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Nicole Kidman’s Netflix Murder Mystery Has Finally Been Dethroned as #1 By This Dark True-Crime Thriller

*Adds to streaming queue*

monsters lyle erik menendez story netflix perfect couple nicole kidman
Seacia Pavao/Netflix

Move aside, The Perfect Couple. There’s a brand-new frontrunner on Netflix. 

Introducing Ryan Murphy’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. The nine-part series just premiered yesterday, and it’s already dethroned The Perfect Couple as the number one show on Netflix.

monsters lyle erik menendez story netflix perfect couple
MILES CRIST/NETFLIX

Monsters stars Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch as Lyle and Erik (respectively) and depicts the real-life case of two brothers who were convicted of murdering their parents in 1996. According to PureWow's associate editor Nakeisha Campbell, Murphy did a great job creating a non-biased retelling. 

“I really like that Murphy blurs the lines and doesn't clearly distinguish between the monsters and the victims,” she wrote in her review. “Rather, he challenges viewers to see the whole story and judge for themselves.”

I’m not surprised that Monsters officially dethroned The Perfect Couple as the number one series on Netflix. However, I didn’t expect it to happen so soon. Prior to Monsters, the Nicole Kidman-led show held the highly coveted position ever since it debuted earlier this month. Still, it only took a few hours for Monsters to claim the spotlight.

monsters lyle erik menendez story netflix perfect couple cast
HILARY BRONWYN GAYLE/NETFLIX

If you need a refresher, The Perfect Couple is based on the Elin Hilderbrand book of the same name, and it centers around a ritzy Nantucket wedding weekend where one of the guests turns up dead. (Dun dun dun!)

In her positive review of the six-part Netflix series, PureWow’s editor-in-chief Jillian Quint admitted that The Perfect Couple had her guessing until the very end.

“I couldn’t stop watching, both for the mystery itself—I can usually figure out by episode two who the killer is, and this time I really really couldn’t—and for the delicious setting, tone and top-notch acting,” she wrote. “This particular breed of ice queen is the role Kidman was born to play, and I was pretty into Daddy Schreiber rocking architect glasses and an old money rumpled button-down with a joint hanging out of his mouth at all times.”

More streaming options? You won’t hear me complain. 

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