Elizabeth Olsen's 2023 True Crime Miniseries Should Be On Your Netflix Watchlist

For years, it's been quite clear that Elizabeth Olsen is a lot more than just the younger sister of the unbelievably famous Olsen twins Mary-Kate and Ashley — but if you've only ever seen her in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you should check her out in her 2023 miniseries "Love & Death," which is currently available on Netflix.

Even though "Love & Death" is technically an HBO Max original, HBO inked a deal to allow Netflix to stream some of its titles a while ago. That's why, for example, "Sex and the City" has been a part of Netflix's library for a minute, along with shows like "Love & Death." (This deal, I should note, was completely separate from Netflix's outright acquisition of the Warner Bros. library that was announced on December 5, 2025.) Okay, with all of that out of the way, what is Olsen's series about? Well, it's a true crime story that focuses on a real woman named Candy Montgomery, who was accused of killing her close friend in a brutal attack that shook a small town in Texas to its very core.

Olsen, of course, plays Candy, with Patrick Fugit co-starring as her unfailingly loyal husband Pat Montgomery; flanking them are Jesse Plemons as the hapless Allan Gore and Lily Rabe (whom you probably remember from multiple seasons of "American Horror Story") as Allan's wife — and Candy's apparent victim — Betty Gore. Throughout "Love & Death," we hone in on Candy and Betty's friendship, Betty's sickeningly gory murder, and the trial that follows ... so, what else do you need to know about it?

When we first meet Candy Montgomery in "Love & Death," she's leading a pretty good life in 1970s Texas but still wants more ... and by more, I mean she specifically wants Betty Gore's husband Allan, who attends her same church group. The lead-up to the pair's eventual affair is honestly really funny — not only does Candy tell her pastor, Jackie Ponder (Elizabeth Marvel), about her intentions, which is frankly absurd, but Candy and Allan also hold a bunch of strategy meetings figuring out how they could possibly even pull off such a thing — before they actually consummate the affair in a motel room.

Once Candy and Allan start actually falling for each other, though, they realize they're in trouble — and while Pat is completely and utterly clueless about his wife's extracurricular activities, Betty requires more of Allan's attention after she gives birth to their second child. The Gores go to a retreat to fix their marriage and come back in a much better place, and Pat and Candy try to do the same ... but then Betty starts getting suspicious, and everything turns violent very quickly.

"Love & Death" is not, by any metric, a bad show; it's got an excellent cast, a fantastic showrunner in David E. Kelley (who's also run shows like "Big Little Lies"), and keeps up a snappy, enthralling pace across seven episodes. Here's the biggest problem with "Love & Death," though — another show told the exact same story one year beforehand, and it honestly did a better job.

"Love & Death" dropped on HBO Max in 2023, and just one year prior, the Hulu original miniseries "Candy" premiered on that platform. Created by showrunners Nick Antosca and Robin Veith (the former of whom led another true crime series, "The Act," in 2019 and the latter of whom worked as a writer on "Mad Men"), "Candy" stars Jessica Biel in the exact same story, but with "Veep" standout Timothy Simons playing Pat Montgomery, "Orange is the New Black" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" supporting player Pablo Schreiber as Allan Gore, and the always perfect Melanie Lynskey as Betty Gore.

I've watched both shows, and with the utmost due respect to Elizabeth Olsen (an actor I like a lot!), "Candy" is a better show, and a big part of that is Biel's deliciously twisted performance. I think that, over the years, Biel has been a criminally underrated dramatic actor, but thanks to projects like "The Sinner" and "Candy," audiences finally just to see just how dark she can get, and she really shows off that disturbing darkness in "Candy." Biel's Candy Montgomery is more sharply drawn, more devious, and ultimately more gripping than Olsen's Candy Montgomery, though I do think that both series are ultimately worth watching if you want to compare notes yourself.

"Love & Death" is streaming on both HBO Max and Netflix, and "Candy" is available on Hulu.