Under the Bridge TV review — true crime drama re-examines the complex case of a teenage murder

In an idyllic bayside town on Vancouver Island in 1997, listless teens listen to hardcore rap and watch mafia films. At night they congregate to drink, smoke and fight. Then, one night, they brutally beat and kill one of their peers.

Under the Bridge, a new true-crime Hulu drama, is based on Canadian writer Rebecca Godfrey’s 2005 account of the murder of 14-year-old Reena Virk. The eight-part series re-examines this complex case from the perspective of the police, the perpetrators and the victim herself, whose short life is explored in season-long flashbacks.

Judiciously avoiding turning a tragedy into a ghoulish whodunnit, the show establishes what happened fairly early, leaving the far more difficult question of why. Given the ages of those involved, it could be tempting to turn to the society and households which shaped these impressionable minds. But writer-creator Quinn Shephard doesn’t remove culpability. While domestic trouble, social alienation and peer pressure provide context, the show never makes excuses for the cruelty and coldness that Reena’s assailants (and even Reena herself) were capable of.

A young cast — led by Vritika Gupta (Reena), Chloe Guidry (as the callous yet childlike Josephine) and Aiyana Goodfellow (the conscience-stricken teen Dusty) — do well with challenging material. They eclipse their illustrious co-stars Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough, who elevate slightly formulaic roles: appearing respectively as committed local cop Cam and trauma-haunted author Rebecca.

While Cam is a fictional composite of real people, Rebecca is based on Godfrey. Yet at times she feels more like a conduit for the show’s writers to reflect on their efforts to tell this difficult, distressing story. At one point we see her meet Reena’s mother and vow “to try to understand” her daughter. It is a noble sentiment in a genre too often prone to exploitation.

★★★☆☆

On Disney+ in the UK and Hulu in the US