There's Something Wrong With Hulu's True-Crime Drama About an Infamous Murder

"Each episode of Murdaugh: Death in the Family begins with a disclaimer: While the Hulu miniseries is "inspired by actual events," it emphasizes that "certain parts have been fictionalized solely for dramatic purposes" and shouldn't be taken as a reflection "on any actual person or entity." That industry-standard catchall, presumably insisted upon by lawyers, sets an uneasy tone of polished reality that hovers over the entire show."

"These ripped-from-the-headlines shows saturating the streaming landscape tend to go in one of two directions. They can be low-budget affairs with camp casting and bad acting befitting the Lifetime movies they so often actually are. Or they can be prestige productions with big-name stars that span multiple episodes-think HBO's 2022 The Staircaseor Hulu's own The Dropout from that same year."

"But while the performances are strong (particularly Arquette) and the structure admittedly clever, I haven't been able to shake a sense of unease that I've felt while watching. It's all too ... recent. Too fresh. And it feels somehow disrespectful of everyone involved, even if the Murdaughs were a deeply flawed family. Sure, I've been entertained, but maybe that's the problem: turning this kind of story into entertainment at all."

Each episode begins with a disclaimer that the Hulu miniseries is "inspired by actual events" and that certain parts have been fictionalized solely for dramatic purposes and should not be taken as a reflection on any actual person or entity. The series, created by Michael D. Fuller and Erin Lee Carr and based on a true-crime podcast, positions itself as a definitive retelling of Alex Murdaugh's 2021 murder of his wife Maggie and son Paul. The show aspires to be a character portrait, a multipart saga, and a drama. It seeks prestige territory with Patricia Arquette as Maggie and meticulous hair and makeup. Performances are strong, but the production generates an uneasy sense that dramatizing such recent events risks disrespecting those involved. Episode six, "June 7th," marks the series climax.

Read at Slate Magazine