jeffrey dahmer biography netflix

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The story of a cannibalistic serial killer named Jeffrey Dahmer, a.k.a. the Milwaukee Monster. The story of a cannibalistic serial killer named Jeffrey Dahmer, a.k.a. the Milwaukee Monster. The story of a cannibalistic serial killer named Jeffrey Dahmer, a.k.a. the Milwaukee Monster.

• Ryan Murphy
• Ian Brennan
• Evan Peters
• Richard Jenkins
• Molly Ringwald
• 727 User reviews
• 55 Critic reviews
• 15 wins & 44 nominations total

Episodes 12

• Jeffrey Dahmer

• Lionel Dahmer

• Shari Dahmer

• Glenda Cleveland

• Detective Murphy

• Patrick Kennedy

• Catherine Dahmer

• Shirley Hughes

• Southone Sinthasomphone

• Somdy Sinthasomphone

• Somsack Sinthasomphone

• Anouke Sinthasomphone
• Sayamone Sinthasomphone

• Ronald Flowers

• Mildred Lindsey

• Chief Arreola

• Tony Hughes

• Tracy Edwards
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia It's shown throughout the show that the police officers that released 14-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone back into the care of Jeffrey Dahmer at his apartment were suspended and subsequently re-instated. But it doesn't cover that John Balcerzak , one of the officers in question, wasn't just supported by his union, but would be elected as the Union President of the Milwaukee Police Association in 2005.
• Goofs In many episodes there is a 3M Command(TM) strip shown in Jeffery Dahmer's apartment kitchen, this takes place in 1991 by the latest. 3M debuted its first wave of Command(TM) products in 1996.
• Connections Featured in Jeremy Vine: Episode #5.195 (2022)

User reviews 727

• Erik_Surewaard
• Sep 21, 2022
• How many seasons does Monster have? Powered by Alexa
• September 21, 2022 (United States)
• United States
• Official Netflix
• American Sign Language
• Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
• Los Angeles, California, USA
• Prospect Films
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‘DAHMER – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’ Netflix Series: What We Know So Far

Here's everything we know about Netflix's upcoming serial killer series.

DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story – Picture: Netflix

One of the biggest shows to come out of the Netflix Ryan Murphy deal is on the horizon. We’re referring to DAHMER =– Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, telling the story of the infamous serial killer in a gripping 10-part limited series, created by Murphy and his long-time collaborator Ian Brennan .  

The script for DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story was written by Murphy along with Ian Brennan ( Glee, Ratched, Scream Queens ) and David McMillan ( Lucifer, Sleepy Hollow ).

The three known directors of the limited series are Carl Franklin ( House of Cards, Mindhunter ), who directs the pilot episode, Paris Barclay ( NYPD Blue ), and Janet Mock ( Pose, Hollywood ). All three directors will executive produce the series along with Murphy and Brennan. Rashad Johnson of Color of Change, a racial justice project, also will serve as supervising producer.

DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is only one of the many projects that Murphy is working on for Netflix as part of his big overall deal with the streamer .

When will DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story  be released on Netflix?

No official release date for DAHMER – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story has been announced just yet, although it has been confirmed that it will debut in late 2022.

We can exclusively report Netflix is set to debut the show in full on September 21st, 2022, which Netflix themselves has now confirmed .

A full trailer will be released on September 16th, with a second trailer likely arriving on September 20th, 2022.

Picture: Netflix

This is one of three projects Ryan Murphy has coming out in Fall 2022. The next project after Dahmer will be Mr. Harrigan’s Phone on October 5th, and then The Watcher due out in mid-October 2022 .

Who was Jeffrey Dahmer and what is the plot of the Netflix series?

Jeffrey Dahmer – Picture: Getty Images

Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer, known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or the Milwaukee Monster, was a notorious American serial killer and sex offender who murdered and dismembered 17 men and boys from 1978-1991, many of them people of color and some underage.

Most of the murders also involved necrophilia, cannibalism and the preservation of body parts. Although he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, schizotypal personality disorder, and a psychotic disorder, Dahmer was found to be legally sane at his trial. Convicted of 16 murders, he was beaten to death by another inmate in 1994, two years into his sentence. He was 34.

According to Deadline , Monster is expected to span the 60s, 70s, 80s and conclude with Dahmer’s arrest in 1991. It is also expected to have a more psychological approach than other adaptations of Dahmer’s story. Monster will focus more on how these murders were allowed to happen over so many years.

Here is the official logline for Netflix’s Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story:

“Monster chronicles the story of one of America’s most notorious serial killers, largely told from the point of view of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims, and dives deeply into the police incompetence and apathy that allowed the Wisconsin native to go on a multiyear killing spree. The series dramatizes at least 10 instances where Dahmer was almost apprehended but ultimately let go. The series also is expected to touch on white privilege, as Dahmer, a cleancut, good-looking white guy, was repeatedly given a free pass by cops as well as by judges who were lenient when he had been charged with petty crimes.”

Will the plot of Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story be faithful to real-life events?

While the limited series is based on true documented events, we can’t expect a fully faithful retelling of everything. In almost all productions based on true stories, things get changed and shifted around for dramatic purposes.

We can also expect a decent amount of new material to put the events in context, better flesh out the characters of the story, and fill in the gaps where needed.

Perhaps the most appropriate example for comparison here would be The Assassination of Gianni Versace, the second season of Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story , where over nine episodes we are witnessing the story of Andrew Cunanan, the man who murdered Gianni Versace. We can see many perspectives and many of Cunanan’s other victims before he eventually killed Versace. As people noticed, Murphy kept up with most of the facts about the case while inventing his own scenes to put things in context and fill in the gaps.

That being said, Ryan Murphy’s series is based on real events, and people are always praised for their exceptional casting, especially the ability to find actors who look like their real-life counterparts and are also great performers.

Who is cast in DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story ?

Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer

It was confirmed in March 2021 that Ryan Murphy’s longtime collaborator Evan Peters will play the titular role.

Peters has appeared in many of Murphy’s seasons of American Horror Story and most recently has been seen as Quicksilver in WandaVision .

You can hear Peters talk about the role in this interview:

Next to Peters, Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Richard Jenkins ( The Shape Of Water, Berlin Station ) and Penelope Ann Miller will play Lionel and Joyce Dahmer, respectively, who are Jeffrey’s parents.

Molly Ringwald will play the role of Shari Dahmer in the series.

The other series’ lead will be Niecy Nash , also one of the go-to actors for Ryan Murphy. Nash will play Glenda Cleveland, a neighbor of Dahmer’s who called the police numerous times and even tried calling the FBI to alert them of Dahmer’s erratic behavior, to no avail.

You can hear Niecy Nash talk about her upcoming role here:

Besides them, the Monster will feature Shaun Brown and Colin Ford, with Brown portraying Dahmer’s last intended victim, the one who managed to escape and call the police.

