Murdaugh: Death in the Family TV Review – Jason Clarke and Patricia Arquette lead a chilling true crime series

Plot: Maggie and Alex enjoy a lavish life of privilege as members of one of South Carolina’s most powerful legal dynasties. But when their son Paul is involved in a deadly boat crash, the family is faced with a test unlike any they’ve ever encountered. As details come to light and new challenges emerge, the family’s connections to several mysterious deaths raise questions that threaten everything Maggie and Alex hold dear.

Review: The trend in true crime series these days seems to be that podcasts are being adapted into documentaries, which in turn are being turned into tabloid dramas. Elevated in recent years by the boom in streaming platforms dedicating limited series to dramatizations of shocking crimes, the latest comes from producer Nick Antosca, who shepherded the acclaimed true crime dramas The Act, Candy, and A Friend of the Family in addition to his work on horror series Hannibal and Channel Zero. Murdaugh: Death in the Family is based on Mandy Matney’s podcast about the shocking murder of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh and the subsequent trial of Alex Murdaugh. Led by Jason Clarke and Patricia Arquette, Murdaugh: Death in the Family is a well-acted potboiler of a drama that channels all of the sensational details of the murder and the mark it left on the family legacy.

Spanning the years 2019 to 2023, Murdaugh: Death in the Family shifts back and forth between the multiple criminal acts committed by members of the Murdaugh family. A multi-generational family of notable attorneys in South Carolina, led by patriarch Randolph Murdaugh (Gerald McRaney), the series opens with Alex Murdaugh (Jason Clarke) calling 911 after discovering the bodies of his wife, Maggie (Patricia Arquette), and youngest son Paul (Johnny Berchtold) shot to death. The series then shifts back to show how the family headed down the path thanks to Alex’s drug abuse and embezzlement from his law firm. Before Alex’s acts could become front-page news, however, Paul was instrumental in a boating accident that claimed the life of a young woman named Mallory Beach (Madeline Popovich). As Paul’s crimes and those of Alex come to light, the family is torn apart by accusations and lies that leave the eldest son, Buster (Will Harrison), trying to find a way to clear his family name.

The eight-episode series, of which six episodes have already been released, takes a fairly conventional look at the crimes and trial that captivated true crime enthusiasts over the last few years. Based on the Murdaugh Murders Podcast, the series includes podcast creator and reporter Mandy Matney, played here by Brittany Snow. The framing story of seeing Alex Murdaugh’s secrets and lies unveiled to the world through the lens of a popular podcast feels somewhat meta in hindsight, with multiple series using the podcast angle to tell their stories, most notably Only Murders in the Building. The structure of Murdaugh: Death in the Family maintains a focus on the crimes themselves, taking dramatic liberties to enhance the tension and stakes of the story. At times, Murdaugh: Death in the Family borders on tonal similarities to Ozark or even Breaking Bad, with the story shifting from a network movie of the week to a tawdry expose.

While Murdaugh: Death in the Family is at times generic to a fault, it is elevated by the excellent lead performances of Jason Clarke and Patricia Arquette. Arquette received acclaim for her turns in Ben Stiller’s Escape at Dannemore and Severance, along with a chilling performance in The Act. At the same time, Jason Clarke has recently played a totally different type of role in the Apple TV series The Last Frontier. Both actors are at the top of their game, delving into the melodrama and nuances of playing Alex and Maggie Murdaugh, providing audiences with moments of pause as they question the motivations of everyone involved in the case. The supporting cast is all quite good, including Will Harrison and Brittany Snow as well as Jim O’Heir, Mark Pellegrino, Noah Emmerich, J. Smith-Cameron, and Gerald McRaney. Every actor channels the Southern charm of the South Carolina setting, while the story delves into the generational bias accumulated by the Murdaugh clan over the decades.

Created and produced by Michael D. Fuller (Locke & Key) and documentary filmmaker Erin Lee Carr (Stormy), Murdaugh: Death in the Family boasts a writing team that includes Anna Fishko, David Gabriel, Tika Peterson, Alana B. Lytle, Bashir Gavriel, and Gabrielle Costa. Directing duties fell to Steven Piet on three episodes along with Ingrid Jungermann, Kat Candler, Erin Lee Carr, and Jennifer Lynch. The series, set in the recent past, still feels somewhat dated and from another era, as it spans the time immediately before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Seeing a true crime series set during that era feels surreal at times, but that is also due to the familiarity of the material. Producer Nick Antosca has been central in producing recent true crime dramas, while Erin Lee Carr has focused on the documentary side of things; however, neither invests much in this adaptation’s unique aspects. It is disheartening that a shocking crime like those committed by Alex Murdaugh feels formulaic, but that could also be due to the numerous similar series hitting streaming this year.

Murdaugh: Death in the Family is a series that is good in the chronicle of a story that is too crazy to be fictional. The decisions and acts of Alex Murdaugh are disgusting and abhorrent, and seeing them told in a fictionalized setting does not make them any easier to stomach. Jason Clarke, Patricia Arquette, and the entire cast of this limited series deliver excellent work, with Clarke both physically transforming into Murdaugh’s doppelganger and giving another superb performance in a string of great roles. Murdaugh: Death in the Family is an entertaining watch, especially when consumed week by week, with each chapter leaving you guessing as to what is coming next. Even if you saw the revelations and news about the Murdaugh trial as it unfolded on the news, you will find a lot to keep you entertained as you watch this series, but it will work a lot better for those who don’t know how it ends.

Murdaugh: Death in the Family is now streaming on Hulu, with new episodes debuting every Wednesday.