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'Murder on Middle Beach': Why did Madison Hamburg turn camera on family? Internet lauds 'Zac Efron hunk'

'I started to realize that we were gathering information that the police potentially didn't have'

'Murder on Middle Beach' is an intensely brutal and emotional docu-series that started airing from November 15, 2020 on HBO. The four-episode documentary series is directed by Madison Hamburg, whose mother, Barbara Beach Hamburg, was found dead outside her Connecticut home in 2010. Hamburg tries to investigate his mother's murder by interviewing and exonerating many family members along the way.

Madison recorded a series of investigations he did for 10 years. The 29-year-old is said to have been leading a "double" life. Earlier, he didn't reveal to most of the people he knew that 10 years back his mother was murdered in the backyard of her Connecticut house. He also didn't tell most of the people, that he’d spent his quality time working on an extensive, exposing documentary about his family in the aftermath of her death. Madison started filming it as a class project while he was studying at Savannah College of Art and Design.

During an interview with GQ, he revealed why he wanted to make the documentary in the first place, “There's shame attached to what happened to me. I wanted to avoid pity, but mainly I wanted to avoid assumptions." In 2013, he was newly recovering from opiate addiction and grieving his mother. “I was a drug addict, and I ran from accepting a world without her,” he says. “I chose to get sober because I was going to die. I decided, if I was going to accept a world without my mom, I was going to make the absolute most of it that I could.”

“I started to realize that we were gathering information that the police potentially didn't have,” Hamburg says. “That's when I felt, whether or not I could solve the case, there was a potential to exonerate people, to dispel the distrust. It was also a moment where I felt the investigation would be eventually reactivated by the act of doing this," he said.

"While my intentions were good, it could be destructive for my life and my family's life. It has the potential for a lot of destruction. Naming that was really important for me," he said. The story unfolds with investigation videos of the family members, as they create a portrait of who Barbara was: a loving mother, a strained divorcée, a recovering alcoholic who found community and purpose in Alcoholics Anonymous and about the 'Gifting Tables' scheme she was involved in.

As soon as the documentary started airing on HBO, people started commending the young director, as one Internet user said, "i just started murder on middle beach on hbo and !!! i’m truly in awe of @madison_hamburg what an incredible filmmaker and genuine badass." While another one wrote, "A must watch... Hell of a job @madison_hamburg I’m so sorry for your loss, I can’t even begin to imagine. Keep digging and don’t give up! You and your sister deserve answers."

While another one wrote, "is it just me or is Madison Hamburg the absolute saddest most tragic little zac efron hunk #MurderOnMiddleBeach." One said, "@madison_hamburg #murderonmiddlebeach is so good. Hard to believe it’s your first film/series. Can’t wait to see more from you."

Suspecting Aunt Jill, another one wrote, "@madison_hamburg duuuuude. When you asked your aunt Jill if she killed your mom, she shook her head yes as she said no, and kept looking down and to the right. She totally hired someone man!"