Social media is both untrustworthy and corrosive, and while those facts may be obvious to anyone who spends time on X or Instagram, they’re nonetheless verified in stark fashion by TikTok Star Murders. Premiering on Peacock on June 25, this feature-length documentary details the ugly case of Ali Abulaban and his wife Ana, whose online image as a happy and fun-loving couple proved to be a terrible lie. An up-close-and-personal tragedy of fame, ego, and domestic abuse that’s energized by copious recordings made by its homicidal subject, it’s a 21st-century cautionary tale about the desire for fame and the platforms which make that dream seem so easily attainable.
Raised in a strict Muslim household, Ali joined the United States Air Force and wound up stationed in Okinawa, Japan, where he met Ana. The two quickly hit it off, but their relationship was temporarily thwarted when Ali was unceremoniously discharged for getting into a brawl. Back living with his family in Bristow, Virginia, in 2015, Ali learned that Ana—who had relocated with her clan to her native Philippines—was pregnant with their child. By January 2017, Ali had secured Ana a visa to join him in Virginia, where they moved into a house and began a life that blossomed thanks to Ali’s growing online fanbase.
Having aspired to be an actor, Ali started making short-form content for YouTube, Instagram, and ultimately TikTok, where he amassed a sizable following with comedy-sketch videos featuring spot-on impressions. His favorite (and most notable) character was Scarface’s Tony Montana, and as clinical and forensic psychologist Dr. Joni Johnston points out in TikTok Star Murders, the fact that he adored such a violent icon was a hint about his own true nature. Peacock’s documentary presents many of these viral clips, and though few of them are funny or original, they do illustrate his enthusiasm for the bite-size form, as well as his modest talent for mimicking A-listers like Al Pacino, Nicolas Cage, and Keanu Reeves.
