Disney/Daniel Delgado Patricia Arquettehas died onscreen many times throughout her career, but filming her character's murder in the upcoming true crime dramaMurdaugh: Death In the Familyhit her harder than any of her previous death scenes. "The death was hard, feeling like she didn't really see it coming at all," Arquette tellsEntertainment Weeklyof her doomed character Maggie Murdaugh. "That's so disturbing to me. And also with her child there! I have died so many times in movies, I have to say, but there's something different about it when you really think that person loves you 'til the last second." We know it's not normal to spoil a character's fate before the TV show even premieres. ButEntertainment Weeklyhas your exclusive first look at Arquette's new Hulu/Disney+ series, based on the popularMurdaugh Murders Podcastchronicling the shocking true story of wealthy former lawyer Alex Murdaugh (Jason Clarke), who killed his wife Maggie and their son Paul Murdaugh (Johnny Berchtold) in 2021. Disney/Daniel Delgado Co-creator and showrunner Michael D. Fuller grew up "about an hour away" from where the powerful Murdaugh family lived, so he "felt a sense of duty and responsibility" to tell the story of the podcast on a larger scale as a scripted show afterit got the Lifetime movie treatment. He tells EW that the series follows the true story pretty closely, with only minor adjustments to help the narrative flow. "We always wanted to approach everything with an abundance of sensitivity — these are very recent events, and the people who have survived this story or who were directly impacted by this story are still, for the most part, very much alive," Fuller says. "We made sure we're approaching everything with that consideration, that these are or were human beings, who now have surviving family members, and that extends to the Murdaughs themselves, and wanting to understand their story as much as we could." Disney/Daniel Delgado Since many people already know how this tragic story ends, Arquette was intrigued when she was approached to play Maggie by how this limited series follows the family in the months leading up to the horrific murders. "It is more of an examination of the family unit," the Emmy- and Oscar-winning actor says. "I was really trying to examine the growing awareness and the sadness that comes from being with a pathological personality and the codependency, and kind of examine that trap I think a lot of people find themselves in. Oftentimes with these victims, they really get a short end of the stick in the storytelling because the pathological person does so many giant kind of nightmarish things, so it was really nice to read material where they did want to focus on that impact on her." Disney/Daniel Delgado The series turns back the clock to a time when Alex and Maggie's life seemed perfect from the outside. The privileged, wealthy family was one of South Carolina's most powerful legal dynasties, but when their son Paul is involved in a deadly boat crash, the investigation turns up more mysterious deaths and secrets that threaten their entire existence. It all culminates in a tragic end for both Maggie and Paul (the real Alex is currently serving two life sentences without parole for the murders). The showrunner reveals that the limited series was developed before Alex's trial began, so the episodes will only cover the events leading up to the murders. "The trial itself we realized could have sustained a season of television," Fuller says. "But we encompassed the entirety of the story — our telling of it and our interpretation of it." Arquette followed the story on the news as it was happening in real time, especially during Alex's trial in 2023. "I was always fascinated because it's this story of this family, of extreme wealth in the South, and that kind of power and capacity to bend justice your way when you have that much power and influence," the actor says. What really pulled Arquette in was the idea of exploring how Alex spun a web of lies and manipulation that trapped Maggie throughout their entire marriage. "I'm not a therapist, but she's with a sociopathic narcissist and is not aware at all of who she's with," Arquette says. "It's a nightmare. People like that are very charming and full of life, and they lure you into this sense of safety and this illusion that you know who they are, and there's this whole other side that they're hiding. When they met, they were in college, she was a kid, and so she was slowly conditioned to accept this crazy, wild behavior, and the family would clean everything up because 'boys will be boys.'" Disney/Daniel Delgado Arquette worked closely with the show's technical advisor and executive producer Mandy Matney — the journalist and creator ofMurdaugh Murders Podcast(played by Brittany Snow) — to really dig into who Maggie was and how she slowly began to realize the truth about her husband (although sadly, too late). "Mandy's podcast was amazing, and it was invaluable to have her and [co-creator] Erin [Lee Carr] to give us information," Arquette says. "Even stuff like what was in Maggie's purse? She kept her cash in a plastic bag in her purse. And talking to them about facts of the case was incredible." But the most valuable research for Arquette came from doing deep dives on the psychology of addicts, alcoholics, and narcissists. Disney/Daniel Delgado "What are the behaviors in a dysfunctional marriage, what is codependence, and what are all the do's and don'ts of Al-Anon? Because these people are doing all the don'ts," Arquette says. "And then also looking at intimate partner betrayal and how does that impact people, and narcissistic abuse." The eight-episode series follows Maggie as she slowly uncovers Alex's betrayals and lies, but Arquette warns that this isn't going to be a satisfying revenge tale. The reality of Maggie's fate is much more devastating. Sign up forEntertainment Weekly'sfree daily newsletterto get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. Disney/Daniel Delgado "She starts to see his capacity for cruelty and brutality, and she starts waking up, and she really loses respect, chunk by chunk, with him," Arquette says. "But even up to the very last second, she never really thought he would ever kill her, or her son. Maybe he would screw her over in a divorce, that he would hide a bunch of money, all of that stuff definitely crosses her mind. But the idea that he would ever actually physically harm her or her son, I don't think that ever crosses her mind." That's why Arquette hopes this dramatized retelling of the true story is a "cautionary tale" for viewers. "We have to really be able to separate and see people for the actions they take and what they do," she says. "I don't know if there will ever really be able to be justice for her, or any of these families that he destroyed. I hope that there is, in some way, but these kind of people really wreak havoc and harm a lot of people in their lives." Murdaugh: Death In the Familypremieres Oct. 15 with the first three episodes, with new episodes rolling out weekly until the finale debuts Nov. 19, on Hulu and Disney+. Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly
