Charlie Hunnam takes on the role of infamous serial killer in Netflix’s Monster: The Ed Gein Story

Show runners Ryan Murphy and Ian Brannan are all set to bring on their third installment in their anthology series titled Monster: The Ed Gein Story, starring Charlie Hunnam as the ‘monstrous figure’ this season. Each season of the Monsters follows the plot of a serial killer who had a different backstory, convictions, trials, and killings.

Having seen him as Jackson "Jax" Teller in the TV series Sons of Anarchy. He was also the lead in the film King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and a charismatic gangster in Guy Ritchie's film The Gentlemen. Charlie is now to be seen as a serial killer in Ryan Murphy’s anthology series.  

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs have been inspired by Ed Gein’s gruesome acts.

The previous two seasons of the Monster franchise left viewers stunned with the killer’s atrocious actions, especially the killings and cannibalism of the infamous killer, Jeffrey Dahmer. 

Netflix has now officially dropped the first look at the third season of the true-crime series, and it is set to premiere on October 3, 2025. 

The logline of the Monsters: The Ed Gein Story reads: 

‘’In the frozen fields of 1950s rural Wisconsin, a friendly, mild-mannered recluse named Eddie Gein lived quietly on a decaying farm — hiding a house of horrors so gruesome it would redefine the American nightmare. Driven by isolation, psychosis, and an all-consuming obsession with his mother, Gein's perverse crimes birthed a new kind of monster that would haunt Hollywood for decades.  From Psycho to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to The Silence of the Lambs, Gein’s macabre legacy gave birth to fictional monsters born in his image. It ignited a cultural obsession with the criminally deviant. Ed Gein didn’t just influence a genre — he became the blueprint for modern horror.’’

Monsters: The Ed Gein Story, starring Charlie Hunnam, brings the chilling story of Ed Gein to Netflix

The story takes viewers back to 1950 in Wisconsin. Some of the darkest and most horrifying murder cases in American criminal history occurred during this era. 

The plot follows a man named Ed Gein. He was suspected of the murder of his own brother, Henry, and even confessed to murdering two women. Living with his alcoholic father and an abusive mother, his childhood was traumatizing.

He was also arrested for grave robbing and mutilation, who allegedly made trophies from the bodies and skin of corpses he dug up from graveyards. He was found guilty but was later considered ‘insane’, which made him spend his entire life in a mental institution until his death in 1984. 

The show has also been a subject of controversy as the victims' families were not in favour of the producers bringing their traumatic experience to screens. 

The second season of the franchise, which focused on the Lyle and Erik Menendez case, faced criticism. The family called out the show, filled with ‘blatant lies,’ and even objected to a controversial storyline about their relationship with their parents. 

However, the fourth season is already in the works. It will highlight the case of Lizzie Borden. She was convicted of the murder of her father and stepmother in 1892.

Confirmed cast members in Monsters: The Ed Gein Story

Along with Charlie Hunnam, the other cast includes Laurie Metcalf, Tom Hollander, and Olivia Williams. The list of confirmed members is listed below.

• Laurie Metcalf as Gein’s mother, Augusta
• Tom Hollander as Alfred Hitchcock
• Olivia Williams as Alma Reville (Hitchcock’s wife)
• Addison Rae as Evelyn Hartley
• Charlie Hall as Deputy Frank Worden
• Suzanna Son in an undisclosed role

Additional cast includes:

• Olivia Williams
• Lesley Manville
• Joey Pollari
• Tyler Jacob Moore
• Mimi Kennedy
• Will Brill
• Robin Weigert