Fox started out the fall 2024 TV schedule with some ambitious new dramas, including one that became not only a hit for the network, but also a hit streaming on Hulu. You can likely guess based on the title that Murder in a Small Town is a crime drama. As somebody who watches a lot of crime dramas, I can attest that Murder in a Small Town doesn’t quite follow the same formula found elsewhere, and executive producer Jeff Wachtel shared with CinemaBlend why people should check it out streaming even though Season 1 ended ahead of the 2025 TV schedule.
Murder in a Small Town follows Chief Karl Alberg (Rossif Sutherland) as he moves from a big city to what should have been a less crime-filled job in the small town of Gibsons... only to find that even beautiful locations off the beaten path can have dark underbellies. Cassandra Lee (Kristin Kreuk) is the local librarian and object of Alberg's eye, but she deals in more than just books throughout the first season.
The chemistry between the leads is great, and I won't spoil the events of the final two episodes for any readers who haven't checked out the show yet, but Season 1 ends very strongly with a Schitt's Creek alum showing that he definitely can deliver in dramatic roles. If I hadn't been sold on MIST before the final two-parter, those episodes would have won me over.
And all eight episodes of Murder in a Small Town’s first season are available now with a Hulu subscription! The show was doing well enough streaming ahead of the finale that it ranked as Fox’s #1 new show and Fox's #3 show overall for the season to that point on the platform. While Rossif Sutherland and Kristin Kreuk’s drama is still waiting on a renewal, EP Jeff Wachtel explained the show’s merit as a show to stream and even binge-watch:
There's a type of show that's not currently that favored. Some people are calling it cozy crime. That's not the worst description, but in a world that's very fraught and very challenging and that's mostly about driving people apart, this is a different flavor. The characters are aspirational. They've got damage, but their intent is good and the location is beautiful. And while there are bad people in the world, the world will expand.
While Murder in a Small Town is a crime drama, there’s also plenty of focus on their characters and especially the romance between Sutherland’s Alberg and Kreuk’s Cassandra. In fact, this show’s approach to that romance was a big appeal to the Smallville alum, and Kreuk’s casting as his co-lead excited Sutherland for the role. I can also vouch for MIST fitting the “cozy crime” description… to a certain extent. Jeff Wachtel went on:
You don't want to be too cozy, right? You don't want an audience to feel completely relaxed. I do think that surprise is one of the most fun parts of the storytelling process, and surprise and cozy don't necessarily go hand in hand. You want to have the freedom to shake it up and surprise people. That said, there is kind of a warm, welcoming presence to this show. And if you can do that, and have writing and acting at a really high level, I just don't think there are too many shows that do this.
As somebody who was stressed by the suspense of Season 1 (in a good way!) more than once, it’s definitely not cozy from start to finish, which is another element that makes the relationship the real heart. That’s not to say that the first batch of episodes was perfect from start to finish, but the executive producer already previewed how Season 2 will address the issue that bugged me all season. He shared how a separate issue that binge-watchers may pick up will be handled differently in a second season as well, saying:
One of the conveniences of the first season was how many crimes happen in this relatively small area. In Season 2, we're aware of that, and he's going to have a broader purview. Bad stuff happens in general in the world, but this is a pretty welcoming environment, and I think the work is very professional, so it's a good form of storytelling, and it's not a form of storytelling that you can get many other places right now. The combination of hard crime but warm characters and some humor thrown in. It's not a unique combination, but it's a pretty rare combination right now.
Honestly, with a run of just eight episodes, the idea of binge-watching Murder in a Small Town isn’t nearly as daunting as some other shows. Plus, having watched it weekly on Fox myself, you can also check it out at your own pace instead of rushing through the episodes. And if it seems like I’m going hard on echoing the executive producer’s pitch for people to stream the crime drama… well, I for one would like a second season!
Interestingly, an early plan for the season was for the late Donald Sutherland to have a role, but his health wouldn’t allow it. James Cromwell played the character instead, and the series premiere ended with a dedication to Rossif Sutherland’s father. That’s about as far into spoilers as I’ll go, though, so if you’re interested in checking out Murder in a Small Town, you can do so streaming on Hulu now.
