Add Decider on Google Where to Stream: Welcome To The Family: The Murder Of Dan Markel Powered by Reelgood More On: true crime Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Death Of The Pastor’s Wife’ On Netflix, A Docuseries About The Mysterious Death Of Mica Miller The Top 10 Movies On Netflix That Are Most Popular Right Now The Top 10 Shows On Netflix That Are Most Popular Right Now Is ‘Facing El Chapo’ Based On A True Story? Welcome To The Family: The Murder Of Dan Markel is a four-part docuseries on Hulu, directed by Sebastian Smith, that details the 2014 contract killing of Markel, a law professor at Florida State University. A decade-plus investigation led authorities to Markel’s former mother-in-law, Donna Adelson, and former brother-in-law, Charlie Adelson, who paid two men to kill Markel.
Opening Shot: A closeup of a camera lens, and a shot of Wendi Adelson sobbing when a police detective informs her of the death of her ex-husband, Dan Markel.
The Gist: In the first episode, the murder, which took place in the driveway of Markel’s Tallahassee home, is detailed, as is Markel’s marriage to Wendi Adelson, whose family ran a thriving dental practice in the Miami area. Through interviews with their friends and neighbors in Tallahassee, as well as local and federal law enforcement investigators, we find out that their marriage went downhill after having kids, and Wendi ended up taking their sons and leaving Markel without any notice.
From there, the investigation proceeds to identify two men driving a Toyota Prius, but others are involved, like a former girlfriend of Charlie Adelson, as well as Charlie and Donna Adelson. Eventually, the dysfunction in the Adelson family is revealed by Jeff Lacasse, who dated Wendi Adelson after she separated from Markel. Charlie and Donna Adelson came to hate Markel during the contentious divorce, and Charlie seemed to offhandedly mention to Lacasse looking to see how much a hit man would cost.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Welcome To The Family: The Murder Of Dan Markel has a similar feel to other ABC News Studios docuseries like Trophy Wife: Death On Safari.
Our Take: The Dan Markel murder case has a ton of layers to it, and Smith and the series’ producers do their best to dig through those layers in four 45-minute episodes. They certainly tell the story in a way that brings viewers into the investigation, showing how law enforcement managed to track down the two men, Sigfredo Garcia and Luis Rivera, who pulled the trigger and followed cell phone calls back to Katherine Magbanua, who not only was the mother to Garcia’s children but also dated Charlie Adelson.
The unfortunate part of the series, especially its first half, is that Markel gets lost in the mix as the supremely dysfunctional Adelson family dynamic is explored. Wendi and Charlie are the favored children over their oldest brother, Robert; Charlie is a periodontist who throws his money around and is the opposite of monogamous, and Wendi is so protected by her parents that they would accompany her on drives between Miami and Tallahassee. Those dynamics are so fascinating, that we understand why they got a deep dive. But we’d also like to hear more about Markel and how his marriage to Wendi dissolved.
Parting Shot: A shot of Lacasse, a year after the murder, telling police that Charlie Adelson inquired into hiring a hit man to kill Markel.
Our Call: STREAM IT. Welcome To The Family: The Murder Of Dan Markel does a good job taking a deep dive into the messed-up family dynamics that led to Markel’s murder, even though we wish we’d hear a little more about Markel himself.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
