Need a Guide to the Murdaugh Case? Watch ‘Low Country’ on HBO Max

We’ve barely started 2023, and one of the buzziest trials of the year is already underway. This past Monday (January 23) marked the beginning of Alex Murdaugh’s trial, the disgraced attorney on trial for killing his wife and son and who has now been charged with over 100 indictments. The Murdaugh case is one that is so convoluted, it needs a flow chart and bulletin board just to understand it. But if you’ve been wondering why so many people have been fascinated by this South Carolina case, look no further than Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty on HBO Max.

Directed by Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan, the three-episode docuseries is less of a complete explanation of this case and more of a primer to the current trial. Situated in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina, the Murdaugh family used to be a bit like Southern royalty. From 1920 to 2006, a Murdaugh always served as solicitor — known in other states as a district attorney —for all criminal cases in S.C.’s 14th circuit district. The way Low Country tells it, no one crossed the Murdaughs, and there was an assumption that if you did, it wouldn’t last for long. That reputation changed in 2019 due to a boating accident.

One night, Paul Murdaugh — Alex’s son — went boating with his friends, including Mallory Beach and Connor Cook. Everyone was drinking. Murdaugh was driving, too fast and almost three times over the legal limit. That’s when the survivors claimed Paul Murdaugh crashed the boat into a bridge, seriously injuring two passengers and killing Mallory Beach.

Paul Murdaugh was charged with three felonies connected to Beach’s death (all of which were dropped after his death). For many, his trial proceeded exactly as expected. Not only was he not taken to jail for booking; he wasn’t even handcuffed. Yet his sentence never came. Paul Murdaugh and his mother, Maggie Murdaugh, were both found dead in their hunting lodge in June of 2021. Both had been shot.

Believe it or not, this is only how this true crime saga starts. We still have hours of twists to come. The Beach case illuminated Alex Murdaugh’s financial situation, which was how his life went from bad to worse. Accusations later emerged that Alex Murdaugh had embezzled millions from his clients while working as their lawyers, even taking money after their deaths. By the way, two of those felonies tied to missing money? They came from Gloria Satterfield’s sons, the longtime housekeeper who mysteriously died in the Murdaughs’ home. That’s not even the last death to appear in this jaw-dropping docuseries. Though charges and incitements have yet to be issued in connection to his death, the documentary takes care to link the Murdaugh family to Stephen Smith. In 2015, Smith was found dead in the road, a tragedy that was ruled a hit and run and that is still logistically confusing to many. And there’s more. In September of 2021, it was discovered that one of Alex Murdaugh’s former clients had been arrested for conspiring to kill him. Why? Possibly because Alex Murdaugh’s remaining son, Buster, would receive a $10 million payout in the event of his father’s death.

Yes, that is a casual scoop of assisted suicide insurance fraud on top. No matter how insane you think this story is, multiply that by 12.

There are no true crime docuseries long or interesting enough to justify 10 episodes. And yet here’s the Murdaugh case, proving me wrong. If Low Country lasted for an old-school 22 episode season, I still think it would only scratch the surface of this stranger-than-fiction case. And yet it clocks in at a very reasonable hour and a half. If you want to know why the Murdaugh case is dominating the news cycles and court TV right now, clear out your night and put on Low Country.