The hit Netflix anthology Monster is adding the “Master of Suspense,” Alfred Hitchcock, for its upcoming third season about infamous killer and grave robber Ed Gein. British actor Tom Hollander is set to play the legendary director in a supporting role, according to Variety.
Gein—played in the show by Charlie Hunnam—and his macabre crimes have helped inspire a number of villainous characters, including Norman Bates in the 1959 novel Psycho and Hitchcock’s movie adaptation a year later. Neither showrunner Ryan Murphy nor Netflix have released plot details for Monster Season 3, but it’s likely Hitchcock’s inclusion will explore this connection.
Also according to Variety, Emmy-winning actor Laurie Metcalf has joined the true-crime series as Gein’s mother, Augusta, while Olivia Williams will portray Hitchcock’s wife, Alma Reville.
The news comes as the show’s second season, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, continues to rank among Netflix’s most-watched programs following its release in mid-September. Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch play the notorious brothers who murdered their parents in 1989. The first season previously featured actor Evan Peters as serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
Here’s everything you need to know about Gein and his upcoming portrayal in Monster Season 3.
Who Was Ed Gein?
Gein, born in August 1906 in Wisconsin, became known as the “Butcher of Plainfield.” He admitted to the murders of two women, Mary Hogan in 1954 and Bernice Worden in 1957, but was believed to be connected to a number of unsolved cases.
While investigating Gein’s house following Worden’s disappearance, police gruesomely discovered he kept human organs in jars and had fashioned clothing items and furniture out of human bones and body parts. Gein also admitted to digging up corpses to practice necrophilia and to make masks and suits out of human skin. He was convicted of Worden’s murder in November 1968 but found insane at the time of the killing and committed to a psychiatric facility.
Gein died of complications from lung cancer and respiratory illnesses on July 26, 1984. His horrifying crimes at least partially inspired a number of notable fictional killers, including Bates from Psycho (1960), Leatherface from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), and Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs (1991).
Who Is Playing Ed Gein in Monster?
Charlie Hunnam will portray Gein in Monster Season 3.
The 41-year-old English actor is best known for his role as Jax Teller on the FX drama Sons of Anarchy. Elsewhere, he played the legendary King Arthur in the 2015 movie King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and has appeared in 2019’s The Gentlemen, starring Matthew McConaughey, and 2023’s Rebel Moon–Part One: A Child of Fire.
Who Else Is in the Monster Season 3 Cast?
Monster Season 3 marks 57-year-old Tom Hollander’s second collaboration with showrunner Ryan Murphy. Earlier this year, the actor played famous author Truman Capote in the Murphy’s FX series Feud: Capote vs. The Swans and earned an Emmy Award nomination for his portrayal. For Monster, Hollander takes on the role of Alfred Hitchcock, the legendary director known for thrillers such as Rear Window (1954), The Birds (1963), and, of course, Psycho.
Fellow British actor Olivia Williams will play screenwriter and editor Alma Reville, Hitchcock’s wife of more than 53 years. Williams, 56, recently appeared in Seasons 5 and 6 of the Netflix royal drama The Crown as Camilla Parker Bowles.
Finally, Laurie Metcalf will portray Gein’s fanatically religious mother, Augusta. Known for her role as Jackie Harris on the TV sitcoms Roseanne and its spinoff The Conners, 69-year-old Metcalf has won four Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards in her career.
When Will Monster Season 3 Release?
A premiere date hasn’t been announced for Monster Season 3, but Netflix shared that production would begin sometime in October 2024.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story debuted on Netflix on September 19, almost two full years after the first season featuring Jeffrey Dahmer in 2022. A similar gap seems possible.
Monster Has Been a Major Hit for Netflix
The first season of Monster, which featured Evan Peters as Dahmer, became Netflix’s third most-watched English language show in history. It eclipsed 1 billion hours streamed in its first 60 days, one of only four series to do so.
Monster was also well-received by critics, despite its disturbing subject matter. Peters won a Golden Globe for his performance as Dahmer, and Niecy Nash received an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress for portraying Dahmer’s real-life neighbor Glenda Cleveland.
Watch Dahmer–Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story or Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story on Netflix
Murphy and the streamer manufactured similar buzz with the release of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. In addition to Chavez and Koch as the Menendez brothers, the cast features Academy Award winner Javier Bardem as their father, José Menendez, and Chloë Sevigny as their mother Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez.
“When you make a show like our first season Dahmer, which was so unexpectedly successful, the thing that was our way in… was really about looking at who gets justice and different forms of social injustice,” Murphy recently said at a panel discussion, according to IndieWire. “And I felt the same way about this season [with the Menendez brothers]. This season was about abuse. Who is believed, who’s not believed.”
Monsters currently ranks third among the streamer’s English language TV shows with 8.7 million views in its fourth week of release. An accompanying documentary, The Menendez Brothers, that features new interviews with the convicted killers was the most-watched movie on the service with 22.7 million views between October 7 and October 13.
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.