Keeper of the Ashes: The Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders Series Review by Brooke Daugherty : Pop Culture Leftovers

Keeper of the Ashes: The Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders Series Review by Brooke Daugherty

June 13, 2022 3:09 pm |

Broadway actress Kristin Chenoweth investigates the 1977 murder of three Girl Scouts in her home state of Oklahoma-because she was originally meant to be there that night. Honestly, I didn’t imagine in a million years I would have a reason to type that sentence. Hulu released all four episodes of this supposed true crime investigation series.

For the most part, Keeper of the Ashes is a fairly good true crime story. The story is horrific and hearing from the actual families and detectives involved with the case. The man accused, but later found not guilty, was Native American. The episodes touched on possible racism in his trial as evidence was deemed circumstantial. The first three episodes center on the event and trial.

Where this docuseries runs off the rails is the Chenoweth angle. We find out in the first episode that she was a girl scout and meant to be at that particular camp, but got sick at the last minute and her mom made her stay home. Story over right? Wrong. We have to see her at the opening of every episode talking about how she was investigating the case. Also throughout the episodes, she is interviewed and talks about how she was almost there. We also got clips in every episode of her singing.

By the third episode, I began wondering when the investigation would kick off. We had some interviews with the current sheriff in the town in the series, but it wasn’t until episode four that there’s any reveals. That episode also showcases Chenoweth interviewing one of the mothers and singing. Not just clips. She sings a whole damn duet from Wicked with some girl she had just introduced to a group of students in the previous scene.

This series could have been so much better without Chenoweth at all. If you can take her popping up out of nowhere and singing, watch the first three episodes for sure. If not, Killer Queens and Crime Junkie both cover it on their podcasts.

PCL RATING: Taste It

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: FRESH