The Playboy Murders

I thought this series looked good in the promos, but after 4 episodes its turned out to be a somewhat formulaic, low budget crime series. I like Holly Madsion, so it's good to see her on the screen as a narrator/insider of sorts, but it's the stories themselves that are the problem. At this point, none of the women covered are actually centerfolds, but rather employees of associated Playboy enterprises. Most don't come from great backgrounds, have unrealistic dreams of what Playboy will do for their lives, and then drift into less than desirable lifestyles with drugs, abusive partners and all that sort of thing. Not too many surprises, really.

A good edit would've cut the episodes by half and made them more compelling - there's a a lot of repetitive ground covered.

Holly presents well and looks great - better than she did in her mansion days, but her Californian vocal delivery seem a little out of place covering stories about the gruesome deaths of her fellow alumni.

UPDATE: The 5th episode actually covers the story of a centrefold Star Stowe and her tragic decline. It is the most interesting story of the series, but even then you get the impression that while Playboy could've done more to help her out, hers is a case of self destruction more than anything else.

I lost respect to the whole playboy bunny thing until I did research and watch documentaries, it changed my whole life and it's heartbreaking what these women went through, what they must have seen and they didn't deserve that because instead of getting the dream they wanted, they got the complete opposite which is a nightmare in paradise. How can anyone do that to them? And I have ton of unanswered questions after watching this series, it haunts me what happens to them on that fateful night. Hugh Hefner is the main person I have a problem with and I'm starting to think that the mansion is a curse more than a blessing.

Holly Madison's first attempt, The Playboy Murders, at true crime tv is like her second attempt, Lethally (Bleached) Blonde - a flop. There is one crucial reason for its failure: its unrelenting, tiresome, and antithetical repetitiveness. In every single episode, Madison drones on like a cult follower about the glitz and glamour of being associated with Playboy and Hugh Hefner. This is a proven contradiction to everything we know (that is backed up by documentation) about Hugh Hefner, the drug-fueled parties at the Playboy Mansion and Hefner's emotional and sexual manipulation of women. I always have empathy for murder victims, but that's the only thing I gained from the show.

Every episode has the same pattern.formula:

1. The victim, a beautiful girl whose friends say "she wasn't a bimbo" she was a warm beatiful person.

2. Teary-eyed and totally boring recollections by her friends about the fun they had and how the victim had the talent to become a wonderul ______________ (usually actress)

3. A bad guy the victim was warned about

4. A good guy who the victim should have dated but didn't because he lacked danger

It continued the formula of the print Playboy magazines where they would insist the playmate was destined to be a great comic actress.

Basically, you've seen one episode, you've seen them all.

I love this show and I love that this is Holly Madison's project. It's intriguing and I love the behind the scenes at these Playboy parties at the Playboy mansion and stories about Hugh Hefner. I think secretly I have a fantasy about living this sort of hedonistic carefree lifestyle because it taps into that animalistic urge to just give into my desires without thinking too much about consequences. However, with that lifestyle comes the potential and risk for some seedy and downright dangerous actors and that part is scary because it always starts out with everyone just trying to have a good time and then some effin idiot has to ruin it. Anyway, very well produced. Can't wait for the rest of Season 3 and of course please keep renewing this please and thank you !!