The Beast in Me is an American psychological crime thriller television miniseries for Netflix, starring Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys. Created by Gabe Rotter, the series follows an author (Danes) who begins writing a book about her new next-door neighbor (Rhys), a real estate executive who allegedly killed his wife. Executive producers on the series include Jodie Foster and Conan O'Brien. It premiered on November 13, 2025, and received generally positive reviews from critics and nine nominations at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and acting nominations for Danes and Rhys.
Contents
Cast
Main
Claire Danes as Aggie Wiggs, a grieving author who struggles to write her next book
Matthew Rhys as Nile Jarvis, the son of a real estate magnate who moves next door to Aggie's house in Oyster Bay, New York, on Long Island to live in a more secluded manner with his second wife as he allegedly killed his first wife
Brittany Snow as Nina Jarvis, Nile's second wife who is a gallerist in Manhattan
Natalie Morales as Shelley Morris, Aggie's ex-wife who is a painter
Recurring
Jonathan Banks as Martin Jarvis, Nile's father who is a ruthless real estate mogul
David Lyons as Agent Brian Abbott, an FBI agent who previously investigated the Jarvis family
Tim Guinee as Rick "Wrecking Ball" Jarvis, Nile's uncle who is also his security detail
Deirdre O'Connell as Carol McGiddish, Aggie's literary agent and trusted friend
Bubba Weiler as Teddy Fenig, a young drunk driver who killed Aggie's son
Hettienne Park as Agent Erika Breton, an FBI agent who is Abbott's supervisor and lover
Aleyse Shannon as Olivia Benitez, a city council member who opposes Nile's business plans
Julie Ann Emery as Lila Jarvis, Martin Jarvis' wife and Nile's stepmother
Amir Arison as Frank Breton, FBI Agent Erika Breton's ex-husband
Guest starring
Leonard Gerome as Cooper Morris-Wiggs, Aggie and Shelley's 8-year-old son who died in a drunk driving incident
Brennan Brown as Phineas Gold, a city councilman whose campaign the Jarvises bankrolled
Will Brill as Christopher Ingram, the brother of Nile's missing wife
Kate Burton as Mariah Ingram, the mother of Nile's missing wife
Bill Irwin as James Ingram, the father of Nile's missing wife
Mozhan Navabi as Esme Noor, a political strategist hired by the Jarvises to do opposition research on city council members opposing Jarvis Yards
Raphael Sbarge as Nick Ryder, the Jarvises' attorney
Becky Ann Baker as Tessa Baldwin, Abbott's superior in the FBI
Leila George as Madison Jarvis (née Ingram), Nile's missing wife
Production
Development
The series is produced by 20th Television and created, written and executive produced by Gabe Rotter. Rotter initially wrote the script 6–7 years prior to production. It is executive produced by Jodie Foster, Conan O'Brien, Daniel Pearle, who also served as writer, Antonio Campos, who also directed, Jeff Ross and David Kissinger via Conaco, Howard Gordon, who served as showrunner, and Claire Danes, who also stars.
Casting
Matthew Rhys joined the cast for the Netflix production in August 2024. Brittany Snow, Natalie Morales, David Lyons and Tim Guinee joined the cast in October 2024. Deirdre O'Connell, Jonathan Banks, Hettienne Park, Aleyse Shannon, Will Brill, Kate Burton, Bill Irwin, Amir Arison, and Julie Ann Emery joined the cast in November 2024.
Filming
Filming took place in Red Bank, New Jersey in September 2024.
Release
The Beast in Me premiered on Netflix, with all eight episodes on November 13, 2025.
Reception
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 85% approval rating, based on 71 critic reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "A cut above the usual murder mystery, The Beast in Me stages a psychological duel that crackles with tension thanks to Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys' superb performances." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave a score of 71 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Influences
It has been speculated that the series is based on the life of murderer Robert Durst.