A Murder at the End of the World – Series Review [Hulu/Disney+]

A MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD on FX on Hulu (and Disney+ internationally) is a new original mystery mini-series. We’re getting 7 hour-long episodes, and I was hooked within the first 15 minutes. Read our A Murder at the End of the World series review here!

A MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD on Hulu in the US and Disney+ internationally is a mystery series that spans several genres. Mostly, it’s a “Whodunnit”, but it’s also so much more than that. We follow Darby Hart, who has made a career of being an amateur sleuth. She also wrote a book about one of the serial killer cases.

Personally, I was absolutely hooked within the first 15 minutes or so. The first two episodes of the FX series are out on Hulu/Disney+ from November 14, 2023. Our review is based on these first two episodes. The final episode will be out on December 19, 2023.

Continue reading our A Murder at the End of the World series review below.

The Sherlock Holmes of Gen Z

In A Murder at the End of the World, we meet a new kind of detective. One that you may already be familiar with if you follow true crime. Whether podcasts, books, or documentaries. The main investigator is a Gen Z amateur sleuth who has been dubbed the Sherlock Holmes of her generation.

After seeing what she does, I’d say she’s more of a Sherlock Holmes and Watson in one! Basically, she’s better because she doesn’t have the arrogance of Holmes while maintaining the observation.

Plus, being a Gen Z, she’s tech-savvy and uses all that the Internet and IoT [Internet of Things] have to offer. Okay, and it doesn’t hurt that she’s a hacker. Her name is Darby Hart, and if she’s looking for something, she’ll stop at nothing to find it.

Also, it doesn’t hurt that Darby was raised by her coroner dad who let her hang around whenever he was working a case.

The core plot in A Murder at the End of the World revolves around – hopefully, you’ve already guessed as much – a murder!

Along with eight other specially selected guests, Darby Hart is invited by a reclusive tech billionaire to participate in a retreat. The retreat is (of course!) at a remote and secluded destination. Within a day of arrival, one of the guests dies. Now Darby puts her skills to use, as she wants to prove it was murder. Preferably before the killer strikes again!

Emma Corrin is Darby Hart

While the entire cast of A Murder at the End of the World is truly stellar, the most important character is Darby Hart. She’s portrayed by Emma Corrin who delivers a strong and natural portrayal of someone, who doesn’t quite fit in. Often because she’s smarter than everyone else, but also because she knows people are always judging her.

We also meet Lee, one of the best hackers in the world, and the absolute hero of Darby Hart. She’s portrayed by co-creator of the series, Brit Marling. And yes, she’s also at the retreat.

As the tech billionaire, Andy, we see Clive Owen (Children of Men). It’s the perfect kind of role for him, so what’s not to like?!

Among the other guests at the retreat, we see various kinds of creative and brilliant minds portrayed by brilliant actors. These include Joan Chen, Harris Dickinson (The King’s Man), Alice Braga (Hypnotic), Raúl Esparza, Jermaine Fowler, Ryan J. Haddad, Pegah Ferydoni, and Javed Khan.

I can’t wait to get to know each of these characters much better!

A Whodunnit with a touch of Black Mirror

While A Murder at the End of the World isn’t a sci-fi series per se, it does have a touch of sci-fi. We’re in a not-too-distant future, where AI is being further integrated in a more organic way. The man responsible for this insists that collaboration between AI and humans will be essential. Both for our happiness and overall survival.

Also, AI stands for Alternative Intelligence in his book. Not “Artificial Intelligence”.

This element made me think of Black Mirror, though it definitely is more of a Whodunnit. That much is almost a given based on the title alone.

Personally, the series also reminded me of something else. Without any further comparison, I have to say the vibe and story of this series managed to drag me into its world much like Fincher’s The Killer. The two stories differ in just about every other way except having one solid main character that we follow.

Still, I felt it had a similar pull, where I forgot about the rest of the world while watching it. Of course, this is a series, while the other was a movie. However, that just means I get to have this experience for another five weeks before it’s all over. I can’t say I hate that.

Watch A Murder at the End of the World on Hulu / Disney+ now!

The new A Murder at the End of the World series was created and directed by Brit Marling & Zal Batmanglij. The two also created the Netflix series The OA which Brit Marling starred in. In this new series, she takes a backseat to Emma Corrin’s character but is still a key character in the plot.

The seven-episode limited series is produced by FX Productions, so it’s released on Hulu as a “FX on Hulu” release in the US. The rest of the world can watch it on Disney+ instead, where it will be released simultaneously. The series was filmed in beautiful Iceland [aka The End of the World, in the series], as well as New Jersey and Utah.

As already noted earlier, I was hooked within the first 15 minutes. If you get the same experience, you’re in for a treat. If not, I think the rest of the episode could still get its hooks in you. After all, we need to get further before most of the awesome cast shows up on the screen.

A Murder at the End of the World premieres on Hulu / Disney+ on November 14, 2023. The premiere gives us the first two episodes, and we’ll be getting weekly episodes after that with the series finale on December 19, 2023.

Details

Creators/Directors: Brit Marling, Zal Batmanglij
Cast: Emma Corrin, Clive Owen, Harris Dickinson, Brit Marling, Alice Braga, Joan Chen, Raúl Esparza, Jermaine Fowler, Ryan J. Haddad, Pegah Ferydoni, Javed Khan, Louis Cancelmi, Edoardo Ballerini, Britian Seibert, Christopher Gurr, Kellan Tetlow, Daniel Olson, Neal Huff