MURDAUGH MURDERS: A SOUTHERN SCANDAL on Netflix is a new true-crime series in three parts. If you’ve watched the HBO docu-series Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty, you’ll already know the story. Read our Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal review here!

MURDAUGH MURDERS: A SOUTHERN SCANDAL is new Netflix docu-series in three parts. It’s a true crime documentary and the case (or rather, the cases) have already been covered a few times before. I’ve watched the HBO docu-series Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty, which was also in three parts.

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There are three 45-minute episodes in this docu-series, so it’s easy to binge-watch in one sitting for most.

Continue reading our Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal mini-series review below. Find it on Netflix from February 22, 2023.

Power corrupts – absolute power corrupts absolutely

If there’s one lesson you can take away from the cases involving the Murdaugh family of the Low Country in South Carolina, it’s that having too much power is bad for your moral compass. We see over and over again that power corrupts. Especially with the next generations of powerful families. Not only can they get out of working, but they can also get out of crime.

The Murdaughs were one of South Carolina’s most prominent families, but they were also dirty in ways that shocked the nation. Actually, the world.

The varnish of the public image of the Murdaugh family started to truly crack with the death of teenager Mallory Beach. She died in a drunken boating accident. Paul Murdaugh was the alleged driver of the boat – according to everyone on board and the fact that it was his boat – but his family of lawyers made sure that nothing happened to him.

Later, Paul and his mother Maggie are found brutally murdered on their own property. With their murders, a century of corruption, power, and cover-ups in the Low Country is finally revealed.

In between the tragic death of Mallory Beach and the murders of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh, we also hear about the strangely accidental death of their housekeeper Gloria and the brutal murder of the young gay man, Stephen Smith. All these deaths (five in the span of six years) are also covered in the earlier mentioned HBO docu-series about the Murdaughs.

Murdaugh Murders – Review | Netflix True crime Docu-series

Do we need another docu-series about the Murdaughs?

As soon as I heard Netflix was coming out with a docu-series about the Murdaugh Murders, I couldn’t help but wonder; Do we need another one? Having watched the Netflix take on this true crime – with the subtitle of A Southern Scandal – I don’t know that I can give a definite answer.

Did I learn anything new from this latest docu-series? Well, no, I don’t think I learned much more from watching it.

However, I certainly did like hearing about the night of the boat accident from all the people involved. Except for Paul and Mallory, for obvious reasons. Having already seen plenty of footage from various CCTV, dashcams, and bodycams, it still made sense to hear directly from those who were in the boat when the accident happened.

Still, the two documentary series are very similar in many ways. Including the fact that each episode focuses on a different incident involving someone’s death. If you’re intrigued by the case – and how can you not be?! – then maybe you’ll want to watch both.

The two docu-series from HBO and Netflix are of equal quality, so they’re both worth watching.

Watch Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal on Netflix now

The documentary filmmakers behind Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal are the Primetime Emmy-nominated directors Julia Willoughby Nason and Jenner Furst. They were nominated for the Hulu documentary Fyre Fraud (2019) about the exclusive Fyre Island festival that fails spectacularly. 

The executive producers on this true-crime Netflix series are Michael Gasparro (who also serves as showrunner) along with directors Julia Willoughby Naso & Jenner Furst. All three worked together on Fyre Fraud as well as the Netflix docu-series The Pharmacist (2020). Plus, they made the Prime Video mini-series LuLaRich (2021) about the billion-dollar clothing empire LuLaRoe.

This latest Netflix docu-series is a classic true crime production. While it’s one of the better, it might feel like it’s repeating what you already know, if you’ve watched other productions about the Murdaugh cases. What does make it more intriguing is that this mini-series is released right as Alex Murdaugh is on trial for murder.

The trial is being aired live on Facebook as I write these very words!

All three episodes of Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal are on Netflix from February 22, 2023.

Plot

Shocking tragedies shatter a tight-knit South Carolina community and expose the horrifying secrets of its most powerful family.

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!
Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard
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