Netflix viewers ‘can’t sleep’ after binging Menendez brothers true crime series

Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.

Even the most hardened of true crime fans say they're struggling to drift off to sleep after binge-watching a creepy new Netflix series. Watch the trailer below:

Viewers have been sharing their horror and sadness on their socials after watching the latest series of Ryan Murphy's Monsters.

The drama series is the follow up to 2022's first instalment, which focused on Jeffrey Dahmer, played by Evan Peters.

The new series tells the grisly tale of the Menendez brothers, and the murder of their parents Jose and Mary Louise 'Kitty' Menendez, and stars newcomers Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch alongside Hollywood stars Javier Bardem and Chloë Sevigny as their parents.

Netflix

It is based on true events from 1989, where Kitty and Jose were found murdered at home, having been shot 16 times with a shotgun.

Brothers Lyle and Erik Menéndez claimed they came home and found their parents dead, but their story soon unravelled - with the pair being sentenced for their murder, despite the brothers saying they were sexually abused by their father.

Prosecutors focused on the fact the duo had spent their inheritance money lavishly when they thought they were clear of the crime, with accusations that they murdered their parents for money, rather than out of fear or self-defence as the brothers claimed.

Netflix

They spent almost $700,000 (£522,627) between them before prosecutors became suspicious.

True crime fans have been surprised by how much the story has upset them, having binge-watched the entire series in one go.

One fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "I literally binged watched the entire Lyle and Erik Menendez Netflix thing and I’m just full of emotions right now. To the point I can’t even sleep."

Others have been sharing warnings with each other of what to expect: "Do NOT watch the Menendez Netflix show unless you want to have sleep paralysis, Binged it last night and never again."

Another added: "Just a warning that there's a huge section of episode five of the Menendez series on Netflix that is nauseating, I might cry."

One viewer couldn't even finish it, writing: "This Menendez show is so heavy, I can't even get through it."

Others feel the brothers have been portrayed badly in the show, and are looking forward to the new documentary coming out also on Netflix which features the brothers telling the story of what happened in their own words.

If you fancy watching the drama first, consider yourself warned!