Murdaugh mania: New wave of documentaries, films on crime saga this fall. What to know.
If the Murdaughs of South Carolina had hoped to keep their skeletons buried in the closets of the 14th Judicial Circuit, that hope has long vanished.
Those proverbial skeletons bubbled from the depths of Archers Creek when the 2019 death of young Mallory Beach exposed their tainted, entitled family legacy amid cries for justice echoing the Palmetto State.
Those bones cried for national attention on a summer night in 2021 as lights and sirens raced to a quiet, blood-washed country estate called Moselle to find a slain mother and child – and suspicious circumstances.
Those scandalous skeletons screamed for international attention from the bloody roadside of Old Salkehatchie Road over a Labor Day weekend few will forget, as the sins of a cornered and threatened Alex Murdaugh were exposed to the world.
The fascinating but troubling Murdaugh family epic – a story of great power and greater crimes in the colorful, Gothic South – captivated English-speaking audiences around the globe over the last two years, and a renewed wave of storytelling is heading this way.
Murdaugh mania spawned in the South Carolina media and amplified by podcasters and newscasters alike around the world, will be reignited this fall with a second wave of documentaries, true crime books and even a motion picture or two.
Alex Murdaugh crime saga films soon to be released?
Multiple media outlets and actors working on the project have reported that MarVista Entertainment has been involved in filming a Murdaugh film series in the Atlanta area over the summer of 2023.
According to the Film and Television Industry Alliance film and TV production tracking service webpage, productionlist.com, filming on the project series, "Hot Take: Murdaugh Murders," began June 30. Here is a description of the true-crime project based on a fictional premise:
"Alex Murdaugh tells his story about wealth, deception, drug addiction and murder to magazine writer Alicia Seabrook. Alex Murdaugh has been charged in the double homicide of Paul & Maggie Murdaugh. The alleged “assisted suicide” shooting of Alex Murdaugh and his recent indictment for the murders of wife & son add considerable intrigue to this already tragic saga. Currently, there are seven active criminal investigations surrounding the Murdaugh family centered around unsolved deaths, insurance fraud, drugs and murder."
MarVista officials were not immediately available to comment or provide details.
While movie and television producers tend to be tight-lipped about their projects until official announcements are made, actors involved in the project say the film may be released on a streaming service such as Tubi as early as October 27.
Lifetime, other film makers announce Murdaugh movie projects
In early September, Lifetime announced that its milestone 500th original movie would be the two-night event Murdaugh Murders: The Movie starring Bill Pullman as Alex Murdaugh and premiering on Oct. 14 and 15 at 8p/7c.
In 2021, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Lionsgate was also working on a scripted television project called "The Murdaugh Murders," but no updates on that pending project have been released. Other scripted projects are also reportedly in the works.
More Murdaugh documentaries coming to Netflix, CBS, Fox
Murdaugh documentaries and films that aired immediately before and after the peak of the crime saga – the double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh – are circling back and bringing updates and more details to enthralled viewers.
But with appeals and additional charges and court proceedings still surfacing on this ever-evolving story, most networks aren't ready to announce firm air dates on their upcoming shows.
Netflix, the most subscribed streaming service on the globe, will air Season 2 of "Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal" on Sept. 20, say the show's producers. Season 1 attracted millions of viewers around the world, they added.
A trailer is scheduled to be released in the coming weeks, said producers.
Season 2 will include footage and updates from the Murdaugh murder trial, and interviews with Murdaugh family employees Blanca Simpson and Mushelle "Shelley" Smith and alleged accomplice Curtis Edward Smith, as well as updates on the renewed investigation into Stephen Smith's death.
Prime-time television news icons are also taking another stab at the Murdaugh case. CBS's 48 Hours is working on a fall show, likely to be released in October, said a network official. This new coverage will also likely spend more time on Smith's unsolved 2015 homicide.
FOX Nation, FOX News Media’s subscription-based streaming service, presented a new three-part docuseries on the Murdaugh case on Thursday, Aug. 31.
This docuseries prominently featured Alex Murdaugh's surviving son, Buster, who maintains that his father did not murder the other family members.
Books on Alex Murdaugh crimes to family dynasty coming soon to shelves everywhere
Books about Alex Murdaugh's crimes and his family dynasty, ranging from the historical to the true crime genres, will soon be lining bookstore shelves almost everywhere. While they are too numerous to name in entirety, here are works from writers who have been following the case for quite some time.
Several Murdaugh-related books have already been published, including Countdown to Murder by Rebecca Pittman, Tangled Vines by John Glatt, Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders by Rebecca Bloom Hill and Neil Gordon, and Wicked Hampton County by Gannett journalist Michael DeWitt Jr.
Several more books are in the works for publication between the fall of 2023 and the fall of 2024.
As for the fall 2023 literary offerings, journalist and podcaster Mandy Matney and author Carolyn Murnick are releasing Blood on Their Hands: Murder, Corruption, and the Fall of the Murdaugh Dynasty on Nov. 14.
DeWitt, a Hampton County historian, along with Evening Post Books of Charleston recently announced the publication of Fall of the House of Murdaugh: Moonshine, Mayhem and Murder in South Carolina. The official release date is expected to be early November.
As for books coming next year, Jason Ryan, former journalist and author of Jackpot, recently announced that his Swamp Kings will be released in the Spring of 2024 by Simon & Schuster.
Valerie Bauerlein, a journalist for The Wall Street Journal, signed a book deal with Ballantine/Penguin Random House in the fall of 2021. She has not announced a title yet, but her book is expected sometime in 2024.
James Lasdun, an author and writer for The New Yorker, is currently working on The Family Man, also to be published sometime in 2024.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: The latest Alex Murdaugh films, documentaries, books to be released