Cast grid for Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story on Netflix

Elsewhere here’s who else is in the cast for the series:

• Arye Gross ( Better Call Saul ) as Gerald Boyle
• Michael Learned ( The Waltons ) as Catherin Dahmer
• Dominic Burgess (Feud) as John Wayne Gacy
• Grant Harvey ( Animal Kingdom ) as Officer Mueller
• Karen Malina White ( Lean on Me ) as Shirley Hughes
• Rhoyle Ivy King ( All American: Homecoming ) as Don

What is the production status on DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story ?

Netflix’s DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story  entered production on March 23, 2021, in Los Angeles, according to issue 1236 of Production Weekly .

According to reports, the show wrapped filming on September 13th, 2021 .

Other reports contradict this, but we all know that the show entered post-production sometime in September 2021.

Eye-witness reports on social media spotted the show filming in locations such as Pomona, California.

Evan Peters filming “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” in Pomona, California earlier. #Monster pic.twitter.com/iC5Qd9dSg3 — AHS Media (@theahszone) May 7, 2021

Filming for “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” is taking place throughout Pomona, CA. #Monster pic.twitter.com/5ytsCQDDw6 — AHS Media (@theahszone) May 6, 2021

Are you looking forward to Ryan Murphy’s upcoming limited series? Let us know in the comments down below.

Tigran is our resident previews writer. He works on collecting everything known about upcoming Netflix Original projects and also is editor-in-chief of Redanian Intelligence. Resides in France.

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‘dahmer — monster: the jeffrey dahmer story’ review: ryan murphy, netflix, rinse, repeat.

The cumbersomely titled new miniseries about Jeffrey Dahmer (played by Evan Peters) continues the streaming service and creator's obsession with serial killers.

By Daniel Fienberg

Daniel Fienberg

Chief Television Critic

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Held back from critics, presumably so that co-creator Ryan Murphy could protect the viewing experience for audiences without access to Wikipedia, recent television or semi-recent history, Netflix ‘s Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is an infuriating hodgepodge. (That’s the last time I’m going to use that full idiotic title, one of several things Netflix brass should have had the wherewithal to prevent.)

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It isn’t that Versac e wasn’t admired, but most critics, myself included, compared it negatively to the previous season, The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story . In years of retrospect, I’ve come to really appreciate the points Murphy and writer Tom Rob Smith were making in Versace , and the relative elegance of the character study that the series’ reversed narrative allowed for. I’m sure that if we’d all been properly admiring of the season, Murphy and company wouldn’t have felt the need to say, “Look, you didn’t get my last fragmented 10-hour interrogation of the intersection of serial killing and race, focused on reclaiming the names and identities of the victims from the perpetrator’s notoriety — so I’m going to try again with more hand-holding.”

From there, we trace Jeffrey’s evolution from antisocial young boy (a superb Josh Braaten) to dissection-loving teen to serial killer, though never in chronological order, because everybody knows that chronological order is for squares and Wikipedia. We witness his relationship with his caring-but-distracted father (Jenkins’ Lionel), unstable and poorly treated mother (Penelope Ann Miller), barely sketched-out stepmother (Molly Ringwald’s Shari), church-going grandmother (Michael Learned’s Catherine), various victims and the neighbor (Nash’s Glenda) who kept calling the police about the smell and kept being ignored.

Smarter observations start coming up in the second half of the season, starting with the episode “Silenced.” Written by David McMillan and Janet Mock and directed with more empathy than voyeurism by Paris Barclay, “Silenced” tells the story of Tony Hughes (excellent newcomer Rodney Burnford), presented here as perhaps the only victim with whom Jeffrey had traces of a real relationship. It’s easily the best episode of the series, an uncomfortably sweet and sad hour of TV that probably should have been the template for the entire show. Tony was deaf and, in placing a Black, deaf, gay character at the center of the narrative, the series is giving voice to somebody whose voice has too frequently been excluded from gawking serial killer portraits.

Or take “Cassandra,” the episode built around Nash’s Glenda (the actress simultaneously avoids the comic cadences that made her a star and delivers two or three lines of incredulous dialogue that will have some viewers cheering). It’s a good episode because Nash is so good, but it can only get into Glenda’s head with the help of a subplot involving Jesse Jackson (Nigel Gibbs), there to spell out themes that the writers are insecure about having previously established.

That’s the problem. I know why, on an intellectual level, Dahmer does many of the things it’s doing. I just wish it trusted in its own ability to do them.

The second half of the season aims to nail down the wholly non-controversial assessment that Dahmer was able to get away with his crimes because he was a white man preying primarily on economically disadvantaged men of color. The Milwaukee police, possibly the real villains of the piece, missed many opportunities to stop things because they weren’t interested in the race and economic status of the people going missing, wanted no part of the sexuality of anybody involved and couldn’t be bothered to show support in the neighborhoods impacted.

This is hard to dispute as a fact in the case — plus, it’s the EXACT subtext of much of Versace — and I’d say that Dahmer makes the point pretty clearly. Then in the last few episodes, with Jesse Jackson and others, the show keeps having people just come out and say it. Over-articulate it once, shame on anybody in the audience who didn’t get it already. Do it twice, shame on you for not trusting that audience. Do it three times, shame on Netflix’s development executives for not saying, “Yeah, we’re fine already. Move on.” But again, Ryan Murphy likes to show and tell (over and over), and in a world where too many storytellers forget to do the former entirely, I guess we should be grateful?

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Dahmer -- Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

Where to watch.

Watch Dahmer -- Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story with a subscription on Netflix.

Cast & Crew

Ryan Murphy

Ian Brennan

Evan Peters

Jeffrey Dahmer

Richard Jenkins

Lionel Dahmer

Penelope Ann Miller

Joyce Dahmer

Molly Ringwald

Shari Dahmer

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Tv news & guides, this show is featured in the following articles., series info.

Full Title: DAHMER - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

Between 1978 and 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer gruesomely took the lives of seventeen innocent victims. DAHMER - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is a series that exposes these unconscionable crimes, centered around the underserved victims and their communities impacted by the systemic racism and institutional failures of the police that allowed one of America’s most notorious serial killers to continue his murderous spree in plain sight for over a decade.

Series Credits:

Co-creators / Executive Producers: Ryan Murphy & Ian Brennan

Executive Producers: Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, Evan Peters, Janet Mock, Carl Franklin (101 only)

Consulting Producer: Rashad Robinson (President of Color Of Change)

Starring: Evan Peters (Jeffrey Dahmer), Richard Jenkins (Lionel Dahmer), Molly Ringwald (Shari Dahmer), Michael Learned (Catherine Dahmer), and Niecy Nash (Glenda Cleveland)

Guest Starring: Penelope Ann Miller (Joyce Dahmer), Michael Beach (Detective Murphy), Colby French (Detective Kennedy), Shaun J. Brown (Tracy Edwards), Mac Brandt (Officer Rauth), Grant Harvey (Officer Mueller), Matthew Alan (Officer Gabrish), Scott Michael Morgan (Officer Balcerzak), Josh Braaten (Young Lionel Dahmer), Savannah Brown (Young Joyce Dahmer), Nick A. Fisher (Young Jeffrey Dahmer), Cameron Cowperthwaite (Steven Hicks), Vince Hill-Bedford (Steven Tuomi), Blake Cooper Griffin (Charles), Matt Cordova (Detective Rauss), Rodney Burford (Tony Hughes), Karen Malina White (Shirley Hughes), Nikyla Boxley (Young Shirley Hughes), Karl Makinen (Officer Clyde Reynolds), Nigel Gibbs (Jesse Jackson), Brandon Black (Dean Vaughn), Raphael Sbarge (Mayor John Norquist), David Barrera (Police Chief Arreola), Dyllón Burnside (Ronald Flowers), Khetphet “KP” Phagnasay (Sounthone Sinthasomphone), Ken Lerner (Joseph Zilber), Dominic Burgess (John Wayne Gacy), Chris Greene (Assistant Chaplain Adams), Furly Mac (Christopher Scarver), Linda Park (Julie Yang)

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BEHIND THE SCENES

• Consequence

Dahmer Review: Ryan Murphy’s Serial Killer Drama Puts the Victims First

The new limited series, starring Evan Peters, is streaming now on Netflix

Release Date

• September 21, 2022
• Evan Peters, Richard Jenkins, Molly Ringwald, Michael Learned, Niecy Nash

Where to Stream

The Pitch: What often gets lost in the lurid stories of America’s most infamous serial killers is how profoundly they expose the cracks in our democracy. Such is the case for Jeffrey Dahmer ( Evan Peters ), a lonely and disturbed young man who murdered and dismembered 17 young men between the years of 1978 and 1991.

The horrific details of those murders gained Dahmer immediate fame when he was finally arrested in 1991 and eventually sentenced to 16 terms of life imprisonment: this was a necrophiliac, a cannibalistic child molester, a gay man who drugged and killed other gay men at the height of the AIDS epidemic. When the Milwaukee Police Department searched Dahmer’s apartment, they found so many severed body parts that the chief medical examiner described the experience as “more like dismantling someone’s museum than an actual crime scene.”

In the 28 years since Dahmer was beaten to death by a fellow inmate in prison, he’s remained a recognizable figure in the public American consciousness; every few years, a new movie or TV series premieres, with a new actor debuting his take on the Milwaukee Cannibal. But focusing our perverse fascination simply on what Dahmer did to those people misses the larger implications of his story. What sometimes goes unrecognized is the racial makeup of his victims, the majority of whom were Black or brown, and how that cultural divide allowed Dahmer to get the benefit of the doubt for so long.

A Focus on the Victims: Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s new Netflix miniseries Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (yes, that’s the full title) aims to shine a light on Dahmer’s victims, showcasing points of view that have typically been ignored. It’s an admirable goal, and it gets there eventually… after around half the series.

But the competent first five episodes, presenting a non-linear but still fairly straightforward biography of Dahmer up to his arrest, make for a bit of a slog, as many of these stories have already been told before on screen, particularly in 2002’s Dahmer and 2017’s My Friend Dahmer .

That a white man like Jeff Dahmer was able to get away with this is telling — and it’s telling that his name is so ingrained in our minds while so many Black bystanders and neighbors, like the late Glenda Cleveland (Niecy Nash), tried to warn the police and were repeatedly ignored.

Questions about the role of police in American society, and whether the institution itself is fundamentally broken, have only gained strength in the years since Dahmer’s arrest. Take John Balcerzak, a cop who, along with his partner, was briefly fired for delivering a drugged 14-year-old directly back to Dahmer’s apartment after the kid’s escape — only to be reinstated. Balcerzak even became president of the Milwaukee Police Association, working until his retirement in 2017. Jeffrey Dahmer may be gone, but the broken systems that did nothing to stop him still thrive today.

Murder Most Foul: Make no mistake, Evan Peters is in fine form here, playing a role he was probably destined to play since Murphy first cast him as the ghost of a school shooter in American Horror Story: Murder House . With Peters’s vacant expressions and unassuming look, Dahmer has the impression of someone vaguely confused but curious about the world he lives in. And in the horror-movie sequences where we see Dahmer toy with his prey, he conveys real instability, a dreamy alcohol-induced lack of focus that makes his coercions even more unnerving, almost casual.

Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix)

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Netflix Top 10: Jeffrey Dahmer Series ‘Monster’ Debuts at No. 1 with 196 Million Hours Viewed

By BreAnna Bell

BreAnna Bell

• Nielsen Streaming Top 10: ‘Fool Me Once’ Debuts at No. 1, While Gypsy Rose Blanchard’s Prison Release Pushes 2019’s ‘The Act’ Back on Originals Chart 3 months ago
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Ryan Murphy’s Jeffrey Dahmer series “Monster” overpowered the Netflix top 10 rankings this week, taking the No. 1 spot with 196.2 million hours viewed following its Sept. 21 premiere. During the Sept. 19-Sept. 25 viewing window, the 10-episode limited series knocked “ Cobra Kai ” Season 5 off of its pedestal and down to the third spot.

Popular on Variety

New series “Heartbreak High” entered the rankings in sixth place in its first full week of availability. The teen drama recorded 18.3 million hours viewed.

Elsewhere on the list was limited series, “Dynasty” Season 5 (12.8 million), “The Imperfects” Season 1 (12.76 million) and limited series “Sins of Our Mother” (24.4 million).

Looking at the Non-English side, Season 1 of “El Rey, Vicente Fernández” occupied the no. 1 position, earning 33.3 million hours viewed –– effectively sliding Season 1 of “Narco-Saints” into second place on the chart. The thriller/drama recorded 27.4 million hours viewed after raking in over 62 million in the previous week’s figures.

“Diary of a Gigolo” Season 1 moved down to No. 3, earning 18 million hours viewed while “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” continues its steady hold on the chart at No. 4. The show earned 16.89 million hours watched in its 12th week in Netflix’s Top 10.

See Netflix’s Top 10 lists for the week of Sept. 19-Sept. 25 below, beginning with English-language series and followed by non-English-language TV shows, English-language movies and then non-English-language movies.

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‘We Don’t Want to Relive It’: Jeffrey Dahmer Drama on Netflix Draws Anger

A Netflix series about the infamous Milwaukee serial killer aims to tell the gruesome story through the experience of his victims. Those who remember them say that attempt failed.

By Remy Tumin

For years, Eric Wynn was the only Black drag queen at Club 219 in Milwaukee. He performed as Erica Stevens, singing Whitney Houston, Grace Jones and Tina Turner for adoring fans, eventually earning the title of Miss Gay Wisconsin in 1986 and 1987.

“I had this group of Black kids who came in because they were represented,” Wynn, now 58, said of his time at the club in the late 1980s and early ’90s. “I saw them and let them know I saw them, because they finally had representation onstage.”

Among them were Eddie Smith, who was known as “the Sheikh” because he often wore a head scarf, and Anthony Hughes, who was deaf. Hughes was “my absolute favorite fan” and blushed when Wynn winked at him from stage. In return, Hughes taught him the ABCs of sign language.

