The Beast in Me is an American psychologicalcrime 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. The series premiered on November 13, 2025, and received generally positive reviews.
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
Teleplay by: Gabe Rotter and Daniel Pearle Story by: Gabe Rotter
November13,2025(2025-11-13)
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Author Agatha “Aggie” Wiggs struggles to write her next book while grieving her young son Cooper, who died years earlier in a drunk-driving accident. She learns that Nile Jarvis, a real estate developer suspected of murdering his first wife, Madison, has moved in next door. Aggie meets Nile and his second wife, Nina; Nile fails to persuade her to support building a neighborhood walking path. On the anniversary of Cooper’s death, Aggie and her ex-wife, Shelley, visit his grave and spot the drunk driver, Teddy Fenig, leaving flowers with his mother, sparking a confrontation. Aggie later agrees to lunch with Nile, who dismisses her current book idea as uninteresting and suggests she instead write about him. She tells him about Cooper’s death and admits she once wished Teddy dead, since he avoided jail time. As they leave, they see Teddy nearby. That night, FBI agent Brian Abbott visits Aggie, warning her to be cautious around Nile. She learns that Abbott led the investigation into Madison’s disappearance. The next morning, Aggie hears that Teddy has died in an apparent suicide.
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"Just Don't Want to Be Lonely"
Antonio Campos
Gabe Rotter
November13,2025(2025-11-13)
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Aggie visits the scene of Teddy’s death but leaves when his mother notices her. On the way home, she encounters Nile, who asks about Teddy’s death, raising her suspicions. She meets Abbott in Central Park and tells him she worries Nile may have killed Teddy, but he urges her to drop it. As she leaves the city, Aggie sees a protest led by liberal councilwoman Olivia Benitez against Jarvis Yards, Nile’s family real-estate company. Aggie then agrees to write a book about Nile, framing it to him as a chance to present his side of Madison’s disappearance. The next morning, Nina invites Aggie on a walk and reveals she was Madison’s personal assistant before Madison died. While they are out, Nile’s uncle and security chief, Rick, searches Aggie’s house and finds a note with Abbott’s name on it. After returning home, Aggie calls Abbott to update him about the book. That night, FBI agent Erika Breton—Abbott’s supervisor and secret lover—is confronted by Rick, who forces her into his car.
Rick informs his brother, Martin—Nile’s father and the aging CEO of Jarvis Yards—about Aggie’s planned book. Aggie conducts her first interview with Nile, and he invites her to a family birthday party. Nina visits Shelley’s art studio, having noticed one of her paintings at Aggie’s home, and offers to feature her work in a major exhibition. Rick tells Nile that Aggie has been speaking with Abbott. While Aggie meets Abbott at his apartment to devise a plan to track Nile’s movements, Nile calls and asks her to meet him at Jarvis Yards; she agrees, and Abbott follows. Nile brings her to the edge of a high-rise under construction and confronts her about contacting Abbott. Aggie insists Abbott is only a source for her book and offers Nile greater editorial control, which placates him. Aggie attends the Jarvis family birthday party, while Abbott breaks into Nile’s home to copy files from his computer. Nile abruptly leaves the party with Nina after he and Martin learn that a city councilman in their pocket has withdrawn his support for Jarvis Yards. Aggie alerts Abbott, who escapes with the data just before Nile and Nina return, but his leg is severely injured by Nile’s dogs during his getaway.
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"Thanatos"
Tyne Rafaeli
C.A. Johnson
November13,2025(2025-11-13)
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Abbott visits an underground contact to decrypt the files he retrieved from Nile's computer, keeping his investigation off-book since the FBI considers the case closed. Nina rescinds her offer to showcase Shelley's art after Aggie points out the conflict of interest, leading to a fight between Aggie and Shelley. Aggie visits Madison's parents, and is surprised to learn they believe Nile to be innocent and their daughter's death a suicide brought on by her bipolar disorder. They give Aggie a copy of Madison's suicide note and reveal that she attempted suicide two years prior, with Nile having saved her life. Abbott receives Nile's decrypted files and is shocked to discover a live feed of a still-alive Teddy Fenig held captive. Abbott tails Nile to a warehouse, where Nile meets councilwoman Benitez and unsuccessfully asks her to approve zoning for Jarvis Yards' new project in exchange for donating the building to the city. Abbott confronts Nile at gunpoint afterward, but Nile overpowers him and beats him to death with his own pistol. He then visits Aggie at home late at night for a drink.
