A Murder at the End of the World on Hulu is generating a lot of buzz, and this series is already a major win for the streaming service. Critics and fans have both rated it highly on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences especially love it. The show is now four episodes in and audiences are giving it an impressive 96%. I've seen the first episode myself and I wholeheartedly agree with the praise this Hulu miniseries has earned.
This FX on Hulu original show stars Emma Corrin as Darby Hart, an intelligent crime solver who investigates cold cases and missing persons to bring justice to the victims. She’s invited to a retreat by tech mogul Andy Ronson (Clive Owen), but the other guests are surprised. Most seem to think that she’s been invited by Andy’s wife Lee Andersen (Brit Marling), who happens to be Darby’s hero.
However, we know that's not the case. We also know that something sinister is coming even without things starting to feel off. After all, the show is called A Murder at the End of the World, and not The Interesting Tech Summit at the End of the World. I’ll be getting into some spoilers of episode 1 from here on out, so turn around now if you want to go into the show blind.
With that said, here’s why A Murder at the End of the World is the streaming TV show you need to be watching right now. Editor's Note: Mild spoilers ahead.
A Murder at the End of the World has horror and humor
The majority of the beginning of the first episode is fairly dark in tone. A Murder at the End of the World seems to be set around two separate stories — the present where the murder is expected to happen and the past where Darby solves her first cold case.
Both storylines have plenty of thriller and horror elements, but the story of Darby solving her first case in the past is heavy on horror. The scenes would not feel out of place in a traditional horror film.
Still, the show also gets light-hearted at times. It’s not uproarious laugh-inducing moments like in the more comedically-leaning Knives Out series of whodunit films, but you’ll find yourself giving a wry smirk or a chuckle or two at times. Not all is dark at the edge of the Earth.
Hulu hints at our tech dystopia in this whodunit
I know I just said not all is dark at the edge of the Earth, but A Murder at the End of the World sure feels like it’s a partial commentary of an impending tech dystopia. Owen’s tech billionaire Ronson is portrayed as one of if not the most powerful people in the world, which is dystopian in its own right. But it’s also pretty relatable given the world we currently live in.
The commentary goes beyond that. There’s an AI assistant that is being tested at the retreat, smart glasses in the hotel room and even a kid named Zoomer — which, admittedly, got a pretty strenuous eye-roll from me. There are even deep fakes of one of the guests that the guests share around dinner, though at least the guest in question is in the conversation rather than it being behind their back.
Stream the first four episodes of A Murder of the End of the World now
If you’re a fan of whodunits like Knives Out or Murder on the Orient Express, A Murder at the End of the World is a no-brainer to start streaming now. I found a lot of similarities between Darby and Knives Out’s Benoit Blanc (played by Daniel Craig), particularly in comparison to Blanc’s role in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. I’d be shocked if Ronson didn’t invite her expecting doom to befall his retreat at the remote Icelandic hotel.
A Murder at the End of the World drops Tuesdays on Hulu at 12:01 a.m. ET. Episodes 1-4 are available to stream now.
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But the show also does a great job of keeping you entertained and engaged. And while there are some horror and thriller elements, this wouldn’t even come close to the horror of a show like The Fall of the House of Usher, so no need to worry if you’re squeamish. So it’s something I’d recommend to anyone. After just one episode I had to stop myself from watching the second immediately.
Yes, that’s right. You can stream the first four episodes of A Murder at the End of the World right now on Hulu. And with audiences calling it "Flawless," "a great show" and "surprisingly phenomenal!" you definitely won't want to wait any longer to start watching.
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