“He would sit there laughing at me when I was trying to learn sign language with my big, old fake nails on,” Wynn recalled, laughing.

But then, Wynn said, the group of young Black men began to thin out.

“They were there and then all of the sudden there were less of them,” he said.

Smith and Hughes were two of the 17 young men Jeffrey Dahmer killed, dismembered and cannibalized in a serial murder spree that largely targeted the gay community in Milwaukee between 1978 and 1991. Dahmer was a frequent customer at Club 219. He was sentenced to 15 consecutive life terms in prison but was killed in prison in 1994.

Dahmer’s life has the been the subject of several documentaries and books, but none have received the attention or criticism showered on Netflix’s “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” which dramatizes the killing spree in a 10-part series created by Ryan Murphy. It stars Evan Peters as Dahmer and Niecy Nash as a neighbor who repeatedly tried to warn the police, and aims to explore Dahmer’s gruesome tale through the stories of his victims.

For many critics, that attempt failed immediately when Netflix labeled the series under its L.G.B.T.Q. vertical when it premiered last month. The label was removed after pushback on Twitter . Wynn and families of the victims questioned the need to dramatize and humanize a serial killer at all.

“It couldn’t be more wrong, more ill timed, and it’s a media grab,” Wynn said, adding that he was “disappointed” in Murphy. “I thought he was better than that.”

Murphy, who rose to fame with the high school comedy show “Glee,” has explored true crime before. His mini-series “American Crime Story” tackled the assassination of Gianni Versace, the O.J. Simpson trial and President Bill Clinton’s impeachment. But it was Murphy’s pivot from “The Normal Heart,” based on a play written by the AIDS activist Larry Kramer, and “Pose,” about New York City’s 1980s ballroom scene, to “Monster” that stopped Wynn in his tracks.

Of “Pose,” Wynn said, “I was so impressed, we finally had representation that we were involved in.” He added, “It was such a great homage to all of us. And then he turns around and does this, somebody who is actually attacking the Black gay community.”

Instead of focusing on the victims, Wynn said, “Monster” focuses on Dahmer. The Netflix label of an L.G.B.T.Q. film and the timing right before Halloween did not help either, Wynn said.

Netflix did not return a request for comment.

In an essay for Insider , Rita Isbell, whose brother Errol Lindsey was murdered by Dahmer, described watching a portrayal of her victim’s statement at Dahmer’s trial in the Netflix series and “reliving it all over again.”

“It brought back all the emotions I was feeling back then,” she wrote. “I was never contacted about the show. I feel like Netflix should’ve asked if we mind or how we felt about making it. They didn’t ask me anything. They just did it.”

Eric Perry, who said he was a relative of the Isbells, wrote that the series was “retraumatizing over and over again, and for what?”

Scott Gunkel, 62, worked at Club 219 as a bartender when Dahmer was a customer. Gunkel watched the first two episodes of “Monster” but could not continue. He said he and his friends “don’t want to relive it.”

“The first ones really didn’t have any context of the victims, I was taken aback,” he said of the episodes, adding that the bar scenes did not accurately portray the racial mix of the city’s gay bars at the time. It was largely white, not Black, as the show depicts.

Gunkel also remembered Hughes, the deaf man, who he said would come into the bar and wait for it to get busy. Hughes was one of the few victims to receive a full episode dedicated to his story.

“He’d get there early and have a couple sodas and write me notes to keep the conversation going,” Gunkel recalled. “He disappeared, and I didn’t think much of it at the time.”

That’s in part because the Dahmer years also coincided with the AIDS epidemic. There are opaque references to the crisis in the Netflix show, including hesitation by the police to help the victims and a bath house scene in which condom use is discussed. But Gunkel said customers vanishing was not uncommon.

“We had this saying in the bars — if somebody was not there anymore, either he had AIDS or he got married,” Gunkel recalled.

The AIDS epidemic combined with the transient lifestyle of many gay men in Milwaukee and “institutional homophobia and racism targeting the community” provided a perfect cover for Dahmer, said Michail Takach, a curator for the Wisconsin L.G.B.T.Q. History Project . Takach was 18 when Dahmer was arrested.

“People were always looking for something new and people always disappeared,” Takach, now 50, said. “This was different, because it just got worse and worse.”

Missing person posters climbed “like a tree in Club 219 until they reached the ceiling,” he said.

The show has brought back those memories, Takach said, and has also surfaced people claiming to be associated with the Dahmer years who were not.

“This is the invisible cost of the Dahmer resurgence,” he said, “this dreadful mythology, this unexplainable need to attach to someone else’s horror.”

Nathaniel Brennan, an adjunct professor of cinema studies at New York University who is teaching a course on true crime this semester, said that it “is by nature an exploitative genre.”

Even with the best intentions, he said, “the victims become the pawn or a game or a symbol.”

Contemporary true crime often falls victim to an unresolvable tension, Brennan said. “We can’t tolerate forgetting it, but the representation of it will never be perfect,” he said. “That balance has become more apparent in the past 25 years.”

Criminals are often portrayed with tragic backgrounds, he said. “There’s an idea that if society had done more, it could have been avoided.”

Much of “Monster” is dedicated to Dahmer’s origins, including a suggestion that a hernia operation at the age of 4 or his mother’s postpartum mental health issues may have impacted his mental development.

Wynn, who lives in San Francisco now, said he did not plan to watch the series and said Murphy owed an apology to the families of the victims and the city of Milwaukee. “That’s a scar on the city,” he said.

Before the series premiered, he had not spoken about the Dahmer years in a long time. But he still thinks about Hughes regularly when he practices his sign language.

“I did it this morning,” he said. “I still do it so I don’t forget.”

Sheelagh McNeill contributed research.

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The series, which is a fictionalized account of actual events, also take a critical look at systemic racism, white privilege, homophobia and the institutional failures that allowed Dahmer to murder and dismember 17 boys and men from 1978 to 1991. There have been countless films and documentaries about Dahmer, including Netflix’s Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes .

• 2 Cast and Characters
• 5.1 Promotional Videos
• 5.2 Promotional Images
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Summary [ ]

Cast and characters [ ].

• Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer
• Richard Jenkins as Lionel Dahmer
• Niecy Nash as Glenda Cleveland
• Molly Ringwald as Shari Dahmer
• Michael Learned as Catherine Dahmer
• Penelope Ann Miller as Joyce Flint (née Dahmer)
• Dyllón Burnside as Ronald Flowers

Episodes [ ]

Episode One Please Don't Go Doin' A Dahmer The Good Boy Box Blood On Their Hands Silenced Cassandra Lionel The Bogeyman God of Forgiveness, God of Vengeance

Gallery [ ]

Promotional videos [ ].

Promotional Images [ ]

Promotional Posters [ ]

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References [ ]

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• 3 Keeley (Baby Reindeer)

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Jeffrey Dahmer: A Timeline of His Murders, Arrests and Death

From Dahmer's first arrest to his eventual capture and death, here are the key moments from his 13-year reign of terror.

Well-mannered, soft-spoken and pleasant in appearance, Dahmer barely escaped arrest on multiple occasions during his murderous spree, in which he lured men often on society’s fringes back to his home where he would kill and perform acts of necrophilia and cannibalism with their remains, often preserving body parts as mementos. Details of Dahmer's crimes were sourced from FBI files .

WATCH: Invisible Monsters on A&E Crime Central

Here’s a timeline of Dahmer’s murders—some of the most shocking ever committed in modern history:

June 1978: Dahmer kills his first victim

“I always knew that it was wrong. The first killing was not planned,” Dahmer told Inside Edition in 1993. “I was coming back from the shopping mall back in ’78. I’d had fantasies about picking up a hitchhiker, and taking him back to the house, and having complete dominance and control over him.”

The hitchhiker was 18-year-old Steven Hicks, Dahmer’s first victim. Dahmer took Hicks to his parent’s house in Ohio where he strangled and beat him with a barbell before dismembering the body and placing it in trash bags. “No one. No one had a clue as to what was happening for over a decade,” Dahmer said of what would transpire following his first killing.

Dahmer would not murder again until 1987. In the intervening years he had joined the army and was stationed for a time in Germany, eventually being discharged due to problems with excessive drinking. Of those nine years without a victim, Dahmer said the urge was always there; what he lacked were the right circumstances. “There just wasn’t an opportunity to fully express what I wanted to do. There was just not the physical opportunity to do it then.”

September 1981: Dahmer returns to Ohio following a military discharge

Dahmer briefly returned to Ohio to live with his parents following his military discharge, but was arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct, for which he was fined and received a suspended jail sentence. Hoping his grandmother would be a tempering influence on their son's ongoing drinking, Dahmer's parents sent him to live with her in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

August 1982: Dahmer is arrested

Arrested for indecently exposing himself at Wisconsin State Fair Park, Dahmer was convicted and fined $50.

August 1986: He is charged with disorderly conduct

Arrested for masturbating in front of two boys, Dahmer told authorities he was merely urinating. Charged with disorderly conduct, he was sentenced to one year of probation and to undergo counseling.

September 1987: Dahmer kills his next victim, nine years after his first

After taking Steven Tuomi , 24, back to a hotel room, Dahmer says he awoke the following morning to find Tuomi dead alongside him in bed. Dahmer would later tell authorities he had only planned on drugging Tuomi and had no recollection of beating him to death with his fists. Placing the body in a suitcase, Dahmer transported it to his grandmother’s basement where, a week later, he dismembered it and placed it in the trash, except for the head which he retained for a further week before boiling it in industrial detergent and bleach, eventually pulverizing the brittle skull.

READ MORE: Jeffrey Dahmer's Life (and Death) in Prison

October 1987: Dahmer lures in another victim

Dahmer brought 14-year-old James Doxtator to the basement of his grandmother’s house after promising him $50 in exchange for posing for nude photos. After drugging him, Dahmer strangled Doxtator, disposing of his body in similar fashion to that of Tuomi.

March 1988: Dahmer meets his next victim outside a gay bar

Richard Guerrero met his killer outside a Milwaukee gay bar. Dahmer offered Guerrero $50 to return to his grandmother’s house and spend the night with him. After drugging Guerrero with sleeping pills, Dahmer strangled him before performing sexual acts on the corpse. This time, Dahmer dismembered the body within 24 hours—but hiding his killings and the dismemberments was becoming increasingly difficult.

September 1988: Dahmer is arrested for sexual assault

Dahmer’s grandmother had become annoyed with his bringing men to her house late at night—and with the foul smells emanating from the basement—so she eventually told him to move out. Within days of securing a one-bedroom apartment, Dahmer was arrested and charged with second-degree sexual assault and enticing a child for immoral purposes after luring 13-year-old Keison Sinthasomphone back to his apartment, where he drugged and molested the boy before his intended victim escaped, taking his story to the police. Dahmer spent a week in jail before being released on bail.

March 1989: After killing his fifth victim, Dahmer begins to keep trophies

Aspiring model Anthony Sears, 24, became Dahmer’s fifth victim after they met at a bar. Dahmer, fearing his apartment was being watched by the police, brought Sears to his grandmother’s basement to be drugged and strangled. Sears was the first victim from whom Dahmer took trophies, storing and preserving Sears’ head and genitals, which he kept in a wooden box. For a time, he stored the box in his work locker.

May 1989: Dahmer is sentenced to 12 months in jail with work release

Sentenced to 12 months of jail time and five years of probation for second-degree sexual assault, Dahmer was permitted work release in order to keep his job as a mixer at Ambrosia Chocolate Factory, while also being required to register as a sex offender. Paroled from jail two months early, Dahmer rented an apartment at 924 North 25 th Street in Milwaukee.

May 1990: Shortly after his release, Dahmer kills again

Just months after being released from jail, Dahmer killed Raymond Smith, a 32-year-old prostitute he had offered $50 for sex. After drugging Smith at his North 25 th St. apartment, Dahmer strangled him with his hands before taking Polaroid pictures of the corpse in suggestive poses. Dismembering the body in his bathroom, Dahmer boiled the remains, dissolving them in a container of acid except for Smith’s skull, which he kept in a cabinet alongside Sears’ skull. When neighbors complained of the smell emanating from his apartment, Dahmer told them his refrigerator was broken and he was waiting to get it fixed.

June 1990: Dahmer kills again and attempts to preserve the body

After killing 27-year-old Edward Smith, Dahmer attempted to retain the body by keeping it in a freezer for several months. The frozen corpse was eventually discarded, with Dahmer telling authorities he was upset he did not get to keep any of Smith’s body parts due to degradation in the freezer.

September 1990: Dahmer claims two more victims, but deviates from his previous methods

Ernest Miller, 22, had his throat slashed after being promised money to join Dahmer at his apartment. A lack of sleeping pills forced Dahmer to change his method of killing. Dahmer kept parts of Miller’s body to eat, something he was doing increasingly, and he painted and displayed Miller's head in his apartment.

Three weeks later, Dahmer killed 22-year-old David Thomas. Later, he said he came to realize during their encounter that he was not attracted to Thomas, but he still drugged and killed him, then disposed of his body, intentionally not keeping any parts.

February 1991: A tenth victim is murdered

Dahmer picked up 17-year-old Curtis Straughter at a bus stop, offering him money in exchange for nude photos. Dahmer continued his rituals with his tenth victim: offers of cash to a stranger, drugging and strangling his victim before taking photos, dismembering and keeping body parts for cannibalism and trophies. Following his arrest, Dahmer said eating his victims was a compulsion, a way of “making me feel they were a part of me.”

April 1991: Dahmer attempts to put a victim into a "zombie-like" state

After drugging 19-year-old Errol Lindsey, Dahmer drilled a hole in his skull, into which he poured hydrochloric acid in an attempt to produce what Dahmer would describe as a “zombie-like” state in his victim. Lindsey regained consciousness before Dahmer drugged him further, and then strangled him and flayed the corpse with the intention of retaining Lindsey’s skin.

