Unraveling the Lead-Up to Maggie and Paul’s Murders: Murdaugh: Death in the Family Episodes 1-2 Explained
Murdaugh: Death in the Family explodes onto screens with a three-episode premiere, plunging viewers into the downfall of South Carolina’s once-untouchable legal dynasty—opening with the grisly discovery of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh and the chilling unraveling that follows.
Hulu just dropped the first three episodes of its scripted take on the Murdaugh saga, and yep, it starts exactly where you think: with two bodies on the ground and a family empire about to implode. It is polished, punchy, and not shy about pointing a finger. There are also jellyfish. Yes, really.
- Show: Murdaugh: Death in the Family
- Premiere: October 15, 2025 (Episodes 1-3 now streaming on Hulu in the US)
- Creators: Erin Lee Carr and Michael D. Fuller
- Episode count: 8 total; finale set for November 19, 2025
- Based on: Mandy Matney's Murdaugh Murders podcast
- Main cast: Jason Clarke, Patricia Arquette, Johnny Berchtold, Will Harrison, Gerald McRaney, Brittany Snow
The cold open, then the rewind
The show opens in 2021 with Alex Murdaugh (Jason Clarke) calling 911 to report that his wife Maggie (Patricia Arquette) and their youngest son Paul (Johnny Berchtold) have been shot. From there, Episode 1 quickly jumps back two years to unspool how this supposedly untouchable Lowcountry dynasty got there in the first place.
Power, parties, and pressure
In this version of events, the Murdaugh name is practically a local institution. Alex's father, Randolph (Gerald McRaney), spent more than three decades as the region's top prosecutor and is now retired. He is about to receive the state's highest civilian honor from the governor, and Maggie throws a party to celebrate.
Inside the family, it's not exactly warm and fuzzy. Randolph favors his elder son, Randy, over Alex, and the family firm reflects it. We see Alex flounder on a case involving a hit-and-run victim, Mr. Alvarez; Randy openly mocks his courtroom work, and Randolph backs Randy. The patriarch then forces Alex to accept a lower settlement. Later, Alex hears Randolph plans to step away from the firm entirely, which all but telegraphs Randy taking the reins.
On paper, Alex looks like the successful hometown attorney. Off paper, his finances are bleeding, he is struggling with a pill addiction, and he is dabbling in a sketchy side hustle importing jellyfish. He tries to lean on a newly installed county director to keep that scheme rolling and gets told to shut it down. At home, the cracks are visible: Alex has cheated before, he is hiding his relapse, and the family housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, finds his stash under the bed and gives the pills to Maggie.
Episode 2 winds back even further
The second hour points to a pattern: years earlier at the University of South Carolina, Alex allegedly used his family's clout to dodge consequences after a driving incident. It's the same playbook, different year.
The boat crash that changes everything
Alex and Maggie's older son, Buster, is on the straight-and-narrow track with a USC acceptance. Paul, the younger son, is the opposite: reckless, entitled, and used to being shielded. At Randolph's celebration, Paul and Buster even end up in a fight.
Soon after, Paul heads to the family's private Paukie Island with friends in a speedboat. He is 19, drinks anyway, and later insists on driving back. He barrels into a river bridge, injuring everybody onboard. One friend, Mallory Beach, goes missing.
Alex goes straight into damage-control mode. He pushes the survivors to stick to a controlled story and uses connections to muddy the official paperwork, including a heavily redacted police report that blunts Paul's exposure. Buster has video of Paul steering on the way to the island, but even that doesn't immediately cut through the fog of influence.
Mandy Matney starts connecting dots
Brittany Snow plays journalist Mandy Matney, whose podcast this series adapts. She clocks Alex working the scene and starts digging. Social media chatter points to gaps in the official story, but her editor warns her to bring actual proof before publishing.
Fallout: a body found and a family breaking
Paul tries to reach the other survivors; most dodge him. He sneaks a visit to Morgan, one of the injured, and it goes badly. She calls him out for refusing to own what happened.
Maggie, realizing they should have joined the search from the start, drags Paul out to help. Mallory's body is recovered five miles from the crash site. Her boyfriend, Anthony, explodes on Paul, telling him to never show his face again. It's the first time we see Paul really absorb what's happened.
Meanwhile, Morgan quietly meets with Matney and hands over that video of Paul at the wheel, under a promise of anonymity. The picture sharpens.
Back at the house, Maggie confronts Alex about his relapse. He is already hurting for pills. She hands him two and makes it plain: pick your family or your addiction.
That night, Alex pays a visit to his friend Marty, whose son Connor was also on the boat. Alex leans on him hard, suggesting Connor should take the blame and reminding him of past favors. The next day, after a hunting trip, Alex and Paul return to find Randolph at the house. Maggie presses a newspaper into Paul's hands: a cover-up story has hit print. Matney's reporting is starting to widen the lens on what the Murdaugh name can and cannot bury.
Where we are after Episode 2 (with 3 now live)
Episodes 1-3 are streaming now on Hulu in the US. The season runs eight episodes total, with the finale scheduled for November 19, 2025. The show is very much arguing that the boat crash blew the lid off years of quiet influence, bad habits, and worse decisions. If you are here for the messy details and the performances, there is plenty of both — and the way this series frames the family's internal power plays is as unsettling as it is compelling.