The enduring fascination with true crime and the creative engine of Ryan Murphy have once again converged to deliver a massive hit for Netflix. According to the latest viewership data released by the streaming giant, the newest installment of the acclaimed anthology series, “Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story,” has officially claimed the No. 1 spot on the Netflix Top 10 charts. In its first four days of availability, the series garnered a staggering 12.2 million views, marking a triumphant return for a franchise that has become a cornerstone of Netflix’s original programming strategy.
The debut of the Lizzie Borden narrative marks the fourth major iteration of the "Monster" brand, which first captivated global audiences in 2022. The 12.2 million views recorded between its premiere and the close of the tracking window represent a significant achievement, particularly given the increasingly crowded landscape of premium streaming content. This performance cements the series’ status as a "must-watch" cultural event, drawing in both long-time fans of the anthology and those intrigued by the historical notoriety of the Borden case.
Consistency Across the Anthology
When analyzing the trajectory of the "Monster" franchise, the performance of "The Lizzie Borden Story" highlights a remarkable level of consistency in audience engagement. The 12.2 million views achieved by the Borden installment place it almost exactly on par with its immediate predecessors. In 2025, the anthology explored the macabre history of "The Ed Gein Story," which also opened to 12.2 million views during its initial four-day window. Similarly, the 2024 release of "The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story" saw a nearly identical opening, securing 12.3 million views in its first four days of streaming.
This pattern suggests that the "Monster" franchise has established a loyal and reliable "floor" for its viewership. Regardless of the specific historical figure being profiled, the brand itself—built on the aesthetic and narrative sensibilities of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan—carries enough weight to guarantee a massive global audience. The parity between the Menendez, Gein, and Borden installments indicates that Netflix has successfully cultivated a recurring viewership that views the "Monster" series as a premier destination for high-production, dramatized true crime.
The Shadow of the Dahmer Phenomenon
While the recent installments have shown impressive stability, they continue to operate in the shadow of the franchise’s inaugural season. "The Jeffrey Dahmer Story," which premiered in late 2022, remains the undisputed heavyweight champion of the anthology. At the time of its release, Netflix had not yet transitioned to its current "views" metric, which calculates viewership by dividing total hours watched by the runtime of the project. Instead, the platform primarily reported success through raw hours watched.
In its first four days, the Dahmer series logged a breathtaking 196.2 million hours watched. When translated into the modern "views" metric, that figure equates to approximately 22.3 million views—nearly double the opening figures of the subsequent seasons. The Dahmer installment did more than just top the weekly charts; it became a genuine social phenomenon, eventually securing its place as the No. 7 most popular English-language TV series in the history of the platform.
The disparity between the Dahmer debut and the subsequent seasons can be attributed to several factors, including the sheer shock value of the original release and the specific cultural moment in 2022. However, the fact that the franchise has maintained a steady 12-million-view opening for three consecutive years thereafter is, in many ways, a more significant testament to the brand’s long-term viability than a single viral hit.
