Ryan Murphy tackles Lizzie Borden

The 1892 murder case that captivated America gets the Monster treatment. Lizzie Borden was acquitted of killing her father and stepmother.

Charlie Hunnam plays Andrew Borden

Hunnam portrays Lizzie's father in his second Monster season. He calls the character "kind of bonkers" with real tragedy and pathos.

“It's a multi-faceted role with real tragedy and pathos, but he's also a victim that by the end of it you feel like is he really a victim or is he just getting his just desserts”

Rebecca Hall steals scenes

Hall plays Abby, the evil stepmother with delicious insults. She describes getting "the most cutting insults imaginable" as a dream role.

“You get delicious lines, delicious words, like the most cutting insults imaginable. It's a dream.”

Balancing camp with reality

Hall refuses to treat camp and truth as opposites. She approached Abby as "the star of her own life" stuck in a nowhere town with no attention.

“The camp is real, too. There are people that embody all of these things and it's real and everything is real to them”

Andrew Borden's tragic complexity

Hunnam sees Andrew as a man who never moved past tragedy. He became a prisoner of his own life, hating himself but blaming everyone around him.

“He hated himself more than anybody but didn't necessarily have the self-awareness to point that eye at himself and so unfortunately pointed at everyone around him.”

Ian Brennan's genre-bending writing

Hunnam credits writer Ian Brennan for seamlessly shifting between tragedy and absurdist comedy. Scenes move from deeply earnest to wild and theatrical.

“He's able to shape-shift and genre-bend seamlessly where things can feel deeply tragic and incredibly earnest and then the next scene wild and absurdist”

Ella Beatty carries the show

Newcomer Beatty plays Lizzie in only her second job. Both actors praise her composure on set from 4:30 a.m. daily with no break.

“She's a marvel, really. This is her second job. It's still a huge responsibility and undertaking to be the center of a show like this.”

Murphy's universe feels like family

Hunnam and Hall are becoming Murphy regulars. Hunnam loves the collaborative relationships with Murphy, Brennan, and director Max Winkler.

“I love working with Ryan [and] working with Ian [Brennan, the writer] on both seasons of Monster that I did”

Room to go somewhere new

Murphy's appeal is giving actors space to explore. His eye for performers who can hold tragedy and camp together makes this season highly anticipated.

“I love that I don't really know what I'm going to be asked to do with him. I like doing character.”