May 1991: He narrowly escapes capture

Dahmer’s next victim, 31-year-old Anthony Hughes, was dead, but still intact on the floor when he lured 14-year-old Konerak Sinthasomphone to his North 25 th St. apartment. After photographing and drugging Sinthasomphone, Dahmer again tried to render his victim brain dead by drilling into his skull and inserting acid , leaving the drugged body alongside Hughes’ corpse while he left the apartment for a few hours.

Returning in the early hours of the following morning, Dahmer discovered a groggy Sinthasomphone sitting outside the apartment building with three women huddled around him. Telling the women Sinthasomphone was his friend, Dahmer attempted to lead the boy back to the apartment to the dismay of the women, who informed Dahmer they had already called the police.

Dahmer eventually convinced attending police that Sinthasomphone was his 19-year-old boyfriend and that they had quarreled after drinking too much. Amid protests from the women, the officers escorted Dahmer and Sinthasomphone back to the apartment, where Dahmer produced the Polaroids he had taken earlier as proof of their relationship. Categorizing the event as a domestic dispute, the three officers left Sinthasomphone with Dahmer in the apartment, which they noted had a strange odor.

Dahmer once again drilled Sinthasomphone’s head and injected it with acid, this time with fatal results. By coincidence, Sinthasomphone was the younger brother of the boy Dahmer had molested in 1988—a crime for which he was convicted—though according to Dahmer, he had no idea of their connection. After dismembering their bodies, Dahmer kept the skulls of both Hughes and Sinthasomphone.

June 1991: Dahmer lures in another victim with the promise of a photo shoot

Dahmer met 20-year-old Matthew Turner in Chicago and persuaded him to travel to Milwaukee for a photo shoot. Once again, Dahmer drugged, strangled and dismembered his victim, keeping the head and internal organs in plastic bags in his freezer.

July 7-19 1991: Three more victims are killed

Choosing another victim from Chicago, Dahmer promised Jeremiah Weinberger, 20, a weekend away at his apartment in Milwaukee. Dahmer did not commit the murder until the day following their arrival, when Weinberger voiced his intention to leave.

Days later, after agreeing to pose nude, 24-year-old Oliver Lacy accompanied Dahmer back to his apartment, where Lacy was drugged and then administered chloroform over the course of a day in an attempt to render him alive, but unconscious. After strangling Lacy, Dahmer had sex with the corpse, storing the head and heart in the refrigerator and the skeleton in a freezer.

Four days after murdering Lacy, Dahmer was fired from his job. The same day, Dahmer lured Joseph Bradehoft, 25, to his apartment, strangling him and laying the body on the bed where it remained for two days. He then placed Bradehoft’s head in the refrigerator.

July 22, 1991: Dahmer's killing spree comes to an end

Two Milwaukee police officers were flagged down by an agitated man with handcuffs attached at one wrist. Tracey Edwards, 32, told the officers a “freak” had placed the handcuffs on him and that he had spent the better part of the evening trying to escape from a nearby apartment where he was being held captive.

Dahmer had met Edwards earlier that day, and persuaded him to accompany him to his apartment. Upon entering, Edwards immediately noticed a foul smell and stacked boxes of hydrochloric acid. Dahmer had tried to place handcuffs on Edwards, succeeding only in fastening one wrist before he brandished a knife, pulling Edwards toward the bedroom where Dahmer said he intended to take nude pictures.

Continually repeating he was Dahmer’s “friend,” Edwards waited until his captor had a lapse of concentration whereupon he punched Dahmer in the face. In the confusion Edwards fled through the front door, eventually flagging down the police car.

Upon their arrival at his apartment, Dahmer invited the attending officers inside, admitting it was he who had placed the handcuffs on Edwards and that the keys were in his nightstand. On entering the bedroom, one officer noticed a partially open drawer filled with Polaroid pictures of numerous bodies in differing states of dismemberment. Brandishing the images, the officer returned to the living room, reportedly saying to his partner: “These are for real.”

Seeing the images, Dahmer attempted to escape, but was quickly subdued by police, who immediately called for assistance. When authorities opened Dahmer’s refrigerator door, they found the severed head of a Black male on the bottom shelf.

Authorities would discover four other severed heads in Dahmer’s kitchen, two human hearts in the refrigerator, seven skulls in Dahmer’s bedroom, as well as an entire human torso in his freezer. Further investigation at the apartment would reveal preserved sexual organs, two entire skeletons, severed hands and a further three torsos submerged in acid.

Asked following his arrest if he was glad it was over, Dahmer stated he was not glad, that he liked his lifestyle and found it “exciting and thrilling,” according to FBI files . When authorities asked Dahmer if it would be possible to lead a normal life if he were ever released, the murderer responded that the best place for him was prison—because if he ever got out, he would go right back to the same behavior, including killing. Sentenced to 16 consecutive life terms, Dahmer was killed by fellow prison inmate Christopher Scarver in 1994.

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The true story of jeffrey dahmer victim tony hughes.

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Monster: Everything The Jeffrey Dahmer Show Leaves Out About The True Story

When terminator zero takes place in the terminator timeline, young sheldon’s george sr death leaves a major big bang theory plot hole unresolved.

• Accuracy of Tony Hughes' story in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is debated, particularly regarding the portrayal of his relationship with Dahmer.
• Shirley Hughes, Tony's mother, disapproves of how the show depicted her son's kidnapping and murder, and criticizes the profiting off of their family tragedy.
• Shirley Hughes' testimony and powerful poem at Dahmer's trial had an impact on his sentencing, leading to 16 life sentences. However, the show made changes to Tony's story for narrative purposes.

Tony Hughes, Jeffrey Dahmer's 12th victim, is depicted in Netflix’s Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story , but whether this portrayal is accurate has been hotly debated. Hughes was a 31-year-old deaf Black man living in Madison at the time of his kidnapping and murder. Like the majority of Dahmer’s victims, Tony Hughes was tricked into coming to Dahmer’s apartment after meeting him at a gay bar where Hughes was visiting family in Milwaukee at the time. The series follows the entirety of Jeffrey Dahmer's life , but specifically, episode six focuses on the murder of Tony Hughes.

In the episode, Hughes was communicating with Dahmer through notes because he was non-verbal when the killer invited Hughes back to his apartment to take photos. Once there, Hughes was drugged, and Dahmer killed him. Hughes’ bones were found in Dahmer's apartment upon his arrest. Tony Hughes’ mother Shirley Hughes, also depicted in Monster, gave a testimony at Dahmer’s murder trial in which she read a heartbreaking poem depicting her son’s final moments. Since the Netflix show, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, was released, Shirley Hughes has been outspoken about her disapproval of how is potrayed what happened to her son.

Evan Peters won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Jeffrey Dahmer in Ryan Murphy's Monster - but was it accurate? Here's what the show missed.

How Accurate Is Tony Hughes' Story In Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

There are many issues with how monster portrayed what happened to tony hughes.

