Neil Patrick Harris Stages Murder Mystery Weekends at Luxury Resorts

Neil Patrick Harris is in the luxury travel business now — though in his case, there’s also a murder.

The actor and producer is at the center of a growing niche in high-end hospitality: celebrity-led getaways that offer guests not just a resort stay but a fully engineered experience with the star as host, ringmaster and, in this case, co-conspirator. In partnership with Capital One Dining, Harris has staged two elaborate murder-mystery weekends, turning luxe properties into immersive theater sets where guests pay handsomely to play along.

The most recent edition, held at Little Palm Island in the Florida Keys, charged $10,000 per couple for an all-inclusive stay at the secluded resort. The event was a full-property buyout, with an interactive storyline and curated dining staged by Harris and a cast of collaborators, many with film, TV and Broadway credits. Think The White Lotus by way of immersive theater.

Over three sun-drenched days, guests were drawn into the world of Paradise Lost, created by Harris, who appeared in character as Garrett Brown, a desperate man searching for the daughter he hasn’t seen in decades.

The action started upon arrival as three-dozen prospective “new members” boarded a private boat with Harris and cast (who never broke character over the three days) to make the short journey from the mainland to Little Palm Island. Upon docking, the group entered the enigmatic world of “The Circles,” a fictional wellness-tinged spiritual collective that looks, sounds and feels a lot like a cult.

The guests were divided into two factions: the Circle of the Feather and the Circle of the Hoof. The Circle of the Feather was led by Warren Jeffries, known as “The Sparrow,” a charismatic spiritual guide whose growing influence triggers alarm. Orchestrating that group’s inner workings was Sumner Billette, a poised strategist masking deeper ambitions to assume control.

On the Circle of Hoof side, reluctant leader Hunter Greene harbors secrets about the fate of the group’s vanished co-founder Sebastian, whose unseen presence looms over every ritual and gathering. Guests also encountered Bobby Romano, a fast-talking app developer pitching a tech-driven future for the collective. Hovering above it all — sometimes literally — is D.A.V.I.D., a glitchy AI wellness guide portrayed in video and drone form by actor-chef David Burtka (Harris’ real-life husband). The rest of the cast included Amy Jillette (wife of famed magician Penn Jillette), actress Amy Acker (Alias, Chicago Med) and Broadway actor James Carpinello. Even one of Harris’ managers, John Rodgers, director of brand partnerships at Untitled Entertainment, joined the cast, playing the role of Greene.

With drum circles, ransacked guest rooms and theatrical confrontations staged across sandy paths and candlelit dinners, guests become active participants in the drama. Every cocktail conversation could hold the key to the truth. The mystery builds toward a seaside reveal and a celebratory cast dinner.

For Harris, the appeal of staging such an elaborate experience lies in the creative ownership he and his friends, who make up the cast, share. The entire cast has theater and improv skills, and he also wanted to know everyone in some capacity because there isn’t much time at the resort to get acquainted. 

The audience, however, surprised him. “I didn’t realize how much people were drawn to nefarious activity,” Harris says with a laugh. “Favorite things seem to be breaking and entering, illegal gambling, crawling around under beds, hiding, hoping that you don’t get caught. It was also quite an amazing, singular experience for me to stand out of sight at the big dinner where the murder took place and watch Michael [Serrato], my friend, stumble in with blood all over the back of his head and collapse, and I could hear everyone screaming at the top of their lungs, like there had been an actual murder. I wasn’t sure if people would be rolling their eyes and thinking, ‘Oh boy, when is dessert?’ It made me feel like people were in our world.”

Harris has long gravitated toward immersive entertainment, from magic and theater to experiential events. (During this interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he conferenced from his office surrounded by ephemera from the long-running immersive NYC theater show Sleep No More.) The actor and producer first partnered with Capital One to launch its Savor Card in 2018, then hosted a pop-up dinner party with Thomas Keller at his and Burtka’s estate in the Hamptons. Harris then dug deeper into brainstorming an original idea, and, in 2024, he created a murder mystery event at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Massachusetts, alongside chef Dominique Crenn.

Harris says he evaluates partnerships such as these through two guiding principles: authenticity and creativity. “You want it to be creative and feel special. You don’t want it to be a timeshare situation,” he notes, adding that audiences quickly recognize when a branded experience feels transactional rather than inspired.

“Our customers care about spending their money on experiences and ways they can create memories over physical goods,” says Monica Weaver, managing vp at Capital One. The strategy often begins with co-ideation between the brand and talent. “We’ve selected partners that are beacons in their industry … we try to go really deep,” she adds.

Driving this luxury travel phenomenon is the rise of the experience economy, coupled with the expansion of premium credit cards and loyalty ecosystems. Many financial companies are investing in highly targeted programs designed to resonate with affluent, culturally engaged audiences. At the same time, these programs offer celebrities an alternative income stream that aligns with the chance to move from brand ambassador to experiential architect.

Capital One’s 2026 travel collaborations include a partnership with Prior, a travel company, in which design and culinary figures such as Berkus, Lyons, food writer Rebekah Peppler and chef José Andrés host small-group itineraries in destinations such as the South of France and Peru. Capital One also has developed chef- and winemaker-guided culinary tours in Tuscany and Bordeaux, developed in collaboration with The Michelin Guide.

Success depends heavily on talent engagement. Weaver says audiences can sense when a celebrity’s passion for a concept is genuine. “When they care about it, that’s how the magic happens,” she says. “If [talent] feels the passion and is excited and wants to do it, the customers feel it.”

Harris has already begun considering how this murder-mystery concept might evolve. “I think the next steps will be trying to scale it up,” he says, by potentially bringing similar immersive events to international destinations. “It is fun to get a group of performers together who like to do these things. I’ve had a fair amount of really talented actor friends reach out after seeing it, saying, ‘I want to play in the sandbox.’” 

This story appears in The Hollywood Reporter’s 2026 Travel Issue. Click here to read more.