Overview

• The eight-episode season from Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan premiered Oct. 3 on Netflix, centering on Ed Gein and his imprint on modern horror.
• Critics highlight graphic, provocative imagery, including a reimagined Psycho shower sequence, and question whether the show prioritizes shock over insight.
• Fact-checks report significant dramatizations, including an embellished Adeline Watkins relationship, invented chainsaw killings, and anachronistic FBI interactions.
• People and Forbes reiterate the verified record: Gein confessed to killing Bernice Worden and Mary Hogan, was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and was institutionalized until his 1984 death.
• The ensemble features Charlie Hunnam as Gein with Laurie Metcalf, Lesley Manville, Suzanna Son, Tom Hollander, Vicky Krieps, Addison Rae, and others portraying figures across Gein’s life and horror cinema’s lineage.