, giving the viewer fast glimpses into his gruesome murders.
It reveals Gein's consuming obsession with his mother, his mama's boy persona, and his slip into psychosis after her passing. It also alludes to his preparations to make the human skin suit that would let him inhabit his mother's body.
But while some parts stay on track with the real case, a lot seems to be left out. Some characters, like directors Hitchcock and Hooper, are anachronistic references that we're yet to see how they fit into the bigger picture.
The trailer ends strong, with Hunnam's Ed Gein breaking the fourth wall, staring straight at the camera and saying, "You're the one who can't look away." This series promises to be more than a dive into the evil mind of Gein. It raises the unsettling idea that we, the viewers, are still hooked on these stories even if they're the stuff of nightmares.
The cast of Monster: The Ed Gein Story and their roles
Murphy and Brennan brought a striking cast to this season, mixing household names with fresh but promising faces:
- Charlie Hunnam as Ed Gein - known for Sons of Anarchy (2008-2014) and Crimson Peak (2015). Monster isn't Hunnam's first dig into a dark crime series, but getting into the mind of a real-life killer like Gein had its challenges.
- Laurie Metcalf as Augusta Gein, Ed’s mother - best known for her roles in Lady Bird (2017), Scream 2 (1997) and Desperately Seeking Susan (1985).
- Suzanna Son as Adeline Watkins, Ed’s only girlfriend - previously seen in The Idol (2023), Red Rocket (2021) and Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025).
- Robin Weigert as Enid Watkins, a fictional character related to Gein's girlfriend, Adeline - best known for Deadwood (2004-2006) and Smile (2022).
- Addison Rae as Evelyn, a babysitter who was among the four disappearance cases in which Gein was a prime suspect - starred in He's All That (2021) and Thanksgiving (2023).
- Lesley Manville as Bernice Worden, the hardware store owner whose murder led to Gein's house being searched, and his arrest - known for her roles in Phantom Thread (2017), Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (2022) and The Crown (2016-2023).
- Tyler Jacob Moore as Sheriff Arthur Schley - seen in SEAL Team (2017-2024), Perry Mason (2020-2023) and Shameless (2011-2021).
- Charlie Hall as Deputy Frank Worden, Bernice Worden's son - returning to the Monster anthology after season 2. Known for Bel-Air (2022–) and The Sex Lives of College Girls (2021–2025).
- Tom Hollander as Alfred Hitchcock, an intriguing addition that promises glimpses into what the director thought about his source material for Norman Bates - seen in Pride and Prejudice (2005), In the Loop (2009) and Feud (2024).
- Olivia Williams as Alma Reville, Hitchcock's wife - known for The Ghost (2010), An Education (2009) and The Sixth Sense (1999).
- Joey Pollari as Anthony Perkins, the leading actor in Psycho - previously seen in American Crime (2015-2017) and Love, Simon (2018).
- Vicky Krieps as Ilse Koch, a Nazi war criminal, possibly a reference to the lampshades made of human skin linked to both Gein and the Nazis - known for Phantom Thread (2017), Old (2021), and Bergman Island (2021).
- Will Brill as Tobe Hooper, director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - starred in The OA (2016-2019) and Fellow Travelers (2023).
- Mimi Kennedy as Dr. Mildred Newman, a psychologist and self-help author - seen in Midnight in Paris (2011) and In the Loop (2009).
When Monster: The Ed Gein Story drops on Friday, Oct. 3, the question isn’t just what we’ll see, but how much we’ll be able to watch. This season dares audiences to look away, even as it makes us want to keep watching.
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