Shock horror: Ryan Murphy has cast Evan Peters to be in his new show, this time tapping the actor to play the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
As per Deadline, Peters, one of Murphy’s favoured performers, is set to take on the lead role in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, a Netflix limited series from Murphy and Ian Brennan.
Niecy Nash, known for roles in Reno 911! and another Murphy production, Scream Queens, is also set to appear in the show. Her and Peters join Penelope Ann Miller, Shaun J. Brown, and Colin Ford in the cast.
Monster will tell the story of one of the U.S.’s most notorious serial killers: for those unaware of the history, Dahmer – or the Milwaukee Monster – murdered and dismembered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. Many of his victims were people of colour and often underage. Dahmer died aged 34 in 1994, just two years into his prison term, after another inmate beat him to death.
Crucially the show will largely come from the point of view of Dahmer’s victims, important if Murphy is to avoid sensationalising the story. I mean, the less said about the 2019 Ted Bundy film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, which had Zac ‘High School Musical’ Efron as Bundy, the better.
Monster will supposedly not shy away from exploring the police incompetence that allowed Dahmer to conduct his long killing spree. It’s also expected to discuss white privilege, which aided Dahmer to commit his murders. In terms of comparable recent content, it sounds like Murphy wisely wants to follow the example of David Fincher’s series Mindhunter, which delved into the psychology of serial killers.
It’s not the first time Dahmer has been portrayed in film either. Most notably he was played by future Avenger Jeremy Renner in the 2002 biopic Dahmer; most recently 2017’s My Friend Dahmer explored the killer’s high school years and the events leading up to his first murder.
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Since signing an expensive deal with Netflix, it’s been a bumpy ride for Murphy. The Politician was nominated for two Golden Globes but The Prom was criticised, particularly for the casting of the straight actor James Corden as a gay man.
Netflix has declined to comment yet but with given the star power on board and and the controversial subject matter, it’s destined to become of the streaming platform’s most talked-about series when it finally arrives on our screens.
Check out the trailer for the 2002 biopic Dahmer starring Jeremy Renner:
