Some Crazy S**t Is Going Down in Mississippi in Netflix’s ‘The Kings of Tupelo’ Trailer

Maclain and Chapman Way, the brothers behind "Wild Wild Country" and "Untold," have their wildest wildest tale for you yet.

The south is just different.

IndieWire can exclusively debut the trailer for three-part Netflix documentary series “The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga” from Maclain Way and Chapman Way, the brothers behind the Emmy-winning “Wild Wild Country” (about an Oregon cult leader) and Netflix’s excellent sports-docuseries “Untold” (watch the Danbury Thrashers episode!). This project looks more batshit than even those two.

“The Kings of Tupelo” follows “a small-town feud, an internet conspiracy, an Elvis impersonator, black-market body parts, and an assassination attempt on the President,” per its rollercoaster ride of a longline.

“Welcome to Mississippi where this jaw-dropping story spirals from local drama to a national scandal,” it continues. “Buckle up for a wild ride. This isn’t fiction — it’s Tupelo.”

Want more? Of course you do.

“‘The Kings of Tupelo’ is an outrageous Southern fever dream,” the lengthier official synopsis reads. “When an eccentric Elvis impersonator makes a shocking discovery in a morgue, he goes right to the internet and down a rabbit hole into a world of conspiracy. His mission to expose the dark underbelly of Tupelo sparks a rivalry that starts local but climbs to the highest office in Washington, D.C.”

Just two good-old boys who definitely mean each other some harm. Oh, and one of them definitely meant President Obama some harm.

“Four years ago, we had a faint memory of an Elvis impersonator charged with sending a poisonous substance to President Obama in 2013,” the Way Brothers told IndieWire. “What we initially thought would be a slice of small-town Americana exploded into an electrifying examination of conspiracies, feuds, betrayals, and southern storytelling. Enjoy the adventure, we did.”

The Ways additionally told IndieWire that they’re on an “endless search for the right story” and that they’re always on the looking for three things: “A stranger than fiction story, larger than life characters, and a truly unique setting. Thank god we found Tupelo, the birthplace of the King.”

(Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi; his Graceland home is in Memphis.)

“The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga” premieres on December 11, 2024 on Netflix. Watch the trailer: