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Is Hulu’s ‘Furious’ based on a true story? Creator reveals ‘80s thriller that inspired Emmy Rossum’s drama

The psychological thriller stars Emmy Rossum as Alice Black, a former police officer who has now joined the FBI

Hulu's newest crime thriller ‘Furious’ has wasted no time pulling viewers into its dark mystery. The series, which premiered with its first three episodes on July 27, follows FBI agent Alice Black as she hunts an elusive female serial killer. With its sensible investigation, complex characters, and cat-and-mouse chase, the show seems believable. That realism has sparked one big question among viewers: Is ‘Furious’ based on a true story? The short answer is no. Despite its authentic tone, ‘Furious’ is not adapted from a true story, nor does it recreate any real criminal investigation. The people at the center of the series, along with the murders that drive the plot, were invented solely for the show.

The psychological thriller stars Emmy Rossum as Alice Black, a former police officer who has now joined the FBI. The series focuses on her tracking Catherine, a mysterious serial killer played by Lola Petticrew. As the investigation gets more personal, the series examines the complicated relationship between the hunter and the person she is chasing, giving viewers a crime story that feels like it's straight out of a documentary. That approach is exactly why some viewers have wondered whether the series is based on a true crime story. In reality, however, it is entirely fictional. Alice Black is not based on a real FBI agent, Catherine is not modeled after one specific murderer, and the murders featured throughout the season are created exclusively for ‘Furious’.

That doesn't mean the series was created out of thin air, though. While ‘Furious’ is not inspired by real events, it does borrow its initial spark from another fictional story. While speaking to Entertainment Weekly, creator Elizabeth Meriwether pointed to the 1987 neo-noir thriller ‘Black Widow’ as the project that first got the creative wheels turning. The film starred Debra Winger as Alexandra Barnes, an analyst with the U.S. Justice Department who began noticing a disturbing pattern. Several wealthy men died shortly after marrying the same woman, leading Alexandra to suspect the widowed bride may have orchestrated each death.

‘Furious’ takes that main idea of a female serial killer and builds something entirely different around it. Meriwether explained to the publication that the older film inspired a question she couldn't stop thinking about. She said she became fascinated by “the possibility of exploring the psychology of a female serial killer” after watching ‘Black Widow’. She added, “What would lead a woman to become a serial killer?” She continued, “What would have had to have happened in her life? And then, similarly, who is the woman chasing her? What’s going on in her head?” Those questions sit at the heart of the Hulu thriller. Of course, viewers hoping to get more answers will have to wait. ‘Furious’ consists of eight episodes in total. After debuting on July 27, new episodes will continue rolling out weekly through August 31.