Netflix’s Monster Is Making Its Biggest Change Yet For Season 4 — As Charlie Hunnam Returns In A Completely Different Role For The Lizzie Borden Story

Netflix’s Monster is breaking its own rules for Season 4 — and Charlie Hunnam says viewers should expect the controversial true-crime anthology to feel noticeably different this time around.

After three seasons dominated by disturbing crimes and an overwhelmingly grim atmosphere, Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s series is introducing something unexpected to its retelling of the Lizzie Borden story.

Dark comedy.

Hunnam, who previously led Season 3 as Ed Gein, has revealed that the new installment makes a “slight shift” in tone, becoming considerably more willing to embrace the bizarre humor within its story.

And that’s not the only first.

Hunnam is also returning to the anthology as an entirely different character — making him the first former Monster star to come back for another season.

This time, however, he isn’t playing the killer at the center of the story.

He’s playing Lizzie Borden’s father.

Monster Turns Its Attention To Lizzie Borden

Season 4 explores one of the most notorious murder cases in American history, with Ella Beatty taking the lead as Lizzie Borden.

Borden became infamous following the 1892 axe murders of her father, Andrew Borden, and stepmother, Abby Borden.

The new season retains the anthology’s established interest in infamous American murder cases, but the creative team has chosen a noticeably different way of presenting the material.

Hunnam plays Andrew Borden, marking a dramatic change from his Season 3 performance as Ed Gein.

Speaking to ScreenRant, Hunnam explained that the new season is “a bit more overtly comedic.”

That change wasn’t limited to what audiences will eventually see on screen.

According to the actor, it affected the atmosphere during production as well.

“It’s a bit more overtly comedic, which was really lovely to be able to explore,” Hunnam said.

“And it had an effect on the atmosphere on set. We had license to play around and lean into the humor of the scenario a little bit more, which I really enjoyed.”

The First Three Seasons Were Much More Serious

Humor hasn’t traditionally been one of the most obvious ingredients in Monster.

The first three installments approached their disturbing subject matter with a predominantly bleak and serious tone.

Season 4 isn’t abandoning the gravity of its story, but director Max Winkler says Murphy and Brennan wanted to approach the Borden material from another direction.

Winkler recalled receiving a call from Murphy asking a straightforward question:

“What do you know about Lizzie Borden?”

Winkler admitted he knew “very little.”

Murphy then sent him pages from the project.

The scripts immediately surprised him.

Rather than finding something relentlessly solemn, Winkler described the material as “funny,” “immediate” and “rebellious.”

That became the foundation for a version of Monster that could acknowledge the seriousness of its subject while embracing a much stranger energy.

The Director Wanted Season 4 To Feel ‘Punk’

Winkler even found inspiration in an unlikely place.

He looked toward the theatrical farce Noises Off, which is built around chaotic entrances, exits, misunderstandings and characters constantly disrupting one another.

The director became interested in bringing some of that restless energy into Monster.

He described the desired approach as almost like watching people enter rooms, “throwing a grenade” into the situation and then immediately leaving.

The goal wasn’t to turn a murder story into a conventional comedy.

Instead, the creative team deliberately built a darkly comedic element into the way the story was presented.

“The subject matter is very serious,” Winkler emphasized, while explaining that this darker humor had always been part of their intended approach.

He also admitted they didn’t know initially whether the unusual combination would work.

Charlie Hunnam Makes Monster History

The tonal experiment isn’t the only departure from tradition.

Hunnam’s return represents another significant first for the anthology.

After starring as Ed Gein, he has now become the first major performer from a previous Monster installment to return as a new historical figure in a later season.

But viewers shouldn’t expect Andrew Borden to dominate Season 4 in the same way Gein dominated Season 3.

This time, Hunnam is taking a supporting role.

And he appears perfectly comfortable with that.

The actor said the enormous responsibility of carrying the season belongs to Ella Beatty.

He knows exactly what that pressure feels like after his previous experience leading the show.

“It’s an enormous demand to have to carry one of these shows,” he explained.

“The material’s so dense, there’s so much big emotional requirement in the role.”

Ella Beatty Takes The Driver’s Seat

For Season 4, Beatty becomes the central performer tasked with navigating that demanding material.

Hunnam described the change in position as an enjoyable one.

“It was really lovely to get to be a passenger and let her drive the car on this one,” he said.

But taking a smaller role didn’t mean he approached Andrew Borden casually.

Hunnam said he wanted to make the character as multidimensional as possible while working alongside Brennan, Murphy and Winkler.

The actor stressed that the number of scenes an actor receives doesn’t necessarily determine how much preparation a character requires.

He spent considerable time trying to understand Andrew and the motivations behind his behavior.

That preparation puts Hunnam in an unusual position within the Monster franchise: after previously embodying the infamous figure at the center of one season, he is now playing the father of the woman at the center of another.

A Familiar Formula With A Very Different Flavor

At its core, Season 4 still follows the blueprint that has defined Monster.

A notorious American criminal case becomes the foundation for a heavily dramatized season exploring the people involved and the circumstances surrounding it.

But the Lizzie Borden installment is deliberately testing how flexible that formula can become.

There’s a returning actor playing a completely unrelated character.

There’s a new lead in Ella Beatty.

There’s a director drawing inspiration from theatrical farce.

And, perhaps most surprisingly, there’s considerably more room for humor.

That doesn’t mean the murders themselves are being treated lightly.

Winkler specifically emphasized the seriousness of the underlying subject matter.

Instead, the shift appears to come from the strange human behavior, family dynamics and situations surrounding the story.

Monster Is Taking A Risk After Three Seasons

That makes Season 4 an intriguing experiment for a series whose previous installments established a recognizable atmosphere.

Audiences familiar with Monster may expect another relentlessly dark journey.

The creative team is signaling something less predictable.

Hunnam calls it more “overtly comedic.”

Winkler describes the scripts as rebellious and his filmmaking approach as “punk.”

And the inspiration behind some of that energy comes from a theatrical farce rather than another prestige true-crime drama.

Whether that combination changes how audiences respond to the series remains to be seen.

But one thing is already clear: Monster isn’t simply repeating the approach of its first three seasons.

The Lizzie Borden story is taking the anthology somewhere it hasn’t been before.

And after carrying an entire season as Ed Gein, Charlie Hunnam is coming along for the ride — this time from the passenger seat.

All eight episodes of Monster Season 4 premiere on Netflix on September 17.