With exciting new adaptations of Agatha Christie and Philip K. Dick’s fictional worlds just around the corner, there’s never been a better time to discover an underappreciated miniseries on Hulu which draws on the works of both legendary authors. Combining amateur crime-solving with tech dystopia, this detective thriller is ideal for those who like their mysteries disguised as sci-fi.
The brainchild of Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, A Murder at the End of the World stars The Crown’s Emma Corrin as its central hero, an amateur sleuth invited to a remote Arctic location which soon becomes the setting for grisly murder. Marling features in the supporting cast alongside the likes of Clive Owen and Harris Dickinson.
Among the best mystery TV series of the 2020s so far, this seven-episode is as chilling as the icy backdrop for its mind-bending mystery. A Murder at the End of the World slipped under the radar of most viewers when it debuted on Hulu between November and December 2023. But once you start watching the show, it’s impossible to escape.
As opposed to the various sci-fi TV releases out there with a mystery element to them, this miniseries is a mystery through and through. Yet, its story also points to a version of the near-future which feels terrifyingly close to our present reality, just as the fiction of Philip K. Dick signposted aspects of their contemporary epoch hidden from view.
A Murder At The End Of The World Blends Agatha Christie With Philip K. Dick
In the year that Blade Runner 2099 continues Philip K. Dick’s legacy on Prime Video, it’s well worth watching a Hulu miniseries that feels as though it was dreamed up by Dick himself. Although A Murder at the End of the World doesn’t credit his work, its basic premise is remarkably similar to his 1968 novel A Maze of Death.
Both the miniseries and Dick’s novel involve disparate but similarly ingenious individuals gathered together in a desolate place where artificial intelligence serves as a double-edged sword wielded by the wrong hands. What happens next in A Murder at the End of the World has plenty in common with A Maze of Death, too, in addition to Agatha Christie’s all-time bestseller.
If the setting of this TV series feels like a dystopian tech billionaire’s twist on And Then There Were None, its plot and approach to mystery-solving unquestionably borrow from the Christie playbook. Emma Corrin’s Darby Hart at least glances in the direction of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, even if she breaks the mold for TV detectives they created.
Either way, there’s much for armchair sleuths to enjoy about A Murder at the End of the World, as well as fans of dystopian fiction who pore over the plots of their favorite thrillers in search of allegories for our real-world predicament. Perhaps even more importantly, this miniseries is the show that Brit Marling’s devoted fanbase was waiting for.
It’s Also Hulu’s Murder-Mystery Sequel To Netflix’s The OA
Four years before A Murder at the End of the World arrived on Hulu, Netflix canceled The OA just as it was becoming a sci-fi great. Marling and Zal Batmanglij had planned this supernatural sci-fi mystery series as a five-season saga, only for its streaming distributor to pull the plug after just two releases.
Fast forward to 2023, and rumors abounded that A Murder at the End of the World was in fact The OA season 3 in disguise. Although Marling and Batmanglij have confirmed that it isn’t, the two shows certainly share thematic and stylistic similarities, and could theoretically take place within the same fictional universe.
If devotees of Agatha Christie and Philip K. Dick are bound to treasure this Hulu hidden gem, then fans of The OA are in for an even bigger treat. A Murder at the End of the World is a headscrambling, genre-bending joy to watch, which subtly doffs its cap to the greats it draws on while offering something truly original.
- Release Date
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2023 – 2023-00-00
- Showrunner
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Zal Batmanglij, Brit Marling
