WandaVision’s Elizabeth Olsen to play real-life axe murderer Candy Montgomery in crime series Love and Death

We’re calling it: Love and Death is going to be our new crime drama obsession, mainly because Elizabeth Olsen is playing Candy Montgomery.

The new HBO Max drama follows two church-going couples in Texas who seem to be content with their small-town family life… before someone picks up an axe.

Montgomery was a married mother of two who allegedly killed her friend from church, Betty Gore, in 1980.

The case made national headlines, especially after all of the heinous details were revealed along with Montgomery’s motive.

The show is written by David E. Kelley (The Undoing) and directed by Lesli Linka Glatter (Homeland), both of whom will also serve as executive producers on the project along with The Undoing’s Nicole Kidman.

‘This is a gripping story about the frustrations and desires of two women in a small town that culminates in a terrible act of violence,’ HBO Max’s Sarah Aubrey said in a statement.

‘We are thrilled to be partnering with David, Lesli, Nicole, and Per and incredibly fortunate to have Elizabeth at the centre of our story to bring out all the layers of Candy that make this story so unforgettable.’

Kevin Beggs, chairman of Lionsgate Television added: ‘We cannot imagine a more perfect artist to play the leading role of Candy than Elizabeth Olsen. Her talent, charisma and energy can bewitch audiences like no other.’

This story is already proving to be popular as the real-life axe murderer will be the subject of a second limited series – Hulu’s Candy.

The show stars Elizabeth Moss as Montgomery and hails from The Act duo Robin Veith and Nick Antosca. It was picked up by Hulu in December.

While competing films with similar plots are common, this rarely occurs on television, especially when two shows are dramatizing the exact same true story.

Either way, this is a juicy true-crime story that makes for great television. Now the race is on for one to hit our TV screens before the other.

Release dates for both series have yet to be announced.

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