Hulu’s ‘Candy’ With Jessica Biel Is Based on a True Story Except that No One Knows What Actually Happened
Jessica Biel portrays 1980s Texas housewife Candy Montgomery’s story with the utmost accuracy in the true crime drama, Candy, on Hulu. However, what happened on June 13, 1980, between Betty Gore (portrayed by Melanie Lynskey) and Candy Montgomery (portrayed by Biel) to some degree, can never be fully realized because one woman did not come out alive. Find out how the writers and producers attempted to recreate the true story in Candy on Hulu.
Is ‘Candy’ on Hulu based on a book?
Jessica Biel’s five-episode series, Candy on Hulu, is inspired by the book, Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs. However, it is also based on information from the journalists who wrote the book — Jim Atkinson & John Bloom. They serve as consulting producers on the true crime drama about Candy Montgomery and Betty Gore.
Plus, creator Robin Veith used court transcripts from the trial and hypnosis notes from Candy’s doctor. Executive producer Nick Antosca explained to Showbiz Cheat Sheet that journalist Jim Atkinson gave the writers considerable information about the story.
“[Atkinson] talked to the writers’ room at great length, and he still had all of his stuff from back then,” Antosca explained. “I mean, he talked to Candy, Alan, Pat, and his parents. He talked to the cops and lawyers. [Atkinson] is a voice from the time and all of the people. Some are no longer alive, but he was a huge part.”
Is Hulu’s ‘Candy’ a true story?
The answer to whether Candy is a true story is both ‘Yes,’ and ‘No.’ The writers and producers tried to portray Candy and Betty as accurately as possible, but there are some things that no one will ever know.
“You have to invent and combine certain things you can’t know,” Antosca continued. “But we tried to be very accurate. [The writers and producers] tried to always go to what we had from the time, from news articles at the time, from Jim’s reporting, and what he told us directly. We try to certainly be faithful to what it seems like it felt like to live it. We try to capture the experience.”
A lawyer and a cop from the investigation and trial still disagree about Candy’s story
Although the fight between Betty Gore and Candy Montgomery happened almost 42 years ago, individuals on both sides of the story still disagree. The writers spoke to one of Candy’s attorneys, Robert Udashen (portrayed by Jesse Gallegos), to create the true story of Candy for Hulu.
“We talked to Robert Udashen, one of Candy’s lawyers who was wonderful and super helpful,” Antosca explained. “He believes in her innocence to this day and obviously still has affection for her and cares about her.”
On the other side, they spoke to a cop who worked the investigation — Steve Deffibaugh.
“We also talked to Steve Deffibaugh, who is the cop [in episode 4],” he added. “And of course, the actor who plays him talked to him too and got that from him. A lot of his lines are things that the real Steve Deffibaugh said to us, and he was great too. He has the opposite point of view. He thinks her story is total bullshit and thinks what happened was pretty outrageous. And he was great and incredibly helpful.”
The true crime drama on Hulu featuring Jessica Biel and Melanie Lynskey tells the story of Candy as accurately as possible. However, some parts of the true story viewers may never know.
Candy premieres on Hulu Monday, May 9, with the release of only the first episode at 9 p.m. PT/midnight ET. The remaining four episodes drop every day following the premiere, with the finale dropping on Friday, May 13.
