“Only Murders In The Building” Is Every True Crime Lover’s New Favorite Show

Featured Image Source

Warning: Minor spoilers ahead.

True crime junkies, rejoice — there’s a new TV show whose target demographic is obviously you. Only Murders in the Building is Hulu’s newest release with the least expected trio of executive producers (and lead actors) I’ve possibly ever seen: Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez. 

It initially sounds like the producers/stars were pulled from a grab bag of A-listers. Okay, Martin and Short make sense, but seeing Gomez thrown into the mix threw me for a loop. But I must say, it works, and this trio charmed me from the moment they bonded over their shared love of a true crime podcast in a restaurant. 

The mystery of Only Murders in the Building seems to be tangential to the heartwarming comedy of this trio playing detective, but for once, I’m not mad about it. I feel like their fourth, a fly-on-the-wall observer of their Hardy Boys game, in which all of us are drawn back to our childhood love of mystery, intrigue, and the unknown.

What’s It About?

Only Murders in the Building kicks off the action relatively quickly, when our trio “meets” in (read: coexists in) their NYC high-rise elevator, along with a fourth man carrying a mysterious trash bag. They all exit on their respective floors, but are booted from the building later that evening when the fire alarm goes off. 

The trio reunites in a restaurant across the street, only to find out they’re all avid listeners of the same true crime podcast (relatable. So relatable). So naturally, when they discover the fire alarm was intended to evacuate the building so the police could investigate the apparent suicide of mysterious trash-bag-elevator-man (who we learn is named Tim Kono), they decide it can’t be a suicide. 

And, as one does, they start a podcast to highlight their amateur detective investigation. The podcast is called Only Murders in the Building — apparently NYC is so crime-ridden that they’ll only cover murders that happen in their communal dwelling place — and they begin investigating.

Everything Is Not What It Seems

(Pardon my throwback reference to Wizards of Waverly Place — I had to.)

We all have our secrets, and our cast of characters is no different. Even as they’re trying to solve a mystery, they’re all mysteries themselves — and none of them truly know the others. 

Steve Martin plays Charles, who spent his glory days starring as the titular crime-busting character of fictional TV series Brazzos. His glory days are long over, though, and he seems to cling to the remnants of his past fame as any barely-remembered actor would. Meanwhile, he lives alone in this NYC apartment and we’re not sure why — the only glimpse he offers into his personal life ends up being a remembered Brazzos monologue. Hiding something? Definitely. Is it sinister? I hope not, because I would like Charles to be my grandpa.

Martin Short absolutely slays as Oliver, your stereotypical flamboyant Broadway-obsessed ex-director who is equal parts sassy and upbeat. His cheeriness is soon revealed to be somewhat of a facade as we see him travel to New Jersey to ask his son for money — again. His son begs him to sell his apartment, but Oliver can’t. It’s all he has and who he is. Is he clinging to vague remnants of a bygone era? Yeah, probably. But at least he has a podcast to listen to, and a new purpose — a podcast to host, a murder to solve.

Last but certainly not least, we have Selena Gomez as Mabel, a tough on the outside yet anxious on the inside young New Yorker who’s clinging to her childhood days of solving fake mysteries with her “Hardy Boys” gang. She latches onto the mysterious murder of Tim Kono, not only to relive childhood fantasies but also to feel some sense of control and accomplishment. Her renovation of her aunt’s apartment isn’t going great and she seems otherwise directionless, so it makes sense that she’d join forces with two eccentric characters to feel some purpose. But she may have the biggest secrets of all of them — at the end of the first episode, we learn that murder/suicide victim Tim Kono was one of Mabel’s “Hardy Boys” gang. So why is she playing dumb as to who he is?

Modern-Day Nostalgia For All True Crime Lovers

Mysteries were my favorite thing as a kid. I was an avid reader of Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys, and I’d create “mysteries” for my sister around the house, leaving cryptic clues that would lead her to hidden treasure. I always fantasized about being a detective and solving the toughest of crimes, and while I don’t create mysteries anymore, I binge true crime podcasts like it’s my job. 

So it’s easy to identify with Mabel, Oliver and Charles — they’re all in this for some personal gain that’s completely tangential to actually solving the (possible) murder of a man they’re tangentially connected to. It’s a real-life version of the novels I used as escapism in my childhood, when I’d absorb myself with another’s problems to be momentarily relieved of my own. But as the series will show, we can’t truly escape from our own problems, our own “mysteries” that we try to shove down because they’re too hard (or too painful) for us to solve. Maybe we’ll find that in solving one, the others are solved as well. 

Have you seen Only Murders in the Building yet? What do you think so far? Let us know in the comments below!

For More TV And Movie Reviews, You Should Check Out:

Annette Is The Latest Must-Watch Movie Musical Thanks To Its Artsy Direction

Jean Smart And Hannah Einbinder Make “Hacks” HBO Max’s Can’t-Miss Series