The accuracy of Monster: the Jeffrey Dahmer Story has been hotly debated, and this includes the relationship between Tony Hughes and Jeffrey Dahmer. The main point of contention, in terms of accuracy, is the choice to portray a relationship between Hughes and Dahmer that is both friendly and romantic prior to Hughes' gruesome murder. After his arrest, Jeffrey Dahmer claimed in his confession that the two never met before the night of Hughes' drugging and death, but friends of Hughes said they had seen the two together beforehand.

While there is no way to prove whether they had previously met,. Shirley Hughes asserts that Monster is inaccurate stating that Dahmer and Tony Hughes' encounter “ didn’t happen like that .” Many, particularly the families of the victims, find that the way their relationship is portrayed offensively romanticizes Dahmer.

Tony Hughes' Mother Has Spoken Out Against Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

Like many relatives of dahmer's victims, shirley hughes isn't happy about the show.

In addition to its potrayal of Tony, Shirley Hughes has also been more generally critical of the whole project of Monster , accusing it of profiting off of her family and others’ tragedies. In a brief comment to The Guardian , Hughes stated “ I don’t see how they can do that , I don’t see how they can use our names and put stuff out like that out there .” Other family members of Jeffrey Dahmer's victims, including Errol Lindsey's sister Rita Isbell, have criticized the way the series depicted their relative's stories and that producers did not consult with them before production.

Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story depicts Tony Hughes in a humanizing way, with actor Rodney Burford's performance being praised, and the series emphasizes the systemic injustices that led to Dahmer's victims being ignored. However, family members of victims such as Tony Hughes' mother certainly have a right to feel that the existence of the series at all is making a profit off their tragedy.

Creator Ryan Murphy has depicted the victims of real-life crimes before, most notably in American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace , but Monster seems to have struck much more of a nerve when it comes to its depiction of real crimes. With Monster set to return for a second season , based on the Menendez brothers, this debate is not likely to be over any time soon.

How Tony Hughes' Mother Impacted Jeffrey Dahmer's Murder Trial

Shirley hughes's statement captured the tragedy of dahmer's actions.

Shirley Hughes’ aforementioned reading of a poem at Jeffrey Dahmer’s trial impacted the outcome. She read this during her victim impact statement to the court before sentencing. The poem, written by a friend of Tony Hughes, heartbreakingly details his last moments before his murder, from his own perspective. The piece opens with the line “ why am I a victim in your cruel and rueful world? ” and ends with Hughes speaking to his mother from the afterlife. His mother finished the reading by signing “ I love you ”, in American Sign Language.

Soon after, Dahmer was handed 16 life sentences for his crimes. The large sentence was likely in no small part due to Shirley Hughes’ powerful words about her son. Later, as depicted in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story , Dahmer was killed in prison . The Netflix special undoubtedly altered some of the facts for the sake of building a more fluid narrative, and unfortunately, Tony Hughes's story was impacted by these changes.

Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer story is another limited crime drama biography series created by Ian Brennan and Ryan Murphy, starring Evan Peters in the titular role. This series tells the story of Jeffrey Dahmer from the perspective of surviving victims while exploring the missteps taken by the police that allowed Dahmer to continue his three-decade-long killing spree, leading to the murder of at least seventeen young men. In addition, the show covers the earlier years of Dahmer's life, including the difficult divorce between his parents, his murderous origins back in high school, and his demise in prison.

• Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (2022)

The Best Limited Series Based on True Stories

Fiction can be a creator's best friend, allowing far more possibilities to flourish. With endless options, audiences can be taken on a journey never thought possible. However, with the additional layer of truth, a story can gather even more captivation in its narrative. Warranting viewers to question whether or not they'd make the same decisions in certain scenarios, spectators are brought deeper in.

Recently, the docudrama limited-series niche has been gaining some edge in popularity on television . Utilizing real-life crime and heartache to their advantage, these shows capture moral quandaries that force a sense of self-questioning. Heavily focused on the dynamics between characters, many of these stories bend in unusual ways, inevitably leading toward shocking twists and turns. Not having a basis in truth can largely dampen a narrative, and that's why the best-limited series always do.

The Long Shadow Follows a Manhunt

Over seven episodes, the British crime drama The Long Shadow takes viewers on a thrilling manhunt journey. The story follows the 5-year search for serial killer Peter Sutcliffe , as he was wanted for the murders of 13 women committed between 1975 and 1980. Sutcliffe was dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper for the resemblance of his crimes to those of Jack the Ripper.

While only 13 women have been named to be Sutcliffe's, there are more than several other unsolved attacks. Throughout the 5-year search, Peter was interviewed by the authorities nearly 10 times. However, the British police made no arrests. The manhunt became costly as the years went on, which attracted a lot of backlash from the UK public.

The Spy Features Sacha Baron Cohen in a Serious Role

Release Date September 6, 2019

Cast Moni Moshonov, Alona Tal, Sacha Baron Cohen, Noah Emmerich

Main Genre Drama

Genres Drama, History

Rating TV-MA

10 Best Movies You Didn't Know Were Based on a True Story

Starring Sacha Baren Cohen in a much more serious role than Borat , The Spy shares the story of an Israeli spy who infiltrated the Syrian government. Created and directed by Gideon Raff, the miniseries is inspired by true events and based on the French novel L'espion qui venait d'Israël .

Receiving a nomination for a Golden Globe Award as Best Actor in a Miniseries/Television Film, Cohen was heavily praised for his performance. While there have been some negative reviews concerning some discrepancies with historical accuracy, the show's overall reception has been generally favorable. The high-stakes efforts, paired with a captivating performance, bring viewers right to the edge of their seats.

The Act Depicts Gypsy Rose Blanchard

While Gypsy Rose has been a heavily discussed topic following her release on December 28th, 2023, there's no better time to watch one of the creations inspired by real-life events. The Act depicts factitious disorder imposed on another (FDIA), a condition in which a caregiver declares their patient to be sick despite having no real illness. Starring Joey King as Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Patricia Arquette as her mother, Dee Dee , the narrative follows the two's unusual dynamic.

While there have been a few attempts to portray these events, The Act stands as one of the more respected iterations. Declaring each character as a real-life person, the film garners far more investment from the audience. While other TV shows/films have tried to make content on a similar concept, they fail to provide the legitimacy The Act achieves.

Monster Caused Controversy With its Serial Killer Motifs

Dahmer - monster: the jeffrey dahmer story.

From creators Ian Brennan and Ryan Murphy, Dahmer- Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is a biographical crime drama series with Evan Peters starring as Jeffery Dahmer, the convicted serial killer who terrorized his community for three decades. Dahmer, responsible for the deaths of at least seventeen young men, is portrayed by Peters as the story shifts between his early years up until his incarceration and subsequent death. The story also shifts to the victim's perspective as it examines how he got away with the murders for as long as he did while exploring the various mistakes caused by the police and investigative team members that aided in his evasion of capture. Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story premiered on September 21 2022, and is streaming exclusively on Netflix.

