Even if you know how it ends, the manner in which “Murdaugh: Death in the Family” unfolds does wonders in keeping engagement levels high. .... It may project the image of just another true crime yarn, but much like the monster that is Alex, there’s more to this story.

Clarke and Arquette are a dynamic pair, portraying the dysfunction and denial that led to the tragic slayings. .... The first episode of “Death in the Family” starts out a bit slow and lays the colloquialisms a little too thick, but it leads to a captivating story that sheds new light on an oft-trod story.

Murdaugh is more full-bodied and thoughtfully crafted than most true-crime stories, including the others on Hulu.

The performances are superb, especially from Clarke. .... However, fantastic characters do not make for compelling drama without jeopardy and, even if you haven’t caught the reams of commentary on the case, it would help if its destination didn’t feel quite so obvious.

Creators Michael D. Fuller and Erin Lee Carr are, instead, most interested in how the Murdaughs found themselves here to begin with — specifically, in the toxic combination of privilege and desperation that propelled them. But if their exploration of that theme is thoughtful and thorough, it’s also one that, over eight moderately watchable hours, sticks to familiar territory rather than blazing new ground.

At eight episodes long, the story feels dragged out, weighed down by subplots that never quite seem to go anywhere. It’s hard to shake the feeling that this is the TV equivalent of a meeting that could have been an email.

The show has nothing to say, and there's zero artistry in its lurid retelling of a man murdering his wife and son. Exploitative, dull and lacking a point of view, "Murdaugh" is a new lowpoint in our collective murder obsession.