With eight career primetime Emmy nominations over the years–seven of which have come for her picture editing–Peggy Tachdjian, ACE related that each one still feels “fresh and exciting.” And that freshness takes on a new dimension this time around with a pair of nods for the limited series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (Netflix).
For the first time she’s an Emmy nominee as a producer, part of the Monsters contingent recognized in the Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series category. Furthermore Tachdjian earned a nomination for editing “Blame It on the Rain,” the first episode of The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. This is her first editing nomination not only for a drama but also for work created by the prolific Ryan Murphy, whom she’s collaborated with for many years.
Prior to this year’s awards season, Tachdjian’s Emmy noms as an editor came for unstructured reality series (Born this Way in 2016, ‘17, ‘18 and ‘19), and comedy (Only Murders in the Building in 2023 and ‘24).
As for Tachdjian’s collaborative bond with Murphy, that dates back to 2017 on the first season of 9-1-1. She credited Murphy and his cohorts with taking a generous leap of faith by extending her a coveted opportunity in the scripted realm at a point when she was known primarily for unscripted fare, such as the aforementioned Born this Way, an acclaimed series which centered on young adults born with Down syndrome as we see them pursue their aspirations and defy society’s expectations.
Hired for one episode of 9-1-1, Tachdjian recalled a feeling of gratification. “The first day of getting dailies, I thought this is what I’m supposed to be cutting after 17 years of loving documentary and nonscripted.” She demonstrated her prowess in narrative storytelling on that single episode of 9-1-1, leading to her getting the chance to cut another three episodes that year, including the season finale. Once collaborators prove themselves, noted Tachdjian, Murphy is very loyal to them. This was reflected in her going on to edit such Murphy fare as American Horror Story, The Politician, Ratched, The Prom and Grotesquerie.
Along the way came a detour with the chance to diversify into comedy via Only Murders in the Building, but Tachdjian navigated a path back to Murphy. For the second season of Monsters (the first centering on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer), Tachdjian was brought into the series early on during the concept and tone meetings. The limited series shed new light on Erik and Lyle Menendez, the brothers convicted of murdering their parents Jose and Kitty Menendez in 1989. The brutal killings and sensationalized courtroom drama dominated the headlines back in the day. Murphy’s Monsters delved deeply into the brothers, providing different perspectives on what people thought happened. Beyond what was told during the court trials, Monsters shared insights based on transcripts from the brothers’ therapy sessions. Up front Tachdjian knew it would “an interesting and complex story to tell,” which would require “a lot of finessing,” particularly to make sure going back and forth among varied perspectives wouldn’t be confusing to viewers.
Early guidance from Murphy came from his desire that the audience should never forget that this is a true story about real people. And at times despite the nature of the heinous acts at the center of the case, there was also a strange glitz to the proceedings as the brothers were treated in some respects like movie stars, trailed by paparazzis, arriving at events in limos with “fans” greeting and expressing their love for them–women carrying “marry me” signs and the like. Tachdjian benefited from a stellar cast including Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Lyle Menendez, Cooper Koch as Erik Menendez, Javier Bardem as Jose Menendez, and Chloë Sevigny as Kitty Menendez. Koch is an Emmy nominee for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series, while Bardem and Sevigny received nominations for their supporting performances.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story garnered a total of 11 primetime Emmy nominations–including recognition for casting, period costumes, makeup, original dramatic score, sound mixing, and hairstyling.
Also invaluable for Tachdjian was the chance to work with director Carl Franklin, a Murphy favorite with whom she hadn’t teamed before. “We spent a week in the edit bay going back and forth,” recalled Tachdjian, describing Franklin as a consummate collaborator. “The first cut was a bit more serious than the one that aired,” assessed Tachdjian, noting that they ultimately decided to tap into humor a bit as they tried to capture the spirit of what Murphy envisioned for the story. Tachdjian was gratified by Murphy’s positive response to that first pass, getting his feedback just hours after they sent the initial cut. She and Murphy went on to hone the work based on a further exchange of ideas.
Tachdjian shared that among her biggest takeaways from The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story was a dynamic also present in the first Monsters series on Dahmer. The series from season one on, she observed, inherently gets us to explore if monsters are born or made, In many ways it’s the ultimate character-driven story about the human condition. “This experience was such a peeling of the onion in that regard,” said Tachdjian. “At what point in their lives did they become the kind of people who could commit murder. You think what must have happened in their lives to make them that way. For me, it’s a reminder that even if you live in a shiny beautiful, seemingly idyllic Beverly hills home, something sinister could be happening inside. You think about the value of connecting with people, being generous. You think about how many people in their lives could have stopped this before it happened.”
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is credited with bringing the case back into the public eye, and being a catalyst for the legal system to re-evaluate the brothers’ fate–with more weight given to the allegations that they were sexually abused by their father. The series underscores the power of storytelling–in this case sharing a story that’s tragically all too real. During a Netflix panel discussion held early on this awards FYC season, Murphy said that he and co-creator Ian Brennan were “very proud” that the limited series helped spark a conversation that has gotten the wheels of justice to turn in response.
Tachdjian related that the Menendez brothers case is complicated and remains one that is difficult to have a definitive opinion on. But she noted that “gratification comes from knowing we live in an era where courts take sexual abuse more seriously” than they did back when the Menendez brothers were on trial. To no longer have such abuse swept under the rug shows the progress we’ve made as a society.
As for what’s next for Tachdjian, she’s cutting another Murphy show, The Beauty, which is slated to come out in January.
This is the 13th installment of SHOOT’s 16-part weekly The Road To Emmy Series of feature stories that explores the field of Emmy contenders, and then nominees spanning such disciplines as directing, cinematography, producing, editing, production design, casting, costume design and visual effects. The series will then be followed up by coverage of the Creative Arts Emmy winners and the Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony in September.
