Murphy Mason wasn’t your typical CW protagonist. Far from it. When the first In the Dark trailer dropped back in early 2019, people expected a heartwarming story about a blind woman and her golden retriever. What we actually got was a whiskey-chugging, sarcastic, and deeply messy anti-heroine who just happened to be solving a murder. It was jarring. It was dark. Honestly, it was exactly what the network needed at the time.
The trailer did something very specific. It leaned into the sensory deprivation of the lead character while amping up the tension of a crime thriller. If you watch it now, you can see the seeds of the chaos that would eventually define all four seasons of the show.
That First Look: Breaking the "Disabled Saint" Trope
Let's be real. Hollywood has a bad habit of portraying characters with disabilities as either inspirational or helpless. The In the Dark trailer blew that up in under two minutes. We see Murphy, played by Perry Mattfeld, waking up hungover. She’s cynical. She’s rude to her parents. She’s using her guide dog, Pretzel, as a wingman at a bar.
This wasn’t a "disease of the week" movie.
The trailer shifts gears fast when Murphy stumbles upon the body of her friend, Tyson. Because she’s blind and the body disappears before the police arrive, nobody believes her. That hook is pure noir. It’s classic "The Girl Who Cried Wolf," but with a high-stakes, gritty twist. The music choice—heavy beats mixed with muffled, atmospheric sounds—mimicked Murphy’s world. It told the audience that while Murphy couldn't see the danger, she was the only one who knew it was there.
The Mystery of Tyson and the Disappearing Body
The core of that first teaser was the relationship between Murphy and Tyson. He was the only person who didn't treat her like she was broken. When the trailer shows her touching his cold face in the alley, it’s visceral. Then, the body is gone. The cops, led by Detective Dean Riley, think she’s just another drunk "mess."
People forget how much that trailer relied on the "unreliable narrator" trope. Because Murphy was intoxicated and traumatized, the viewer was left wondering if she actually found a body or if it was a hallucination. Of course, fans know how that turned out, but the marketing was brilliant at keeping the truth just out of reach.
Why the Production Style Mattered
The aesthetic of the show, teased heavily in the promotional clips, was surprisingly moody for a CW production. It didn't have that "shiny" Riverdale look. It was grey, blue, and damp. It felt like Chicago in the winter.
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Ben Stiller was an executive producer, which surprised a lot of people. His involvement brought a level of cinematic prestige to the project. The trailer highlighted the camerawork—close-ups on Murphy’s eyes, the way the light blurred to simulate her visual impairment (she has some light perception), and the chaotic energy of her movements.
Controversy and Casting Choices
It’s worth noting that when the In the Dark trailer first aired, it sparked a major conversation about disability representation in media. Many in the blind community questioned why a sighted actress, Perry Mattfeld, was cast as Murphy.
The showrunners, including creator Corinne Kingsbury, addressed this by hiring blind consultants like Lorri Bernson and adding several blind actors to the supporting cast. They even had a blind writer in the room. While the trailer couldn't show the behind-the-scenes effort, it did show Mattfeld's commitment to the physicality of the role. She spent hours with Bernson learning how to navigate a house, how to use a cane, and how to interact with a guide dog without looking at it.
Evolution Across the Seasons
If you look back at the trailers for Season 2 and Season 3, the tone shifts drastically. What started as a murder mystery evolved into a "Breaking Bad" style descent into the criminal underworld.
- Season 1: Who killed Tyson?
- Season 2: How do we wash this drug money?
- Season 3: We are on the run from the Feds and everything is on fire.
By the time the final season trailer arrived, Murphy Mason was a fugitive. The girl who just wanted to find her friend was now a hardened survivor. The contrast is wild. If you watch the pilot trailer and the Season 4 trailer back-to-back, it’s almost unrecognizable.
The Pretzel Factor
We can’t talk about any In the Dark trailer without talking about the dog. Pretzel (played by a golden retriever named Levi) was the breakout star. The trailers always used him as the emotional anchor. In a world where Murphy was pushing everyone away, Pretzel was the only constant.
Interestingly, the dog trainers had a tough job because Mattfeld had to learn to not bond with Levi the way a normal dog owner would. She had to act like he was a tool, a guide, while the audience saw him as the heart of the show. The trailers leaned into this "girl and her dog against the world" vibe, even when the plot got incredibly dark and morally grey.
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What Made the Marketing Successful?
The show managed to survive four seasons because it knew its audience. It wasn't just for teenagers. It was for people who liked Dead to Me or Search Party. The trailers promised a snarky, adult mystery, and the show delivered.
The "discoverability" of the show skyrocketed once it hit Netflix. New fans would see the original In the Dark trailer on YouTube, realize it wasn't a sappy drama, and binge the whole thing in a weekend. It’s a masterclass in how to bait-and-switch an audience—in a good way. You come for the dog, you stay for the money laundering and the complicated female friendships.
Nuance in the Narrative
One thing the trailers often glossed over was the intense co-dependency between Murphy and her best friend, Jess. While the clips focused on the "search for truth," the show was actually a deep dive into how trauma binds people together.
The trailer for Season 3, specifically, emphasized the "on the run" aspect. It felt like a high-octane thriller. In reality, that season was a slow-burn character study about isolation. It’s a common tactic in entertainment marketing: sell the action, deliver the emotion.
Final Takeaways on the In the Dark Legacy
Looking back at the In the Dark trailer today feels like looking at a time capsule of a specific era of TV. It was the tail end of the "mystery box" craze, where every show needed a central "hook" to get greenlit.
The show eventually ended in 2022 after 51 episodes. While the series finale remains one of the most polarizing endings in recent memory (seriously, fans are still screaming about it on Reddit), the journey started with that one two-minute clip of a woman and her dog in a dark alley.
Actionable Insights for Fans and New Viewers:
If you’re revisiting the series or diving in for the first time after seeing a clip online, keep these things in mind:
- Pay attention to the sound design. The show uses "foley" and muffled audio to help you experience the world from Murphy’s perspective. It’s much more immersive with headphones.
- Watch for the subtle shifts in Murphy’s cane work. As the series progresses, her proficiency changes based on her mental state. It’s a tiny detail the actress worked hard on.
- Don't expect a hero. Murphy is an anti-hero. If you go in expecting her to do the "right thing," you’re going to be frustrated. Embrace the mess.
- Check out the "In the Dark: Behind the Scenes" features. They explain how they filmed the sight-impaired sequences, which adds a whole new layer of appreciation for the technical craft.
The show is currently available for streaming on various platforms like Netflix (depending on your region) and the CW app. If you haven't seen it, go back and watch that first trailer. It’s a perfect example of how to set a mood and subvert expectations in under 120 seconds.