Critics Have Screened A Murder At The End Of The World, See What They’re Saying About The New Series From The OA Creators
So much more than a murder mystery.
From Poker Face to A Haunting in Venice to Only Murders in the Building, murder mysteries are a hot genre right now, and Hulu just debuted a new offering with A Murder at the End of the World. The series, whose first two episodes can now be streamed with a Hulu subscription, comes to us from Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, creators of the gone-too-soon Netflix series The OA. Critics were able to screen the mystery series ahead of its release, and they seem impressed by the genre-defying project.
Co-writer/co-director Brit Marling also stars in A Murder at the End of the World, alongside Emma Corrin, Clive Owen and others. The plot is a classic murder-mystery set-up: Eight guests are invited to a retreat at a billionaire’s remote but spectacular estate, and one of them ends up dead. Amateur detective Darby Hart (Corrin) gets to work as the body count rises. Matt Roush of TV Insider rates it 3 out of 5 stars, noting that few of the characters are fully developed, but the series boasts an ending that would make Agatha Christie proud. The critic writes:
Coleman Spilde of The Daily Beast disagrees with the above criticism of character development and says the FX on Hulu series succeeds in spite of its supersized episodes. A Murder at the End of the World is the rare case where the surplus of characters, convoluted plot and distinct setting are used to its advantage, Spilde says, writing:
Aramide Tinubu of Variety says to label the Hulu series as simply a murder mystery would be doing an injustice to its social commentary, particularly in the way it examines misogyny and power dynamics. In Tinubu’s words:
Judy Berman of Time offers a few “small complaints” about the show — too-long episodes, pacing issues in the middle and an overly somber tone — but it’s hard to be too upset with Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij’s thoughtful inquiry into artificial intelligence and surveillance capitalism in the framework of a whodunit. Berman continues:
Brandon Yu of The Wrap also talks about everything A Murder at the End of the World is trying to accomplish — including much of the series flashing back to Darby’s past with fellow retreat guest Bill (Harris Dickinson). But as other critics have pointed out, Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij make it work. Yu writes:
From the reviews, it sounds like this is a series to watch if you liked Poker Face and other recent offerings in the mystery genre, but it also offers thoughtful commentary on everything from A.I. to wealth and power dynamics.
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The series has garnered a rating of 82% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, so if you’d like to check this new series out, the first two episodes are available to stream now, with new offerings coming each Tuesday. Also be sure to check out what else is new and coming soon to Hulu, as well as our 2023 TV schedule for all the television and streaming premieres through the rest of the year.
Heidi Venable is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend, a mom of two and a hard-core '90s kid. She started freelancing for CinemaBlend in 2020 and officially came on board in 2021. Her job entails writing news stories and TV reactions from some of her favorite prime-time shows like Grey's Anatomy and The Bachelor. She graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a degree in Journalism and worked in the newspaper industry for almost two decades in multiple roles including Sports Editor, Page Designer and Online Editor. Unprovoked, will quote Friends in any situation. Thrives on New Orleans Saints football, The West Wing and taco trucks.