Release Date September 21, 2022

Cast Michael Learned, Evan Peters, Niecy Nash, Richard Jenkins, Molly Ringwald

Main Genre Biography

Genres Biography, Drama, Crime

Cinematographer Jason McCormick, John T. Connor

Creator Ian Brennan, Ryan Murphy

Distributor Netflix

Main Characters Jeffrey Dahmer, Lionel Dahmer, Shari Dahmer, Glenda Cleveland, Catherine Dahmer

Production Company Ryan Murphy Productions

Sfx Supervisor Mark R. Byers

Writers Ian Brennan, Ryan Murphy

Number of Episodes 10

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Causing some controversy because of the portrayal of Jeffery Dahmer in the show, Monster quickly became the topic of conversation after releasing on September 21st, 2022. Starring American Horror Story lead man Evan Peters as Dahmer , the story follows the life of Jeffery from his upbringing to his murders between 1978 and 1991. The miniseries highlights how the times may have influenced Dahmer's evasion of being caught.

Serial killer TV shows and films tend to be heavily produced due to humanity's fascination with the incomprehensible. With the content being made, a good deal of fail to show these horrific characters in their truly heinous light. There has been some controversy as to the necessity of this particular work; some have said this kind of evil doesn't deserve attention. Others state these events actually took place, and many are still affected to this day by the loss of their loved ones.

Anne Is Worth Tracking Down

While it may be a bit more difficult to find than other shows streaming on major networks, Anne is worth every moment of tracking down. The British TV miniseries stars Maxine Peake as Anne, an activist campaigning for the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. On April 15th, 1989, a crowd rush at a Liverpool football game in Sheffield left 97 dead, including Anne's 15-year-old son, Kevin.

While there is nothing that could bring her as much solace as when her son Kevin was alive and well, her efforts were commendable and brought unity after tragedy. The horrific events spawned a sense of community and a praiseworthy leader in an awful fate, making for a heartwarming tale despite heartache. Anne won Best Miniseries at the Seoul International Drama Awards back in 2022 .

Baby Reindeer Took Netflix by Storm

Baby reindeer (2024).

A chilling portrayal of psychological entanglement, the story follows a bartender who becomes the target of an unsettling fixation by a frequent patron. As her behavior escalates from affectionate to menacing, the film delves into the impacts of such an invasion on his personal and professional life.

Release Date April 11, 2024

Creator(s) Richard Gadd

Cast Nava Mau, Danny Kirrane, Richard Gadd, Jessica Gunning

Genres Biography, Drama

Writers Richard Gadd

Streaming Service(s) Netflix

Directors Weronika Tofilska, Josephine Bornebusch

This New Netflix Series Is Based on a Disturbing True Story

Written, directed, and starring Richard Gadd , Baby Reindeer depicts the unsavory story of a middle-aged female stalker. Created from his anecdotal experience of being stalked, Gadd portrays the efforts of facing one's past. While the story is still fictitious, it still has a basis in real life - and what's better than a primary source?

While the whole situation is quite unusual and comes across as less than warranted, the thoughtful, deeper message behind the film is clever on multiple sides. Though Gadd is a comedian and makes many moments gleam with a bit of wit, differing contemplative moments allow the audience to step into each character's shoes. The scenes in this miniseries portray complex instances and emotions that aren't easy to sit through but have tremendous payoffs in the end.

Unbelievable Shares a Disturbing Search for Truth

Unbelievable.

Release Date September 13, 2019

Cast Blake Ellis, Merritt Wever, Kaitlyn Dever, Toni Collette

Main Genre Crime

Genres Drama, Crime

Covering graphic content that some may find too explicit, Unbelievable shares a tale of trauma and mystery. The series stars Kaitlyn Dever as Marie, a woman charged with falsely reporting that she was raped. Two detectives, played by Toni Collette and Merrit Weaver, set out to uncover whether Marie is lying or telling the truth.

Unbelievable is based on a set of serial rape cases that happened in Washington and Colorado between 2008 and 2011 . The series does a nice job of drawing in suspense despite the story being based on a real-life instance . While Marie recants her story in a jarring manner, there is little to no evidence before the two detectives step in. When they do, the show gains an empowering edge in favor of justice for the truth.

The Offer Portrays the Making of The Godfather

Oscar-winning producer Albert S. Ruddy's never-before-revealed experiences of making The Godfather (1972).

Release Date April 28, 2022

Cast Giovanni Ribisi, Dan Fogler, Matthew Goode, Miles Teller, Colin Hanks, Burn Gorman

Creator Leslie Greif, Michael Tolkin

The Offer depicts the experience Al Ruddy had while making the iconic classic, The Godfather . The biographical drama created by Michael Tolkin for Paramount+ finds a way to blend Hollywood showbiz with the history surrounding the legendary cinematic artwork. Starring Miles Teller, Nora Arnezeder, Matthew Goode, the show is filled with accomplished actors .

Fans of The Godfather franchise won't want to miss out on this tremendous miniseries. While perfectly retaining all the classic bits without tainting anything, The Offer finds a perfect balance. While some critics find the show a bit all over the place with sub-plots, the pace adds to the tedious nature behind the creation of cinematic history.

When They See Us Highlights Discrimination

When they see us.

Five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they're falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park. Based on the true story.

Release Date May 31, 2019

Cast Asante Blackk, John Leguizamo, Marquis Rodriguez, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Caleel Harris, Niecy Nash, Kylie Bunbury

Creator Ava DuVernay

When They See Us depicts the harsh tale of a jogger who was assaulted and raped in Central Park, NY. Five individuals were charged with the crime despite their claims of innocence. Over 25 years, from the moment they were accused as teens to adulthood, these five individuals fought for their freedom and integrity.

Notably, the series is jam-packed with wonderful Emmy nominees/winners , including Jharrel Jerome, Michael K. Williams, and Felicity Huffman (the list goes on). The powerful performances displayed in When They See Us coagulate into a profound message that casts into ignorant prejudices held by parts of society today. Sharing the story in only four episodes, co-writer and director Ava DuVernay created a commanding narrative based on a true story.

Chernobyl Depicts the Moments of Disaster

Release Date May 6, 2019

Cast Stellan Skarsgrd, Paul Ritter, Jared Harris, Emily Watson

Genres Disaster, Miniseries, History

Creator Craig Mazin

Number of Episodes 5

Streaming Service(s) HBO Max

On April 26th, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant suffered an accidental nuclear meltdown, resulting in catastrophic damage and fatalities. The Chernobyl miniseries depicts the actions leading up to the moment of the explosion, along with the inevitable aftermath . Portraying stories of those who experienced the event firsthand, as well as those responding to the disaster, Chernobyl captures fear and dread.

Portraying some of the worst, most unfathomable happenings in a beautifully shot aesthetic, the color-grading of this show captures a tone like no other. The otherworldly nature of the occurrence changes the film into that of what feels like something from another planet. The stories that proceed in the narrative are largely based on the testimonies of the local people who had to manage the tragedy as it underwent. There aren't too many shows that can properly pull audiences into the world they've created; Chernobyl does so, and more.