Brothers Lyle and Erik Menéndez‘s case has been adapted for the small and big screen since the early 1990s. From TV movies such as Menendez: A Killing in Beverly Hills to TV shows including Netflix’s installment to its Monsters anthology series The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the duo’s case has had a long-term impact on the public.
Countless other films and television shows have also referenced the Menéndez brothers‘ lives. Below, News47.us has rounded up the list of TV shows and movies based on their story.
This CBS television film premiered in May 1994, about a year after the brothers’ trial made headlines around the U.S. Actors Damian Chapa and Travis Fine portrayed Lyle and Erik, respectively.
Edie Falco is front and center in the new Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders poster: https://t.co/rWXW6zDUBN pic.twitter.com/8R7Hdy20q5
— E! News (@enews) August 1, 2017
This 1994 TV movie also premiered in 1994. Per its IMDb synopsis, the film follows “the story of Lyle and Erik Menendez, who murdered their wealthy parents in Beverly Hills in 1989, claiming they were acting self-defense after years of abuse.”
Billy Warlock played Lyle, and David Berón played Erik in the movie.
Natural Born Killers is reportedly loosely based on the Menendez brothers’ ordeal. Created by Quentin Tarantino, the 1994 flick stars Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones, and Tom Sizemore. Though it opened with a successful box office, the movie was criticized for its violent content.
This 2017 TV film premiered on Lifetime and starred Courtney Love in the role of Lyle and Erik’s late mother, Kitty. Nico Tortorella played Lyle, while Myko Olivier portrayed Erik.
