Hulu’s Only Murders In The Building gleefully sends up true-crime obsessives
Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez play amateur sleuths in this boisterous new series
TV Reviews Mabel
Sly, boisterous, and a bit melancholy, Hulu’s Only Murders In The Building would be a great pick-me-up even if we weren’t in the doldrums of late summer. The dramedy, from creators Steve Martin, John Hoffman, and Dan Fogelman, glides out of the gate, introducing characters and conflict with great elan and efficiency. There are no opening night jitters for Martin and his fellow leads Selena Gomez and Martin Short; a three-shot in an elevator establishes them as a cohesive trio even before they start investigating a crime (or what they believe to be a crime) in the massive pre-war building they all live in on the Upper West Side.
Like so many people, Charles Haden Savage (Martin), Oliver Putnam (Short), and Mabel Mora (Gomez) are obsessed with true-crime podcasts. Like so many New Yorkers, they’re simultaneously oblivious to and and all too aware of each other’s existence at the Arconia, a building so massive, it takes up an entire city block. The Arconia (which real-life locals will recognize as the Belnord residences) is a neighborhood unto itself, with its own populace and gossip—both of which are shaken up in the premiere episode. But first, Jamie Babbitt (who directed the first two episodes) takes us on a tour of some of the co-op’s well-appointed apartments, where Curt Beech’s set designs stoke real-estate fantasies as effectively as Zillow.
After being evacuated from their building, Mabel, Oliver, and Charles have dinner, where they bond over their love of a Serial-esque podcast with its own Sarah Koenig-like host (played by Tina Fey). The three neighbors share their theories about the podcast, All Is Not OK In Oklahoma. But when they finish their meal, they fully expect to go back to vaguely acknowledging each other’s presence. Only, a seismic shift occurred while they were having dinner—one of their neighbors, a standoffish young man named Tim Kono (Julian Cihi), was found dead, apparently by suicide.
Charles, Oliver, and Mabel all have their own reasons for questioning the police’s findings, just as Detective Williams (Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who’s also been sleuthing it up on Ultra City Smiths) has her reasons for telling them to stay out of it. Mostly, she’s just sick of true-crime obsessives trying to turn everything into the case of the month (what “crime of the century” becomes when you adjust for modern attention spans), especially since she knows it’s just a matter of time before their heads are turned by another sensational story. That doesn’t stop Charles, Mabel, and Oliver—the latter of whom has already spent thousands on sound equipment before the first episode has been written—from launching their own podcast (also named Only Murders In The Building).
The detective and the would-be gumshoes are tailor-made foils for each other, their overlapping investigations ripe for tension. But Only Murders In The Building has something else on its mind. As with Mare Of Easttown, the murder mystery is really just a vehicle for more of a character-driven story. The series does shed light on the life of Tim Kono, and how his death affects even those who aren’t recording a concertina-backed podcast. But the whodunnit becomes less urgent as the season unfolds, and Oliver, Mabel, and Charles become an unlikely yet immensely watchable team. They don’t just bridge the generational divide; they fairly dance on top of it.
There’s a real sweetness to the “cultural exchange” that goes on between Charles, the former star of a procedural; Mabel, a twentysomething with a Muscadet-dry wit and a home renovation on her hands; and Oliver, an improvident theater director whose only sign of restraint is insisting on appetizers for dinner instead of an entrée. Yes, they’re all worried about the possibility that one of their neighbors is a murderer. But their string-and-photo-covered white boards can wait until Mabel teaches Charles that he doesn’t need to sign all of his texts because he’s already in her contacts list (under the name “Charles [Old]”) or educates Oliver on what a “rando” is. It’s not exactly a two-way street, though. The guys are sure they can teach Mabel some things as well; instead, they get flustered when she pretends not to know who Sting is—and not because the Grammy winner shows a different side here.
Mabel could easily be positioned as the kind of impossibly hip, droll Millennial that Baby Boomers (and probably a lot of Gen Xers) fear and therefore like to blame for everything. Only Murders is more generous with its characters (on both sides of the age gap) than that, and more ambitious in its storytelling. Mabel benefits just as much from the relationship with fellow podcasters; in particular, her friendship with Charles, who insists he’s alone by choice as a means to protect himself, underlines just how emotionally shuttered she’s become. It’s part of what helps her reconnect with a childhood friend, Oscar (Aaron Dominguez), whose return midseason destabilizes the group a bit.
