Introduction

Candy (released internationally as Candy: A Death In Texas) is an American biographical crime drama streaming television limited series created by Nick Antosca and Robin Veith. The series stars Jessica Biel as the real-life Candy Montgomery, who was accused of the axe murder of her neighbor, Betty Gore (played by Melanie Lynskey) in 1980, in Texas. It premiered on May 9, 2022, on Hulu, with a new episode for five nights until May 13.

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Premise

In Wylie, Texas, in 1980, Candy Montgomery, a suburban housewife, is accused of murdering her neighbor Betty Gore, after having an affair with Gore's husband, Allan.

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Cast

Main

• Jessica Biel as Candy Montgomery
• Melanie Lynskey as Betty Gore
• Pablo Schreiber as Allan Gore
• Timothy Simons as Pat Montgomery
• Raúl Esparza as Don Crowder

Recurring

• Jessie Mueller as Sherry Cleckler
• Adam Bartley as Richard
• Justin Timberlake as Deputy Steve Deffibaugh
• Jason Ritter as Deputy Denny Reese

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Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Friday the 13th"	Michael Uppendahl	Story by : Nick Antosca & Robin Veith Teleplay by : Robin Veith	May 9, 2022 (2022-05-09)
Candy Montgomery goes about her day while Allan Gore tries to get a hold of his wife, Betty.
2	"Happy Wife, Happy Life"	Jennifer Getzinger	David Matthews	May 10, 2022 (2022-05-10)
Candy and Betty try to fill the voids in their lives.
3	"Overkill"	Ben Semanoff	Brett Johnson	May 11, 2022 (2022-05-11)
Candy and Betty revel in new friendships.
4	"Cover Girl"	Tara Nicole Weyr	Elise Brown	May 12, 2022 (2022-05-12)
The truth closes in on the Montgomerys.
5	"The Fight"	Michael Uppendahl	Brett Johnson & David Matthews and Robin Veith	May 13, 2022 (2022-05-13)
Candy tells her story.

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Production

Development

In July 2020, it was announced UCP was developing a series revolving around Candy Montgomery, with Robin Veith writing the pilot for the series, and Nick Antosca set to executive produce under his Eat the Cat banner, with no network attached. In December 2020, it was announced Hulu had landed the series. In October 2021, it was announced Elisabeth Moss, who was originally set to star as Candy, had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts and would be replaced by Jessica Biel.

Filming

Principal photography began in December 2021 and continued through February 2022, and took place in Austell, Georgia.

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Release

Candy premiered on the streaming service Hulu in the United States on May 9, 2022, with new episodes airing for five subsequent nights until May 13. Hulu majority-owner Disney has also confirmed that Candy will be coming to its Disney+ Hotstar service in India on July 15.

Candy has come to Disney+ in Australia and New Zealand on 27 July and for Singapore on August 10 as a Star Original. Release dates for other countries have not yet been confirmed.

Internationally the show's main title is Candy: A Death In Texas despite the thumbnail on Disney + simply listing it as Candy.

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Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the limited series holds a 71% approval rating based on 34 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Candy's sour aftertaste is counterbalanced by uniformly terrific performances, but it only takes a couple licks before this true crime drama loses its flavor." On Metacritic, the series has a score of 64 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Josh Bell of CBR.com stated that the series manages to provide a late 1970s aesthetic through its decor and costumes, complimented how the miniseries succeeds to depict the struggles of the main characters through its dark tone, and praised Biel's performance as Candy Montgomery, while complimenting the rest of the supporting actors. Brian Lowry of CNN found that Candy manages to be more effective than most true crime drama series, stating that Biel and Lynskey's performances are convincing and well-rendered, while complimenting how the miniseries manages to provide solid additional scripted elements compared to other contemporary series of the same genre. Joel Keller of Decider praised the performances of the cast, especially Biel and Lynskey's, and found interesting the choice to start the miniseries with Betty Gore's death, followed by the reconstitution of what has occurred between the characters in the later episodes. Matt Fowler of IGN rated the miniseries 7 out of 10 and complimented the performances of the cast members, while praising how the show manages to keep an atmosphere of tension without providing too much information during its first episodes. Maggie Boccella of Collider gave the miniseries a C+ rating and claimed that the show manages to be a satisfactory true crime drama, while praising the performances of the actors, but criticized the lack of development of the characters.

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
2022	Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards	Best Actress in a Streaming Limited or Anthology Series or Movie	Jessica Biel	Pending
		Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Limited or Anthology Series or Movie	Melanie Lynskey	Pending
	Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards	Outstanding Main Title Design	Ronnie Koff, Peter Frankfurt, Lexi Gunvaldson, Rob Slychuk, Nader Husseini, and Elizabeth Steinberg	Pending