When to watch: ‘Murf the Surf’ on MGM+
By Margaret Lyons
February 3, 2023
The documentarian R.J. Cutler (“The September Issue”) turns his attention to a horrific larger-than-life tale in this four-episode series that avoids the worst drooling habits of the true-crime genre. Jack Roland Murphy, known as Murf the Surf because of his early life as a surfer, gained notoriety as a convicted jewel thief and was later tried for murder and sentenced to two life sentences plus 20 years. But Murphy was released early, and his claims of a jailhouse conversion to Christianity revised his public image. The show expertly teases out the ways myths of justice operate in American society, of who is served by and who is harmed by prioritizing story over substance. Episode 1 airs on Sunday, and the rest air weekly beginning on Feb. 19.