Aggie has drinks with Nile, where she admits she wanted to believe Abbott's theory that Nile is a killer; he tells her Abbott is a recovering addict previously shunned by the FBI. The next day, Nile takes his car containing Abbott's body to an impound and has it demolished. Martin and Rick hire men to incite a violent riot at one of Benitez's protests, hurting her public image. Aggie visits Shelley to apologize for their argument, but Shelley rebuffs her, blaming her for Teddy's suicide. Madison's brother Christopher contacts Aggie and explains that their parents’ finances are tied to Jarvis Yards, giving them a motive to believe Nile is innocent, though he does not. He gives Aggie a box of Madison’s belongings, including her birding journal. While examining it, Aggie notices that a page has been torn out and matches the suicide note—implying the note was written during Madison’s earlier suicide attempt, not before her actual death. Aggie texts Abbott saying she has proof Nile killed Madison; Nile, who is in the process of disposing of Abbott’s phone and badge, receives the message and replies telling her not to tell anyone before throwing the phone into the water.
Nile visits Teddy, who he has captive in a storage unit, and calls Rick for help. Aggie breaks into Abbott's apartment and finds it empty; Erika arrives and confronts Aggie, who explains her connection to Abbott and her belief that Nile repurposed Madison's previous suicide note to cover up her murder. The two find the live feed of Teddy on Abbott's computer. Nina learns she is pregnant despite thinking she was unable to conceive; she tells Nile, who was adamant about not wanting children, but he is seemingly supportive. Martin exploits Benitez's PR crisis to leverage her into accepting the Jarvis Yards deal Nile previously proposed. Aggie returns home to find Nile waiting. He invites her for a walk in the woods and asks if she believes he killed Madison, but Aggie receives a call from her editor that allows her to escape back to her house. The FBI converge upon Aggie's neighborhood after receiving a tip about a suspected kidnapping. Unable to reach Erika, Aggie notices new annotations on the manuscript of her book about Nile, realizing he broke into the house; upstairs, she finds Teddy's dead body placed in Cooper's room.
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"Ghosts"
Antonio Campos
Mike Skerrett
November13,2025(2025-11-13)
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In 2019, Nile, Madison, and Martin attend a gallery event where Madison procures art. Abbott and an FBI team storm in to arrest guest Pedro Dominguez for smuggling money. After everyone leaves, Nile admits to Martin that he accepted Dominguez’s cartel money to cover Jarvis Yards’ escalating debts, and they conclude Abbott has an inside source. Martin and Rick scheme to flip an FBI agent close to Abbott to obstruct the investigation. Meanwhile, Erika and her husband Frank agree to divorce to manage mounting legal fees after an accident at Frank's construction site injures a civilian; Rick approaches Erika and offers to ease their legal problems in exchange for information on Abbott. Nile then has his attorney take the fall for the Dominguez scandal, allowing the FBI to close the case without linking it to him. Madison is revealed as Abbott’s source. Abbott urges her to testify, but she fears Nile will kill her, citing several earlier suspicious deaths tied to him. Nina confronts Madison for refusing her bipolar medication and quits as her assistant. Nile suspects Nina is the mole and confronts her, but she reveals Madison met Abbott. At the gallery, Nile catches Madison gathering passports to flee the country; she pepper sprays Nile and tries to escape, but he bludgeons her to death with a statue. Martin and Rick clean the scene, and Madison’s prior suicide note is found the next day. Aggie watches tabloid coverage of Madison’s disappearance before cuddling with Shelley and Cooper.
Aggie flees into the woods as police and FBI arrive at her home and conclude she killed Teddy. Erika returns to retrieve Madison’s suicide note, but Rick and two masked men hold her at gunpoint, threaten her, and take the note. Rick later admits to Martin that he helped Nile plant Teddy’s body in Aggie’s house; the horrified Martin suffers a stroke. Aggie reaches a greenhouse and calls Erika, only to realize the Jarvises have intimidated her into silence. Aggie then breaks into Nina’s gallery and calls the police to surrender; before they arrive, she tells Nina her evidence that Nile murdered Madison. That night, a shaken Nina confronts Nile at home; he eventually explodes into a confession, insisting Madison and Teddy “deserved” their fates. The next day, Nile and Benitez hold a press conference announcing their Jarvis Yards deal. Nina meets Nile afterwards and plays him a recording of his confession; police arrive moments later to arrest him. Nile receives three life sentences, and Aggie visits him in prison for a final interview. Nile is later stabbed to death by inmates hired by Rick, who is also arrested after he smothers Martin in the hospital to save him from seeing his legacy tarnished. Aggie publishes her book about Nile, The Beast in Me, acknowledging her own role in perpetuating trauma and vengeance. Nina watches her newborn son with worry before holding him again.
Production
Development
The series is produced by 20th Television and created, written and executive produced by Gabe Rotter.[1] 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.[2][3][4]
The Beast in Me premiered on Netflix, with all eight episodes on November 13, 2025.[8]
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 84% approval rating based on 58 critic reviews. 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."[9]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave a score of 71 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[10]
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