It certainly doesn’t hurt that Mabel’s compatriots in crime-podcasting are played by such inveterate charmers as Martin and Short. One of Only Murders’ greatest and most abundant pleasures is watching Oliver “note” Charles to death (figuratively, of course); there’s no line reading good enough for the fictional director of the Splash musical. On the surface, these are roles that don’t seem to require much stretching for the frequent co-stars and longtime friends: Martin is reliably great as a strait-laced man who really only needs the slightest of pushes to go over the edge, while Short plays to the rafters in an effort to drown out his character’s deep-seated insecurities. But they find poignant new notes in these deceptively familiar tunes (their off-the-cuff ode to Long Island in episode four notwithstanding).
Only Murders marks more of a departure for Gomez, who went from Waverly Place to pop stardom before signing on to co-lead (and co-executive produce) this giddy sendup of true-crime obsession. But Gomez is right at home in a cast with two comedic legends, even as she stakes out territory all her own, stomping down the New York streets in her “armor” (sunglasses, headphones, chic coat after chic coat). The Disney alum’s deadpan is more fearsome than whatever’s going on at the Arconia. When she cracks that “old white guys are only afraid of colon cancer and societal change,” you kind of want to offer Oliver and Charles some salve.
All the ribbing is ultimately good-natured, no matter whose turn it is to be taken down a peg. Even the podcast parody, spot-on as it is—at one point, Charles exclaims he’s “fallen in love with so many dead people” because of the true-crime genre—isn’t meant to really take aficionados to task. (Still, one of the best jokes in the premiere involves the fake sponsors for the fake Serial podcast.) Only Murders In The Building engenders curiosity, first and foremost, whether it’s about your neighbors, what’s in the cultural zeitgeist (be it a podcast or the latest murder mystery show), or why someone might keep others at arm’s length. If you find personal revelations as thrilling as the resolution of a crime, it could even become your next TV obsession.
85 Comments
No shade on Selena Gomez, but this was a missed opportunity to cast someone named “Short Steve.”
They should have hunted for a female Chevy Chase and we could have got the Three Amigo’s reunion we never knew we needed.
Shut it down, we’re down here
Selena Gomez is the new Chevy Chase!We can finally get a sequel to The Three Amigxs.
She’s obviously Carmen’s daughter with… whichever of the Amigos she got friendly with. I literally can’t remember a thing about the plot of that movie and my cousins made me watch it seventeen times that summer…
Let’s all feel old together by noting that Selena Gomez was born six years after that movie came out.
So maybe she IS Carmen’s daughter!
And yet she is 29 years old.
It was Lucky Day….I only know cause I watched The Three Amigos recently.
In a way, each of us has their own Chevy Chase to face. For some, shyness might be their Chevy Chase. For others, a lack of education might be their Chevy Chase. For Selena Gomez, Chevy Chase is an actor who is apparently a major asshole. But as sure as my name is ScottyEnn, Selena Gomez can conquer her own personal Chevy Chase, who also happens to be the actual Chevy Chase.
The real Chevy Chase was the co-stars we pissed off along the way.
Side note that I never knew much about Selena Gomez before, other than a vague awareness of her as a famous singing person, but over the pandemic my family watched and greatly enjoyed “Selena + Chef” on HBO (Max). It’s delightful and she’s delightful.
Same! My wife and I started watching that show because we like some of the guests, but she’s so charming in it.
And her Paw-Paw deserves a spinoff where he just putters around the house fixing shit.
I was surprised to see her pop up in a Jim Jarmusch film. I just vaguely know of her as some pop star, but she strikes me as someone who’s genuinely trying to build an interesting career as an actress.
she’s great in Spring Breakers too. my fave film of 2012.
I’ve enjoyed her in this show, but her voice confuses me. It’s very flat, but also like she’s talking through her nose. I’m not familiar with her work so I don’t know if she always sounds like this or if it’s a choice. I assumed it was purposeful, but I don’t really get the purpose. I guess I should just watch something else she’s been in.
It seems to just be her natural speaking voice (it’s exactly how she sounds on “Selena + Chef”), which I think is all the more remarkable when compared to her signing voice, which sounds nothing like that. There’s got to be a scientific article somewhere about how different the same person’s signing voice and speaking voice can sound.
Interesting. It just seemed out of place with her appearance. I dunno. I just checked a couple of her songs and, yeah, they weren’t anything like her speaking voice. Thanks for info.
See also Carey, Mariah.
Selena Gomez is a much better comedic actress than she ever was as a pop star.
She was good as the semi-voice of reason in the otherwise batshit Spring Breakers.
