“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” asks viewers to take the jury for the Menendez brothers. The notorious Beverly Hills siblings murdered their parents in 1989 and were convicted in 1996, but today’s broader understanding of sexual abuse has led to renewed interest in the case.

“(The show is) about the consequences of trauma,” said Javier Bardem, who plays father José, diversity at the series’ premiere in Los Angeles on Monday. “If it is not properly addressed and healed, it will have enormous, horrific and dramatic effects on generations to come.”

The cast and creatives of the series described their “Rashaman” approach to the story.

“We really wanted to present a lot of different points of view and then let the audience decide what they take in,” said writer and producer David McMillian. “We’re talking about real people… many of them are still alive. We want to make sure our narrative is based on facts.”

“You can’t make a moral or emotional judgment on anyone,” said Carl Franklin, who directed the first two episodes. “You basically have to grapple with the material and present the strongest arguments for each individual actor and each viewpoint.”

The filmmakers have taken great pains to accurately portray the time period, and Los Angeles native Leslie Grossman, who plays key witness Judalon Smyth, said the portrayal is absolutely accurate.

“My sister-in-law was in the same class as Erik. I could name ten people off the top of my head who knew those brothers. It was crazy to relive it all like that and remember very vividly what it was like to be in LA at that time,” Grossman said. diversity.

Composer Thomas Newman teamed up with his daughter Julia to set the tone of LA in the late 1980s and early 1990s

“These places you drive through every day are part of this larger story about murder and family,” Julia explained. “This story is deeply rooted in the fabric of Los Angeles.”

Jess Weixler, who plays Lyle’s lawyer Jill Lansing, said the brothers are viewed with more sensitivity today than during the trials 30 years ago.

“This case is very different today than it was then, in the way people (especially) deal with abuse of men … I don’t know if it would have changed the outcome (of the trial), but I think it would have been (treated) more meaningfully and less like a ‘Saturday Night Live’ skit,” she explained.

READ MORE: Erik Menendez criticizes Netflix series “Monsters”: “Ryan Murphy can’t be so naive and inaccurate”

Producer Ryan Murphy, who has won Emmys for his acting career, cast Cooper Koch and Daytime Emmy winner Nicholas Alexander Chavez as the titular brothers Erik and Lyle. Although neither spoke to the long-incarcerated Mendenezes, they were both profiled in interviews, documentaries, books, articles and the entire televised trial.

“You’re kind of creating a trauma for yourself that’s hard to bear, but ultimately it’s very rewarding and fulfilling to understand and empathize with someone who has gone through something so, so difficult and tragic,” Koch said.

Koch asked viewers to pay attention to the fifth episode, titled “The Hurt Man,” which he is particularly proud of.

“The injured man is the name Erik called himself growing up,” he added.

“This show creates such conflicting emotions,” Chavez said. “I think that’s what has made this case so exciting for so long. I’m really curious to see what the public consensus is — or if there is a consensus at all.”

Nathan Lane spoke to Griffin Dunne about his role as his late father, legendary journalist Dominick Dunne. “I asked, ‘How would you like to see your father portrayed?’ And he said, ‘I want people to know what a passionate advocate he was for victims and how this trial changed his life professionally and personally,'” Nathan Lane said. “When I started getting these episodes, I thought, ‘I think he’s going to be very happy.’ Because that was a common thread for the whole character and especially in episode seven, which explains a lot about Dominick.”

With “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez” premiering earlier this week and “Grotesquerie” next week, Murphy has a lot planned. Murphy recently announced that Charlie Hunnam will play notorious serial killer Ed Gein in Season 3 of “Monster.” “There are too many monsters in the world,” McMillian said. “It’s not just about choosing one monster, it’s about finding a way to make that story fresh for another generation.”

More photos from the “Monsters” premiere can be found below.