A new Netflix docuseries titled The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga explores an extraordinary true crime story full of conspiracy theories, small-town drama, and the Elvis impersonator at its center. The three-part series premiers this week in casts light on the odd affair involving Mississippi Elvis impersonator Paul Kevin Curtis was wrongfully accused of mailing ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama and other individuals back in 2013.
Presented by Untold and Wild Wild Country directors Chapman and Maclain Way, the show opens with a quote by William Faulkner: “To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.” The story then unfolds in Tupelo, the hometown of Elvis Presley, as it trails Curtis who has discovered an alleged organ trafficking ring of enormous proportions. He became obsessed with the discovery of severed body parts at a hospital, which led him to public outbursts, alienation, and a spiral into conspiracy theories.
Soon enough, Curtis was involved in a number of controversies, one being the perceived enemy James Everett Dutschke, who happened to be a martial arts instructor. Fate did an interesting turn when Dutschke framed Curtis for ricin letters by playing on Curtis’s fame and paranoia fueled by conspiracy theory. Curtis eventually was vindicated, and evidence showed Dutschke implicated in such a way that earned him 25 years in prison.
The Kings of Tupelo is an expertly woven tapestry of comedy and darkness, capturing in all its quirky Southernisms and mystique the lore of conspiracy. The Brothers Way portrays Curtis in such nuanced complexity, exploring how his beliefs led him down the path to fall and redemption.
Streaming now is this riveting docuseries, offering a great look at a stranger-than-fiction story that reflects upon the complexities of truth and trust and the human obsession with uncovering hidden secrets.
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