An amateur sleuth with one case to her name. The wealthiest tech mogul on the planet. A cabal of movers and shakers at an isolated retreat in the literal middle of nowhere. These are the ingredients that make up FX’s new 7-part mystery, A Murder at the End of the World, premiering November 14th exclusively on Hulu.
(FX)
Darby Hart (Emma Corrin, The Crown) recently gained notoriety for publishing a book about how she and her friend-turned-lover Bill (Harris Dickinson, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) used hacking to find and stop a serial killer, who was targeting Jane Does wearing silver jewelry. A young tech worker of little means, she’s just as shocked as anyone when the world’s most wealthy innovator, Andy (Clive Owen, Impeachment: American Crime Story), extends an invitation to his annual meeting of the minds. Andy just so happens to be married to Darby’s idol, a notorious hacker who vanished after being doxed, Lee (Brit Marling, The OA), allowing Darby the rare chance to meet her hero. Feeling like a fish out of water amongst a group that includes futurists and an award-winning filmmaker, Darby is even more shocked to see a familiar face among the crowd – her estranged lover Bill! And then someone is murdered…
The premiere episode kicks off a roller coaster ride. With a storm moving in that traps all of Andy’s guests at his new Icelandic hotel, Darby is suddenly the only person capable of investigating the murder and figuring out who amongst them did it. And there’s a bit of a race against time, as it seems that the killer has other targets, with Darby increasingly higher on the list as she gets closer to cracking the case.
(Christopher Saunders/FX)
Darby is described by one of the characters as “Gen Z Sherlock Holmes,” with both her age and gender often coming into play. Creators and directors Brit Marling & Zal Batmanglij touch on these as being both a blessing and a curse, with Darby often underestimated by other members on the retreat, and even Andy himself. Like any of the detectives modeled after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s trendsetter, Darby is an intriguing and likable character with her own complicated backstory, which is dispersed in flashbacks that fill in pieces of her puzzle throughout the series.
While crafted in the mold of a traditional detective mystery, A Murder at the End of the World is distinctly modern. It occasionally suffers from trying to juggle too many social issues, to the point where you can feel inclusion boxes being checked off. But at its core, it’s a story about believing women, the dangers of letting someone have all the power, and how technology can be both an asset and a crux at the same time.
I give A Murder at the End of the World 4 out of 5 references to The Simpsons.
FX’s A Murder at the End of the World premieres Tuesday, November 14th, exclusively on Hulu.