Bloated true-crime drama plods over same old ground

Disney+ series 'Murdaugh: Death in the Family' wastes its impressive central performances

- Katie Rosseinsky

It's a well-trodden path by now.

An outlandish crime story hits the local news, then gets picked up by an intrepid podcaster who's willing and able to do some serious digging. It's a big enough hit that the streamers decide to get in on the action, rolling out a documentary with as many talking heads, and as much grainy home video footage, as they can muster. Then, just as the story is about to reach saturation point, a ponderous drama gets announced.

That's almost the precise life cycle of the circus of infamy surrounding South Carolina's Murdaugh dynasty. The family (whose name is pronounced “Murdoch”) were a wealthy, powerful clan of lawyers whose legal prestige went back about a century. Their dramatic fall from grace, taking place over the course of half a decade or so, feels like a Southern Gothic tale come to life, with shades of William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote.

It's no wonder, then, that the story, which only really concluded last year, has already been chronicled extensively. Disney+ drama