Only Murders in the Building

What would you get if you throw two oldies and a youngster into a building where a murder took place? A whodunit that reminds you of the golden era when murders were intelligently committed and the one who solves it was ‘not’ the smartest person in the room. In short (pun intended), you will get Only Murders in the Building where Steve Martin and Martin Short are the not-so-smart oldies, who along with a twenty-something Selena Gomez play true-crime aficionados in search of the truth.

Created by Steve Martin & John Hoffman, the story revolves around three strangers in the elevator who come together for a podcast, when a fourth passenger Tim Kono (Julian Cihi) dies. The strangers include Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), a former TV star who was known for his title role in and as Brazzos, Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) a former Broadway director who is always struggling financially and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) who lives in her aunt’s apartment in the Arconia, the complex where the rich and famous reside. She is the only one who was friends with the deceased and now these three try to solve the ghastly murder case and rid their apartment complex of a murderer.

What makes this HULU series interesting is the fact that it doesn’t depend on outside intervention such as the CSI guys, the behavioral analysts, the quirky detectives, and psychics, however, three ‘strangers’ first bond over the murder before going the Columbo-way where they unmask one villain after another, until ‘the case is solved’. Since they all are fans of the true-crime podcast ‘All is Not OK in Oklahoma’, hosted by Cinda Canning (Tina Fey), they try to follow her, and reach out to the world with their own ‘podcast’ titled – ‘Only Murders in the Building’.

Those who love the crime shows before they all became digitally advanced, those who want to solve a murder while being glued to the screen, those who like Hardy Boys kind of mysteries, they are the target market of this series. What if the show takes place in a non-pandemic alternate January 2021, most of the action takes place six years in the past when another murder took place in the same vicinity. Even the strangers on the elevator took interest in the case, only after the police termed it a suicide. Interesting, isn’t it?

One look at the comedy veterans – 76-year-old Steve Martin and the 71-year-old Martin Short – and you are automatically transported back in the 1980s when they worked together in The 3 Amigos. Consider this is an extension of that with Selena Gomez replacing the third amigo Chevy Chase, and the setting changed to modern-day New York from a Mexican village. In the 10-part whodunit, they make mistakes like suspecting one of their own, to extracting money from one of the residents before realising there is more than meets the eye.

Wherever the Martins meet, there is bound to be more comedy than tragedy, and that’s exactly what happens in ‘The Only Murder in the Building’. Steve Martin’s character breaks a leg of a dead cat (literally!), the director Martin Short is playing suspects Sting (playing himself), and Selena Gomez’s Mabel hides her past so that they can solve the case. They all appear to have an excellent time as well, and nowhere does it seem that they are doing it for the first time.

The best thing about this show is that here, everyone is a suspect, and everyone is connected somehow to the victim. The mystery is further made mysterious by the appearance of renowned actors like Nathan Lane and Amy Ryan who aid the crime-solving trio in their own way. Don’t be surprised if the first season leaves you wanting more, because that’s exactly what the creators wanted. With gadgets replacing guts, wishful thinking replacing suspense, and mentally ill people replacing cool-headed murderers, this series is a sane murder enthusiast’s last hope. Until next time!