Alex Murdaugh admits to lying to police, denies killing wife and son
Alex Murdaugh, charged with the deaths of his wife and son in South Carolina, admitted to lying to police but denied a role in the deaths.
Cody Godwin, USA TODAY
It’s the true-crime case that will not go away.
Certainly not if “Murdaugh: Death in the Family” has anything to say about it. And it has a lot to say about it. The Hulu series (there are at least five others) clocks in at eight episodes, which is way too many.
But if one thing is for certain, it’s that audiences can’t get enough of the genuinely sordid story of a powerful, privileged Southern family that gets lost in insurance fraud, drug addiction, faked suicide attempts, fatal drunken boat wrecks and, most infamously, murder.
The show is pretty good, as these things go, mostly because of the cast. Based on a podcast (the creator of which is a character in the series), the Hulu series has an excellent cast, led by Jason Clarke, unrecognizable as Alex Murdaugh, and Patricia Arquette as his wife Maggie.
There is absolutely no reason for this show to exist, but it does, and it could have been much worse.
Why do people still care about the Murdaugh family?
Why do people care? Why do people still care? Comeuppance? Morbid curiosity? I have some ideas, but they boil down to this: Never trust a grown man with a Southern accent who calls his father “Daddy.”
It’s mostly the tale of Alex Murdaugh, who in 2023 was convicted of killing his wife Maggie and their youngest son, Paul. It was a horrendous crime, but there is more to the story. So much more. In 2019, Paul allegedly crashed a boat into a bridge, killing one of his passengers, and was indicted on three felony charges.
A young gay man named Stephen Smith was killed in what investigators first called a hit-and-run but, after various of the documentaries and podcasts raised questions about links to the Murdaugh family, the case has been reopened as a murder.
The family housekeeper died in a fall in the middle of all this.
Alex allegedly hired his cousin to shoot him and make it look like suicide, to secure insurance money for his family. And Alex pleaded guilty to bank fraud and money laundering, stealing money from his clients.
Jason Clarke and Patricia Arquette lead an impressive cast
Sorry for the lengthy recap, but this gives you some idea of what this family was up to. And what Clarke does an excellent job of is portraying how, for families like this, the problem isn’t them. The problem is the people, the underlings, the lessers-than, who think they shouldn’t be able to get away with whatever they please.
It is galling. And as anyone who grew up in a small Southern town can tell you, depressingly accurate.
Alex comes from a long line of powerful lawyers and prosecutors, but it’s Paul (Johnny Berchtold) who personifies the good ol’ boy, can’t-be-touched lifestyle. Constantly drinking, crashing cars and generally misbehaving without fear of consequence — being a Murdaugh will have that effect on you, it seems — he is the kind of guy you hate to see coming to a party. Except that he’ll pay for all the booze.
Credit Berchtold with making the character human, slowly coming around to recognizing the damage he’s caused and trying to do better. It takes a while, but you believe it. Also good is Will Harrison as Buster, the oldest son, with troubles of his own. But in this clan, he’s the good son.
But it all runs through Clarke and Arquette. (Their Lowcountry accents are quite good, especially Arquette’s long Os.) Clarke makes Alex’s denial ironclad around other characters; it’s only when he’s alone or caught off guard that we see the guilt creep into his eyes.
Arquette, meanwhile, manages to make Maggie more than a caricature. She feels put-upon, but can’t quit the lifestyle. And she has put up with a lot from Alex.
The series occasionally dips into soap-opera territory. But given the circumstances, how could it not?
Gerald McRaney plays Randolph Murdaugh, the powerful solicitor who towers above Alex, Alex’s brothers and everyone else in the family, and the region. It’s another recognizable Southern trope, sons enjoying a life provided for them by “Daddy.” They think they’re untouchable, until Alex proves otherwise.
It’s Randolph who provides what could be the family credo, when talking to Buster: “The truth is irrelevant! You’re a Murdaugh!”
It’s that belief that finally catches up with them.
Watch with Disney + Hulu
How to watch ‘Murdaugh: Death in the Family’
Three episodes premiere Wednesday, Oct. 15 on Hulu. New episodes stream every Wednesday.
Reach Goodykoontz at [email protected]. Facebook:facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Media commentary with a side of snark? Sign up for The Watchlist newsletter with Bill Goodykoontz.
