Sarah Paulson has made her debut as convicted serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the first trailer for Netflix's Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.
The actress revives the role that previously earned Charlize Theron an Academy Award for Best Actress, transforming to portray the Florida killer for creator Ryan Murphy's true crime anthology series.
Wuornos was convicted of six murders committed between 1989 and 1990 along a central highway in Florida. Paulson's portrayal marks the latest screen adaptation of Wuornos following Theron's performance in the 2003 film Monster and the 2025 Netflix documentary Aileen: Queen of Serial Killers.
First Female Led Season
The upcoming fourth season of the Monster anthology series focuses on Lizzie Borden, played by 26 year old actress Ella Beatty. The installment is the first story in the franchise to center on a female subject.
Borden was accused of killing her father and stepmother with an axe in 1892, though she was never convicted. In the series, Paulson's Wuornos appears in scenes set decades later, with the show presenting her as a woman who was influenced by Borden's story.
Paulson's first appearance in the role comes at the end of the trailer for the new season, as highlighted in a teaser reported by People magazine on August 20, 2026. A voice at the end of the trailer states that nobody really knows what happened that day, prompting Paulson to interject that she knows very well what happened.
Exploring Female Rage
Speaking about the thematic connection between the two historical figures, Beatty said the series explores the legacy of female rage and how women react to the conditions imposed upon them. Beatty added that she believed there was a connection between Borden and Wuornos that creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan wanted to map out and explore.
According to Netflix, Paulson's character plays a crucial role in the thematic direction of the new season. The production uses both historical figures to examine broader psychological questions about violent crime.
Beatty explained that each season of Monster is an effort to understand the psychology of the person at the center, questioning whether individuals are born that way or become killers over time. She noted that Murphy and Brennan were deeply interested in exploring what can lead a woman to violence, adding that Wuornos's story serves that search into why women kill.
Background of the Anthology Franchise
Ryan Murphy's Monster franchise is a major true crime anthology series for Netflix created alongside Ian Brennan. Previous seasons of the franchise examined infamous male figures in American crime history, exploring their psychologies, trials, and cultural impact.
Paulson's casting continues her long standing creative collaboration with Murphy. The Emmy winning actress has previously starred in multiple acclaimed projects created by Murphy, including American Horror Story and American Crime Story.
