I love this series. Completely and without reservation. (And not just because Selena Gomez is a delight.) Created by Steve Martin (you know who he is!) and John Hoffman (Grace and Frankie), Only Murders in the Building fluently melds the suspense of Alfred Hitchcock, with the twists of Agatha Christie, and the whimsy of Woody Allen. Like those Thin Man movies of yore, this is essentially a drawing room comedy that happens to have a dead body in the corner. It is a series that doesn’t just use the object of the true crime podcast as a source of inspiration, but as a basis for character and comedy.
Only Murders in the Building is a love letter to a great many things. It is as jubilant a tribute to New York as Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. It is as astute an homage to the genre as Rian Johnson’s Knives Out. It is a celebration of the genius of both Steve Martin and Martin Short. And it is your next great watch. I promise.
Who Done It?
Steve Martin plays Charles, a once famous actor from a hit TV show that everyone has seen. Martin Short is Oliver, an out of work broadway producer still reeling from his biggest theatrical flop. And Selena Gomez is Mabel, a… well, we don’t really know who or what she is when the series starts, but rest assured there’s a story there.
The three of them are residents of the Arconia, one of those luxury apartment buildings in which Manhattanites are stacked side by side, and one on top of the other, where your neighbors are elusive enough to arouse suspicion, but rich enough that they pass off as being quirky.
One fateful day, Charles, Oliver, and Mabel find themselves sharing an elevator with another one of their neighbours, Tim Kona (Julian Cihi), who is rather angrily chatting on his phone while holding a trash bag. By the end of that day, Tim would be dead, the three of them would have bonded over their mutual love of a true crime podcast called “All is Not OK in Oklahoma,” and join forces to solve what they believe to be his murder.
What’s more, they decide to turn this crack investigation into their very own true crime podcast called, you guessed it, Only Murders in the Building.
Only Legends in the Building
Steve Martin and Martin Short have done so much together (from Three Amigos, to those Father of the Bride movies, to a series of live comedy tours) that they’re practically joined at the hip. Their rapport is seamless. Their comic timing is as precise and pristine as it ever was, the both of them deftly blending the morbid with the mirthful, without ever allowing their humour to supplant their humanity. Their performances feel classic. It’s almost as if they’ve been playing these parts their whole lives.
What’s incredible, however, is how just effortless their chemistry is with Selena Gomez, who brings an entirely new dynamic to every scene. Her presence allows for a far more complex narrative, not just with regards to the gender divide and generational differences, but also as this aloof foil to their (occasionally) unchecked enthusiasm. Any concerns you might have had about her third wheeling Martin and Short will quickly be put to rest as soon as you witness how naturally she holds her own next to these comedy legends.
Serial(ized) Killers
The best whodunnits are almost never about the “who.” With the mystery itself often playing second fiddle to the colorful and quirky cast of players that are assembled before us. It’s what made every episode of Columbo so watchable. It’s why Murder on the Orient Express is such a cunning construction. And it’s what makes Only Murders in the Building stand out.
Much like Knives Out before it, this is a series that sets itself apart not by breaking new ground, but by wholly embracing everything that has come before. This is a series that truly understands the target of its satire. It leans into the true crime cliches that it’s mining, it recognizes that character is what drives every one of these narratives, and it understands that the enduring appeal of mysteries is that they always teach us something about ourselves and those around us.
Every episode is an absolutely brilliant character study, one that is constantly shifting focus and points of view, in order for us to better understand our three protagonists and the people that they’re investigating. Is there a better way uncover who these people are than spending some time inside their heads?
Only Murders in the Building is an incredibly accomplished piece of work. One that skillfully balances the old fashioned with our modern day obsessions, using both as a catalyst for a story that is witty, and tense, and just the right kind of paranoid.
I said at the beginning that this series was a love letter to a great many things. But I forgot to mention the most important one. For it is, above everything else, a love letter to the audience. It is made with an acute awareness of just how important these stories are and doesn’t once condescend to give away its secrets too easily. This is a series that respects you enough, and is clever enough, to keep you guessing right up until the end.
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