For actors Evan Peters and Niecy Nash-Betts, as well as director Paris Barclay, the critical mission with Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story was to shift the focus of the narrative around the serial killer away from Dahmer himself and toward his many victims, as well as the systemic racism and institutional failures of the police that allowed him to get away with his crimes.
In an appearance today at Deadline’s Contenders TV, all three creatives noted that there was going to be a significant challenge in taking this series on, given the need to immerse themselves in the darkness of Dahmer. “But I think the writing, it was so smart and very careful to show many different perspectives, not just Dahmer’s. And that was one rule that we had shooting this, was that it was never going to be told from Dahmer’s POV,” Peters told moderator Peter White. “So, it felt worth it to me to dive into it and really push myself.”
Playing Glenda Cleveland, a composite of multiple individuals in Dahmer’s neighborhood who sounded the alarm on the murderer, to no avail, was Nash-Betts, who admitted to asking herself, “What did I get myself into?” after saying yes to the project on the basis of Ryan Murphy’s involvement alone. “And then as I began to read, my heart began to break because for many wrong reasons, this woman was not heard. She was not believed. And I’ve been at those places in my life. I know people who’ve been at those places where you are very marginalized,” the actress shared. “So then once the tears came, I was like, ‘Yeah, of course I’ll do it.’ Because I wanted so desperately to give a voice to someone who had gone unheard for so long. And it was important for me to get it right.”
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Barclay, who directed the show’s sixth and tenth episodes, called the project “the most difficult” he’s taken on “in probably 20 years.” But he at the same time saw the story in front of him as vital, given its continuing resonance today. “This is still happening, this unheard-ness of people of color, this ignorance of people of color. You see what’s happening in Nashville, so the story really has a resonance to today,” said the director. “I mean, it’s about Jeffrey Dahmer in title only, but it’s really about the systemic racism that allows this sort of thing to happen for so long without us fighting back.”
A smash hit for Netflix that came in as the platform’s second most-watched English-language series in its first 28 days, and its third ever to pass 1 billion views in 60 days, Dahmer was initially presented as a limited series, though it’s grown in success into an anthology, with future installments to examine “the stories of other monstrous figures who have impacted society.” Peters recently won a Golden Globe for his lead performance, with Nash-Betts landing a Critics’ Choice Award and both claiming SAG Award noms, to boot. Murphy and Ian Brennan co-created the show and exec produced alongside Alexis Martin Woodall, Eric Kovtun, Peters and Janet Mock. Carl Franklin exec produced the pilot, with Color of Change President Rashad Robinson serving as consulting producer.
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Check back Tuesday for the panel video.
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