Can ‘Monsters’ Have the Same Impact for Menendez Brothers as the #FreeBritney Movement?

If Erik and Lyle Menendez are granted a pardon — or even the possibility of parole — after 35 years in prison, they can thank Ryan Murphy’s “Monsters.”

The recent calls from outgoing Los Angeles D.A. George Gascón, celebrities and the public to free the brothers can be directly attributed to the Netflix series, which portrays the convicted killers in a far more sympathetic light than the media did when they were first arrested and tried. New evidence corroborating the brothers’ accounts of horrific sexual abuse at the hands of their father also strengthen the argument that they should never have received such harsh sentences in the first place.

“Monsters,” which is hardly the first series to tackle the shocking case, has brought the same kind of reassessment to the Menendez brothers as the podcast “Serial” did in 2014 for Adnan Syed, Hulu’s “The Act” did for Gypsy Rose Blanchard in 2019 and the #FreeBritney movement and numerous documentaries did for Britney Spears‘ conservatorship in 2021. All three real-life subjects, accused of murder or madness, are now free, largely due to their stories being told in new and compelling ways. (Though Syed, who was freed in 2022, is still mired in legal issues and may end up back in prison.)

“Had it not been for #FreeBritney, frankly, the press wouldn’t have been as interested or motivated as it was and these proceedings would have remained behind closed doors,” Adam Streisand of the firm Sheppard Mullin, who represented Spears early in her highly publicized quest to end her conservatorship, told TheWrap. “The media was able to shine a light on what was a serious miscarriage of justice.”

Of course, sympathy for a pop star who doesn’t have the freedom to make her own business decisions isn’t the same as asking for the release of two self-admitted murderers who gunned down their parents. But both causes have exponentially benefited from being in the media spotlight.

Even with Gascón losing reelection last week as more traditional prosecutor Nathan Hochman steps in as Los Angeles D.A, Streisand didn’t anticipate the support slowing down. “I see the incubation of a #FreeEric&Lyle in the making that continues to crank up the heat on it,” he said. “They may not be pop icons, but they’re becoming pop lore.”

Members of the Menendez Family already launched the site JusticeforErikandLyle.org on Oct. 16, with the still-going hashtag #JusticeForErikAndLyle.

“It’s brought new attention to a cold case,” Streisand said of “Monsters,” as well as Netflix’s “incredibly powerful” companion documentary. “It’s going to lead to them finally getting out.”

“Almost all” of the momentum to free the brothers is due to the Netflix series, said Anne Bremner, a Seattle-based attorney and legal commentator who has represented such high-profile clients as Amanda Knox. She told TheWrap she’s already watched “Monsters” three times.

“There are three things that are certain in life: death, taxes and these guys are getting out,” she said on a phone call before Gascón, who is in favor of clemency, was voted out of office.

There was public support for their exoneration long before “Monsters” debuted, as two long-standing petitions on Change.org for the brothers’ release — one begun six years ago and another four years ago — demonstrate. But the number of signatures has skyrocketed since the series debuted Sept. 19.

Menachem Enayatian was 16 in 2020 when he started the second petition after watching YouTube videos of the case and began sympathizing with the brothers. He hasn’t watched “Monsters,” but told TheWrap it’s “mind-boggling” how many people have rushed to sign the years-old petition.

“I was getting emails from Change.org about how many comments were being left. And I was just saying, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s really, really incredible that people are coming back to it because of this TV show,” Enayatian said. In just three days after “Monsters” premiered, his petition more than doubled to 30,000 signatures, eventually climbing to its current total of more than 114,000.

“The media has become an increasingly powerful force behind legal action as it puts so many people under a microscope, often in a way that can affect careers and give attention to a certain issue that can force change,” noted L.A. entertainment attorney Tre Lovell, who represented alleged victims of fraud in a lawsuit against “Shark Tank” stars Kevin O’Leary and Kevin Harrington.

Lovell considers “Monsters” one of the key elements in the “perfect storm” of events that could mean freedom for the Menendez brothers. “[The series] on Netflix, the documentaries, the social media push and various celebrities pushing for release has made the idea of releasing the Menendez brothers a kitchen table issue,” he said in a statement shared with TheWrap.

While Murphy has acknowledged the real-life impact the Netflix series has had, he said in October that freeing the brothers was never his goal.

“I believe in justice, but I don’t believe in being a part of that machine,” Murphy told Variety last month. “That’s not my job. My job as an artist was to tell a perspective in a particular story. I feel I’ve done that, but I wish them well.”

The prolific producer added: “So many people are now interested in the case and it speaks to me about the power of television and what it can do. It can shine a spotlight on something and it can illuminate dark corners.”

He happily took credit for giving the long-imprisoned brothers a “platform” and “their moment in the court of public opinion” with the series.

Whether Erik and Lyle Menendez are pardoned and freed or become eligible for parole, there can be no denying that none of this might be happening if Murphy had selected a different American true crime story for the second season of his Netflix series.

Next up for Season 3 is the notorious serial killer Ed Gein.

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