Ooh! I was looking forward to this due the cast, glad to hear it’s actually good.
Do they explain how it is that a twenty-something could afford an apartment AND a renovation in that building??? The cheapest current listing at the Belnord is priced at $2.5M. That’s partially because they don’t have many smaller apartments in the building but at the actual Ansonia a smallish 1BR is still close to $1M, and with a renovation I’d expect you’d be in for a minimum of $1.2M. Certainly not something I could have afforded before the age of 30!
2 words. Trust Fund
I kind of hope one of the other two notes that they worked their entire lives to get there while she traipsed in after school.
Well, older people could have bought in a zillion years ago when things were much cheaper. My favorite example that shows this is the movie “The Panic in Needle Park,” which shows a bunch of heroin addicts scoring around a skid row-type area. The “park” in the movie is actually the square at 72nd and Broadway, a very expensive area now which is also right near where the Ansonia is. I bet it was pretty cheap to buy there back then!
Needle Park was based on a LIFE magazine photo essay, check it out:
https://www.life.com/lifestyle/two-lives-lost-to-heroin-a-harrowing-early-portrait-of-addicts/
Finally checked it out and it was really interesting, thanks for sharing!
Worked or, more likely, waited their entire lives rooted in under rent-control (the entire building sold for only $15M as recently as 1994).
I think she’s a former Disney star.
That would be great if they did that as an in-show explanation as opposed to the usual “Friends” non-explanation of people living beyond their apparent means.
Friends explained it. Monica was living there under her Grandmother’s lease.
Usual note that “Friends” did indeed explain how Monica/Rachel/later Chandler could afford that apartment.
Yeah, but that wasn’t all the friends. They all lived in luxury apartments. They didn’t all have elderly relatives with rent-controlled apartments.
Yeah, the whole Friends scenario was indeed totally bogus. First, it’s really hard to “inherit” a rent controlled apartment, Monica would have to have lived there with her grandmother for some time to get on the lease. Second, the main apartment in Friends was WAY too nice to have remained under rent control. I know a bunch of people with rent controlled/stabilized apartments and also was one myself; in general, landlords would do whatever they had to in order to get people out of apartments that could rent for way more than they were paying. Like, anything short of murder depending on the landlord – and some of them might not even stop at that! So the few people I know with controlled apartments are living in tiny, cruddy studios that haven’t been repaired in years, and are doing constant battle with landlords who are trying to get rid of them (these are folks paying less than $200/month, sometimes under $100). Meanwhile, there are more decent apartments available under stabilization, but typically in much less chic neighborhoods and the rents are also higher. For example, I know a couple of people with decent 1BRs/2BRs on the upper reaches of the Upper West Side, but they’re still paying a couple grand in rent, and still have maintenance issues.
I’m pretty sure the “inheritance” was actually them not telling the landlord that the grandmother was dead.But in general…if you were looking for authenticity then Friends was probably not the place to start. Almost no one in any NY-based sitcom would be able to afford their place IRL.
Sure, but as with the above explanation, at the very start they established that Ross was making very good money (whether that’s true for a paleontologist in NYC is a different debate), as were Chandler and Monica. Phoebe was basically always shown to be living in a modest apartment, and Joey lived with Chandler and then later began making good money himself (but still lived in the same hole as ever). Rachel was penniless at the start, but followed a similar career trajectory.
Hell, there was even an episode specifically noting that Monica/Rachel were breaking the law by staying under rent control in that apartment! It’s popular to make that joke, but the show really did explain why all of those living situations were perfectly plausible.
Monica’s apt is explained early on. Every one else makes (or eventually makes) enough to make rent. Phoebe’s situation is more nebulous, unless massage therapy actually does pay that well.
Just watched the first episode. Not bad. Not great, but not bad, some laughs, some drama. Steve Martin and Martin Short play somewhat faded celebrities, a sort of exaggeration of their actual status. To the show’s credit, they do bring up how Selena Gomez’s character can live there — she is actually staying at her aunt’s apartment. Where the aunt is we don’t know yet, although she’s probably somebody important because the size of the apartment impresses the Steve Martin character.
Martin’s interaction with the couple on the street is hilarious, and spirals quickly.
I am assuming her character has a high paying job or comes from money.
Sorry, wrong.
Yes.
Martin Short’s character also wondered the same thing. It’s explained in the show.
yes, she’s apartment sitting for her Aunt whilst she renovates the place for her.
it’s her aunt’s apartment. she’s managing the reno.
Yes, it is explained. It is not her apartment.
