Within one week of its release, the hit show Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, was reported to have 300 million hours watched on Netflix. According to BreAnna Bell and Selome Hailu from the Variety website, Dahmer is the 9th most-watched English-language series of all time. Is this show popular for a good reason? Or not?

The 10-episode long series was released by Netflix on September 21, 2022, starring Emmy Award winner, Evan Peters. In the past he played multiple eerie characters in American Horror Story, a 103-episode, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning series released in the year 2011. Evan’s appearance may be the cause of so many viewers. 

The show is about the infamous Jeffrey Dahmer, and his extreme acts of cannibalism. This show is actually the 2nd re-telling of the Jeffrey Dahmer story. The first show being My Friend Dahmer, starring Ross Lynch. Director Ryan Murphy has directed other films such as Eat Pray Love, Running With Scissors, The Prom, and The Normal Heart. 

Before the release of Dahmer, some did not know much about Dahmer besides the surface of what he did. 

Race and Social Justice teacher Melissa Nance, says “I knew he was a notorious cannibal, that’s pretty much it.” However, student at Vanden High School, Raymond Lanzarin, states “I knew a pretty decent amount about him because I’ve always wondered how his mind worked.”          

Family members of Dahmer’s victims have spoken out. They are upset because the producers failed to tell them about how they would reenact the trials and having to watch the show caused them to relive their trauma after 30 years of healing. In the Time website, Moises Mendez says, “Some family members of the victims of Dahmer have also spoken out against the series, saying it has retraumatized them.” This gives the show a title of being controversial. Mrs. Nance claims she has heard that the victims did not receive any compensation for this production. “and if that is true, then that is really sad considering how much they talked about the victims and how they should have been treated better.”

Speaking with viewers who have seen the show, the reviews can be mixed. Some say they are unable to finish the show because they are so disturbed by the ambience. Mrs. Nance states she feels, “Horrified, frustrated, sad and depressed” after watching. “I am, however, glad that I saw it because I did not realize the extent to which he targeted his victims such as gay, black males” she says, “It furthered my frustration with the criminal justice system.” 

Overall, Dahmer is a huge hit show. With 60% on Rotten Tomatoes. Humans are fascinated with the unusual and this show is exactly what feeds that curiosity.