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● Movie Guide · Last updated May 18, 2026

Where the Crawdads Sing: Plot, Cast, Ending & Where to Watch

2022 · United States of America · Drama, Mystery, Romance · 2h 06m · English

Where the Crawdads Sing is a 2022 United States of America drama film directed by Olivia Newman. This guide covers the plot, full cast, an overview of the ending, where to watch, and similar films you might want next.

Read Ending Explained → Movies Like Where the Crawdads Sing Where to Watch
DramaMysteryRecommended
Original Title
Where the Crawdads Sing
Director
Olivia Newman
Writers
Lucy Alibar
Country
United States of America
Runtime
2h 06m
Release
Jul 14, 2022
§ 01 Plot · 6 min read

Where the Crawdads Sing Plot Summary

Where the Crawdads Sing is a 2018 coming-of-age murder mystery novel by American zoologist Delia Owens. The story follows two timelines that slowly intertwine. The first timeline describes the life and adventures of a young girl named Kya as she grows up isolated in the marshes of North Carolina. The second timeline follows an investigation into the apparent murder of Chase Andrews, a local celebrity of Barkley Cove, a fictional coastal town of North Carolina. By April 2023, the book had sold over 18 million copies. A film adaptation was released in July 2022.

● Quick takeaway

Where the Crawdads Sing (2022) is a United States of America drama film, directed by Olivia Newman, running 126 minutes. Abandoned by her family, Kya raises herself all alone in the marshes outside of her small town. When her former boyfriend is found dead, Kya is instantly branded by the local townspeople and law enforcement as the prime suspect for his murder. Stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Taylor John Smith. Critical reception: IMDb 7.2/10, Rotten Tomatoes 34%, Metacritic 43/100. Tagline: "Secrets are buried just beneath the surface.." This guide covers the plot, full cast, ending, and where to watch.

§ 02 Cast · 6 roles

Cast and Characters

Daisy Edgar-Jones headshot
Daisy Edgar-Jones
as Kya Clark
Edgar-Jones, two years after Normal People made her one of the most-watched young British actors of her generation, carries the film across a fifteen-year timeline and accents that range from rural North Carolina child to literate young biologist. The performance is the adaptation's most important load-bearing element; the script asks her to make Kya both the marsh's expert and the courthouse's blank slate, and Edgar-Jones plays the watchfulness without ever letting Kya tip into pitiable.
Taylor John Smith headshot
Taylor John Smith
as Tate Walker
Smith, the lead of Hunter Killer and Sharp Objects, gives Tate the steady literary-romantic-lead register the role needs to function as the film's gentler male option. The character is the one Owens uses to introduce Kya to written language and to natural-history method, and Smith plays the teaching scenes — the alphabet on a sandy clearing, the feather collection — without condescension. The performance does the quiet work the film's central romance requires.
Harris Dickinson headshot
Harris Dickinson
as Chase Andrews
Dickinson, post-Beach Rats and pre-Triangle of Sadness, takes the script's harder role — a small-town golden boy whose charisma curdles into a domestic threat — and plays it as recognisable rather than monstrous. The performance keeps Chase legible as the boy Kya thought she had chosen for several long stretches before the script pivots, which is exactly the disorientation Owens's novel rewards.
David Strathairn headshot
David Strathairn
as Tom Milton
Strathairn, the Edward R. Murrow of Good Night and Good Luck and a long-time character-actor anchor across Bourne, Lincoln and Nomadland, brings courtroom gravity that the rest of the trial sequence cannot generate on its own. Milton's closing argument is the film's most plainly stated thematic moment, and Strathairn plays it as a small-town lawyer who has known Kya's case from before there was a case, rather than as an actorly setpiece.
Michael Hyatt headshot
Michael Hyatt
as Mabel
Hyatt, a steady supporting presence in The Wire, Snowfall and Nightcrawler, takes the role of Mabel and gives the film one of its few moments of unambiguous adult care. The character is, in the novel and the film, the closest thing Kya has to a mother substitute, and Hyatt plays the scenes — the gifted dress, the seed for the garden — without sentimentality. The performance is short and structurally important.
Sterling Macer Jr. headshot
Sterling Macer Jr.
as Jumpin'
Macer, a long-time television and theatre actor, takes the marina-owner role that anchors Kya's economic survival in the marsh. Jumpin' is the closest thing the film has to a substitute father, and Macer plays the working-class dignity of a Black small-business owner in segregation-era North Carolina with the quietness the script requires and the warmth it would not otherwise generate. His scenes with Edgar-Jones are some of the adaptation's best.
§ 03 · Spoiler Zone · Read with care

Ending Overview

How does Where the Crawdads Sing end? Our spoiler-aware breakdown walks through the final act beat by beat — including the choices, motivations, and ambiguous final shot that viewers most often debate.

Read full Ending Explained →
§ 04 Watch · Updated May 18

Where to Watch Where the Crawdads Sing

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§ 06

Frequently Asked

What is Where the Crawdads Sing about?

Abandoned by her family, Kya raises herself all alone in the marshes outside of her small town.

Where can I watch Where the Crawdads Sing?

See the Where to Watch section below for the current streaming, rental, and purchase options in your region.