She says she’s apartment sitting for her aunt while she renovates (the apartment isn’t even furnished, there’s only like a bed a couch and some milk crates in there so its not like she’s living lavish). But since it’s a mystery we don’t know how much of that is actually true, where the aunt is or why she thought her 20-something year old artist niece with no construction background could renovate a whole apartment by herself. We know that the aunt did live there at some point and Gomez’ character (who is actually from Long Island) stayed with her during school breaks but that’s all we know for sure since it’s a typical “All the characters have secrets, nothing is what it seems” type of story.
It’s her aunt’s apartment and the twenty-something is there to renovate it.
You should watch the show, it’s not her apartment, she explains it belongs to her aunt (at least, that’s her claim). She grew up visiting her aunt there and her aunt asked her to renovate the apartment for her (again, she says). Her character is not rich and grew up on Long Island, which is a source of tension between her and Tim because Tim grew up rich. It’s all laid out pretty elegantly.
It is explained by Mabel house-sitting for her aunt. And given the state of the renovations (e.g., nothing seems to be getting done), I don’t think too much money is being put to use in that area.The questions that I have are why is Martin Short’s character able to remain in the building when he has had no visible means of support in years, can you really be 8 months behind in building fees and not be kicked out, and how much disposable income could his son possibly have that he was able to loan him money at least once?
Ha, unfortunately it is also possible to be paying a fortune without much getting done for length periods of time when it comes to NYC renovations ;-). In terms of lack of payment of maintenance fees – well, that depends 100% on the building. They certainly could have moved to foreclose on his shares but if the board was softhearted they could certainly give him some rope. It also can be a lot of hassle – I know when I was the president of a condo board (which runs somewhat differently) we had a tenant who was often running late on common charges, sometimes by as much as 3 months. We couldn’t deal with filing liens etc. so would just get our lawyer to write a stern letter and then worked out payment plans. In terms of the amount at issue, there’s huge variety depending on building staffing, whether there’s an underlying mortgage, etc. but even if he was in a relatively small studio or 1BR there’s no way he is paying less than $1K per month in Manhattan. I pay $2600 a month for my 2BR in a middle of the road building.
Maybe it’s because the 20 something is Selena Gomez.
Finally watched the first episodes and the way they portray co-ops or condos makes no sense. They said the dead guy was behind on his rent. You don’t rent, you own and make monthly maintenance payments which is what Martin Short was behind on. Unless you are subletting but the dead guy had lived there for years with his family. And at the memorial service/tenants meeting one woman told the Board president that as the dead guy’s neighbor she wanted “the rooms”. Again, that’s not how it works. She would have to buy them.
As a former NYC condo board president clearly I am going to have to watch this show, the real mystery is how this building is run! Agreed that “rent” makes no sense, an older building like this would inevitably be a coop and would never allow a long-term renter. And of course a neighbor looking to expand would have to buy the apartment. If he was in arrears and the coop can foreclose on his shares the board president might be the right person to talk to about a purchase though.
Interestingly the Belnord and Apthorp are condos, mainly because they were previously rentals and the buildings were purchased by developers in the last 20 to 30 years.I own in a co-op and you couldn’t pay me to be on the board so I tip my hat to you.
I literally sold my apartment because I was so embittered after serving on that board. It got to the point where the building essentially split into two camps and people were going door to door slandering each other. I was dreading getting stuck in the elevator with certain people and running in and out to avoid seeing people and decided the whole thing was insane and got out.And that is an interesting point about the Apthorp and Belnord. It actually would be possible that the murder victim was a holdover renter from before the building converted. At that point the board might be guilty of trying to pick him off to get the unit opened up for sale! 😉
“instead, they get flustered when she pretends not to know who Sting is”I post this great clip on everything Dune related, but it is also relevant here. Patrick fucking Stewart didn’t know who Sting was when he acted with him in Lynch’s Dune. And that was when Sting was at the top of the charts!
I can’t seem to find a clip of Steve Martin introducing him as “Stingy” on SNL, but I still always read Sting’s name in that voice/pronunciation.
I’ll probably get around to watching this eventually, but I’d be so much more excited if it was a movie. Like so many shows now, it sounds like 5 hours of a two-hour premise.
I would’ve sworn based on the commercials that this was a movie– I had no idea it was actually a series.
I like spending as much time as possible with characters like these though!
It works well as a half-hour dramedy. I can see it having Netflix syndrome if you streamed it back-to-back, but watching an episode weekly should stave off any of that long-slough feeling.
