Netflix's Jeffrey Dahmer series Monster renewed for two more seasons

Netflix just announced that Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is set to be renewed for two additional seasons. The Watcher has been also ordered for a season two, with both shows created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan.

Monster launched September 21, while The Watcher debuted on October 13. Both shows racked up an enormous amount of attention, with the miniseries drawing in over 125 million hours viewed it its first five days. Monster, on the other hand, has become Netflix's second most-popular English language series of all time behind Stranger Things. The crime drama saw over 700 million hours viewed in the first three weeks of the show.

The thriller series follows Jeffrey Dahmer, played by Evan Peters, one of America's most notorious serial killers in history. The show focuses on the killer's life, family, and the plethora of crimes he committed during the 1980's. However, since the first season of the show told Dahmer's story in its entirety, Netflix reports that the upcoming seasons will focus on the tales of other infamous serial killers. Fans are already speculating that the series could turn next to the likes of Ted Bundy or John Wayne Gacy.

Following the record-breaking success of DAHMER - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Ryan Murphy & Ian Brennan will create two more installments that will focus on other monstrous figures who have impacted society.

A second season of The Watcher has also been greenlit! pic.twitter.com/NmFdj6soJj

— Netflix (@netflix) November 7, 2022

However, as much as the show is praised it has been met with an equal amount, if not more, of strict criticism. The announcement of additional seasons have resulted in many angry voices taking to social media to voice their concerns. Hundreds of followers have since commented under Netflix's Twitter announcement, condemning the streaming Giant for its decision to keep airing the dramatised crime special.

"This is despicable news," one Twitter user commented. "Stop making shows about serial killers and glamourising them, it's so disgusting!" another exclaimed.

The series has faced extensive criticism from the LGBTQIA+ community, families of the victims and many more voices online. One of the families affected by Dahmer's murder spree claims that Netflix never asked their permission to run the show, and effectively "re-traumatised" the family. One of the scenes in the show picturing Rita Isbell, the older sister of victim Errol Lindsey who was killed by Dahmer at 19-years-old, went viral in a side-by-side comparison of the actor DaShawn Barnes' portrayal of Isbell in court with the real footage of the 1992 trial. The videos are almost identical, illustrating Isbell's emotional breakdown in front of the judge as she takes a stand to speak to her brother's murderer. Errol Lindsey's cousin took to Twitter to speak about the show.

I’m not telling anyone what to watch, I know true crime media is huge rn, but if you’re actually curious about the victims, my family (the Isbell’s) are pissed about this show. It’s retraumatizing over and over again, and for what? How many movies/shows/documentaries do we need? https://t.co/CRQjXWAvjx

— eric perry. (@ericthulhu) September 22, 2022

"Recreating my cousin having an emotional breakdown in court in the face of the man who tortured and murdered her brother is WILD," Twitter user @ericthulhu continued. Many users agreed with the tweet and added their own criticisms of the series, sighting how Netflix should have gotten explicit permission from the effected families or how the families should have gotten financial compensation from the success of the show.

The Netflix series was pitched as a show that would shine a "spotlight on the as-yet untold stories of Dahmer's victims, the people who tried to stop him, and the systemic failures that allowed him to continue his murderous spree for over a decade," according to its synopsis.