HBO Documentary Films’ MURDER ON MIDDLE BEACH, a four-part documentary series directed by first-time filmmaker Madison Hamburg, presents Hamburg’s complicated journey as a young man determined to solve an unspeakable crime and absolve the people he loves, while looking for answers within his fractured family and community. MURDER ON MIDDLE BEACH debuts on November 15 on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.
On March 3, 2010, single mother Barbara Hamburg was found violently murdered near her home in the upper middle class enclave of Madison, Connecticut. Investigators speculated her murder appeared to be a crime of passion, but without enough evidence, the case grew cold.
Over the course of 8 years, Barbara’s son, Madison Hamburg, interviewed his family members and many others, longing to learn more about his mother and gathering evidence in hopes of solving her murder, sending him into a deep web of buried familial secrets, connections to shadowy criminal figures, and the uncovering of years-old resentments in his deceptively serene hometown. While Madison wrestles with troubling revelations about his mother, the most unsettling conflict comes from Madison’s obligation to bring into question those inside his community and members of his own family.
“At 18 years old, my worst fears came true when my sister called to tell me that my mother had been murdered,” stated director Madison Hamburg. “As much as I fought it, her death became a part of my life. Her memory faded and her case went cold, but I couldn’t accept that. Even if it meant sacrificing my own safety and sanity, I made my mother a promise when I started this project, ‘I will never let you be forgotten.’ It is less than what she would have done for me.”
MURDER ON MIDDLE BEACH is produced by Jigsaw Productions, Armian Pictures and Blue Days Films. Directed by Madison Hamburg; executive producers, Ron Nyswaner, Neda Armian, Toby Oppenheimer, Madison Hamburg, Stacey Offman, Richard Perello; co-executive producer, Evan Lerner; supervising producer, Whitney Johnson; producer, Solomon Petchenik. For HBO: executive producers, Lisa Heller and Nancy Abraham; senior producer, Sara Rodriguez.
About Jigsaw Productions
Jigsaw Productions is helmed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney, considered one of the most prolific and thought-provoking documentary filmmakers of our generation. Jigsaw has produced some of the most acclaimed documentary films including “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief,” Oscar-winning “Taxi to the Dark Side,” Oscar®-nominated “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” “Zero Days,” “Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes,” Emmy® nominated “The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley,” critically acclaimed “Citizen K,” which world premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2019, and Alex Gibney’s latest features “Crazy, Not Insane,” which screened at the recent Venice Film Festival, “Agents of Chaos,” a two-part documentary about Russian meddling in the 2016 US elections, and “Totally Under Control,” a searing look at the administration’s failure to contain the COVID 19 pandemic. Jigsaw also produces a slate of highly visible and acclaimed TV series. Whether the company is creating a documentary or narrative film, a scripted or unscripted series, Jigsaw adheres to a particular ethos: well-told, insightful, scrupulously researched, and visually poignant stories, which ignite and engage our curiosity. Reaching audiences on screens small or large, on platforms digital or traditional, Jigsaw aims to achieve critical and commercial success without sacrificing style or authenticity.