Episodically it def suffers a bit from this. Each episode is about 10 minutes too long and moves a little too slowly. It should probably be 5 20 minute episodes which would make it a great 100 minute movie.
I’ve only seen the first two episodes so far but for me it’s hitting well as a 30 minute drama. It’s very much structured after a podcast formula (to the point where the characters specifically say in episode 2 that you always find out about the victim in episode 2 of a podcast while they, of course, try to find out more about the victim) – and since it’s not really so much about the crime as how the three work together, I’m glad to have the extended time.
Like the poster below, I thought it was movie, and I was interested. My interest is gone now.
If it was on Netflix, it’d be ten episodes that end with an unresolved cliffhanger… and be canceled after two seasons with no resolution.
Is the title a reference to something? It just hits the ear oddly, like “Strictly Come Dancing”.
One of them suggests expanding the podcast to cover other crimes in the city, and Short says “No – only murders in the building”
Without that context it is kind of a weird title.
Selena Gomez, of Barney the Dinosaur fame…
“Still, one of the best jokes in the premiere involves the fake sponsors for the fake Serial podcast.”If it’s the one I’m thinking of, yup, I hooted at it. (The X and Y Foundation for [redacted].)
Steve Martin, Martin Short…and Bill Murray in The Dead Don’t Die. Selena Gomez has certainly worked with some comedy legends.
Dan Fogleman is not a co-creator, just an EP.
I stopped reading the review when it started to reveal plot points that come after what’s been released, but I agree with the part I could read! It’s a damn good show, and Selena Gomez is good. I had no idea who she was other than a familiar name (“guess that’s a famous young person?”) and she’s impressive here. Also chock full of theater legends, I do love how many of these streaming series in NYC filled their entire supporting casts with theater folks who were free due to the Broadway/Off Broadway shutdown.
The colon cancer gag is especially topical given that the Martin Duo get together to hang out and irrigate their guts before they get their colonoscopy.
Because I guess if you gotta slam back a gallon of laxative over the course of an evening, might as well have some company?
Hmm, slight disagree (just watched episode 2). Selena Gomez has a very fun charm as an actress, and while she’s good casting on paper, I thought she was pretty bland. In fact, all the acting feels a little subdued at best and stilted at worst. The pacing of the show is off too – some scenes feel like they should be both spoken and cut and double the speed they are now. It’s generally a fun and watchable show, but I’d say B-. Something just a little off about everything.
I thought she was good, especially once (SPOILER) her history with Kono is revealed. Her reticence at that point makes perfect sense. Not to mention she’s obviously completely overwhelmed by her “renovation” project and is living on a mattress in an otherwise completely stripped apartment.
>In fact, all the acting feels a little subdued at best and stilted at worstI disagree, I think she’s making a really nuanced character choice. You can tell in the contrast between her current presentation and the way she acts in the flashbacks. This is a kiddo who witnessed trauma and it numbed her. She’s also afraid that someone is going to kill her, which leads to more stress. In terms of numb trauma responses, I think her acting is amazing. She has full range of affect in flashbacks and seems like a happy yet cynical teen. In the present she is disaffected, numb, stilted, but it’s part of what her character has been through. I think so far she’s been amazing.
loving the first 3 episodes, though wish i could binge this.
I enjoyed how toned down Steve Martin was in this. He’s been insufferable for decades with over the top acting at this point.
Kinda bugged me that they mispronounced “Chickasha” in the All Is Not OK In Oklahoma podcast. It’s Chickash-ay, not Chickash-aw. Pedantic, I know.
I’ve really enjoyed the first two episodes. Selena Gomez is holding her own against Martin and Short, which is a big ask when you realize she has to be the straight man against two comedic legends famous for their (delightful) scene chewing.The set design and cinematography are great too. It’s got sort of a Royal Tennenbaums feel but without the twee-ness that Wes Anderson can’t help but include.Bunny is my favorite of the secondary characters so far.
Was very pleasantly surprised by this. I was worried it would be standard, “old white guy romances beauty way too young for him” kind of bullshit.Short and Martin still have endless comic chemistry and Gomez is enormously charming.
So far I have been lovin this show. It’s beautifully shot, clearly written with a vision (it has an elegant sort of Agatha Christie feel to it) and the case it delightful. It reminds me of Search Party, except I like all the characters a lot more (not to diss Search Party, I get that we’re supposed to find those characters irritating). I will definitely keep watching. I was surprised how much I liked Selena Gomez’s performance, and Martin and Short are as perfect together as always.