Despite The Backlash, ‘Dahmer’ Makes Netflix History

Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan have a massive hit on their hands with DAHMER – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Since its September 21 premiere, the limited drama series has made Netflix history.

The ten-episode series has been out for just two weeks, and it has already become one of the streamer’s most successful shows of all time. Dahmer topped the English TV List for the second week in succession with 299.84 million hours viewed, making it the second most-watched English-language series in a week behind Stranger Things 4.

On top of that, the series entered the Most Popular List in ninth place after just 12 days, with 496.05 million hours viewed. In an email to the media, the streamer acknowledged that there had been a lot of buzz over the last week regarding how high viewing hours translate into huge audiences on Netflix (total hours viewed divided by a show’s runtime).

So this week, Netflix did the math for Dahmer. There was a total of 496 million hours viewed, divided by the series’ total run time of 8.8 hours. It has been concluded that 56 million households have seen the series in less than two weeks.

It’s not surprising that Dahmer has grown in popularity in its second week. In the first week, it debuted at the top of the English TV list with more than 196 million hours viewed, making it the most-watched title in its first week. It was also in the Top 10 in 92 countries.

However, not everyone is happy that so many people are watching. Some victims’ families are horrified that the series is out, and their rage has sparked backlash online.

There have been claims that the series is cruel and traumatizing the families all over again. Some had also said they were hurt that they were not contacted about the show and found out about it when everyone else did. For some, seeing themselves portrayed in the series was very painful.

Rita Isbell’s brother, Errol Lindsey, was a victim, and she says her family wasn’t contacted. She recently explained why she’s upset about her on-screen portrayal. “I was never contacted about the show. I feel like Netflix should’ve asked if we mind or how we felt about making it. They didn’t ask me anything. They just did it. But I’m not money hungry, and that’s what this show is about, Netflix trying to get paid.”

She discussed the scene with an actress portraying her as she gave her victim impact statement at Dahmer’s 1992 sentencing. “If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought it was me. Her hair was like mine; she had on the same clothes. That’s why it felt like reliving it all over again. It brought back all the emotions I was feeling back then.”

Another Isbell family member, Eric, had a recent viral tweet that explains the pain his family is experiencing. “They don’t notify families when they do this. It’s all public record, so they don’t have to notify (or pay!) anyone. My family found out when everyone else did. So when they say they’re doing this ‘with respect to the victims’ or ‘honoring the dignity of the families,’ no one contacts them. My cousins wake up every few months at this point with a bunch of calls and messages, and they know there’s another Dahmer show. It’s cruel.”

From an artistic standpoint, the series is a masterpiece, but there’s no denying its macabre details make it hard to digest. Between 1978 and 1991, Dahmer took the lives of his 17 victims in the most gruesome ways, and the series doesn’t shy away from detailing what he did to their bodies postmortem. At points, it’s so dark and disturbing that it’s difficult to watch.

It’s equally difficult not to watch with phenomenal performances by Emmy Award-winner Evan Peters, who is brilliant as Jeffrey Dahmer. Richard Jenkins flawlessly portrays his father, Lionel Dahmer, who tried to help his son but turned a blind eye to many red flags over the years. Molly Ringwald undergoes a stunning transformation as Dahmer’s stepmother, Shari. And last but certainly not least, Niecy Nash is spectacular as Glenda Cleveland, Dahmer’s frustrated neighbor who repeatedly called the police to report foul odors from his apartment and loud noises she determined were people getting killed.

Tragically, she was repeatedly ignored, and he was allowed to continue killing. Law enforcement failed on many levels. He was a white man living in an underserved, marginalized community. His victims were overlooked in a legal system riddled with systemic racism, homophobia and institutional failures that favored him and blatantly ignored those he targeted. Many of these issues still exist today, and this series spotlights this for a younger generation.