HBO Max Revisits the Candy Montgomery Case With Star-Studded Drama Love & Death

More than four decades after one of Texas’s most sensational homicide cases first gripped the nation, the story of Candy Montgomery is returning to screens—this time through HBO Max’s prestige limited series Love & Death. Arriving less than a year after Hulu’s dramatization starring Jessica Biel, the new adaptation has already generated intense buzz among true-crime devotees, Marvel fans, and admirers of acclaimed actress Lily Rabe.

The series is written and executive-produced by David E. Kelley, one of television’s most prolific and admired creators. Known for juggernauts such as Doogie Howser, M.D., Ally McBeal, Big Little Lies, and The Undoing, Kelley brings his signature blend of character-driven drama and legal-system complexity to a case that still sparks debate more than 40 years after the verdict.

At the center of Love & Death is Elizabeth Olsen, who steps into the role of Candy Montgomery—an ordinary suburban Texas housewife whose life intersected with one of the most shocking events in the state’s modern criminal history. Olsen, widely known for her role as Wanda Maximoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, brings a quiet intensity to the part, portraying Candy as a woman navigating desire, guilt, repression, and ultimately, the desperation that landed her at the center of a national scandal.

Opposite Olsen is Jesse Plemons, playing Allan Gore, the husband of the victim, Betty Gore. Lily Rabe portrays Betty, whose tragic death remains one of the most discussed aspects of the case. The cast also includes a strong supporting ensemble that grounds the narrative in the rhythms and contradictions of small-town America.

The real case began in June 1980, when Betty Gore was found dead in her home in Wylie, Texas. She had been struck more than 40 times with an axe—an act so violent that it stunned investigators and rattled the quiet suburb. Montgomery, a friend of Betty’s and a fellow churchgoer, quickly became the prime suspect. The discovery that Candy and Allan had been engaged in an extramarital affair added fuel to a story that soon captured national attention.

Montgomery was arrested and charged with murder, but her defense stunned observers at the time. She claimed she acted in self-defense, alleging that Betty confronted her about the affair and attacked her with the axe first. The trial became a spectacle, drawing large crowds, media scrutiny, and debate over Montgomery’s character and motives. In October 1980, a jury found Candy Montgomery not guilty—an outcome that remains controversial among true-crime communities, legal analysts, and historians.

What sets Love & Death apart from previous adaptations is its commitment to grounding the story in documented accounts. The series draws heavily from Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs, a well-researched book by John Bloom and Jim Atkinson, as well as contemporary reporting from the time of the trial. The production emphasizes the complexities of real people caught in extraordinary circumstances rather than leaning on sensationalism alone.

HBO Max has described the show as an exploration of “two church-going couples enjoying small-town family life—until somebody picks up an axe.” The creative team’s goal, according to early interviews, is not simply to recount the crime but to examine the forces that shaped it: suffocating social expectations, unspoken marital tensions, and the culture of repression that permeated suburban America in the late 1970s.

The first episode of Love & Death premieres April 27 on HBO Max, with the streaming service dropping the first three episodes simultaneously. New episodes will follow weekly through May 25, allowing viewers to absorb the unfolding drama at a deliberate pace.

As anticipation builds, true-crime enthusiasts are eager to see how HBO Max will interpret a case that has already sparked books, documentaries, podcasts, and now competing dramatizations. Meanwhile, fans of Elizabeth Olsen, Jesse Plemons, and Lily Rabe are praising the casting as some of the strongest in recent premium television.

Kelley’s involvement further elevates expectations, with many viewers predicting Love & Death will echo the tone and psychological insight of Big Little Lies—another of his acclaimed series centered on domestic life unraveling beneath a polished suburban veneer.

Before the premiere, HBO Max encourages viewers unfamiliar with the story to approach it with an awareness that Love & Death is not merely a crime drama, but a character study rooted in real tragedy and complicated human relationships. As the platform rolls out its latest high-profile limited series, one thing seems certain: the haunting, disputed, and tightly woven case of Candy Montgomery will once again capture the public imagination.