“Only Murders in the Building” Wraps Superb First Season
Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, a Manhattan-set murder-mystery led by the unlikely trio of Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez wrapped its exquisite 10-episode first season earlier this week. The show expertly blended comedy, drama, and mystery and created a fully developed aesthetic and narrative that could result in a long and creatively satisfying run.
[Author’s Note: The following article contains spoilers from the first season of Only Murders in the Building. I strongly advise that anyone who has not finished the season and plans to bookmarks this article and returns to it after finishing.]
Season One Review
Few shows debuting in 2021 had a roster of creative talent as impressive or a premise as intriguing as Only Murders in the Building. The series was co-created by legendary writer, actor, and musician Steve Martin (The Jerk, Roxanne) and John Hoffman (best known as the producer of HBO’s Looking and Netflix’s Grace & Frankie) and features an all-star cast (more on them later). The setup promised a satire of murder mysteries more generally and true crime podcast obsession more specifically, two potentially terrific targets for a dark comedy.
The show launched on August 31, 2021 — when Hulu premiered the first 3 episodes — and aired the remainder of its 10 episodes weekly, culminating with the finale premiering on October 19, 2021. As the first season unfolded, its buzz steadily grew with more and more critics and fans getting caught up in its wit and intrigue week by week. At the moment I am writing this, it feels like it just may be on the cusp of being a cultural phenomenon.
The show is ostensibly a comedy series about a trio of unlikely friends obsessed with true crime who team up to to make a podcast chronicling their investigation into a mysterious death in their apartment building. It is an exceedingly promising setup that feels fresh and ensures juicy twists and colorful characters. Although it delivers on the promise of its setup, it quickly reveals itself to be something deeper than a mere satire — it is itself a genuinely fascinating murder mystery and treads into dark and powerful themes.
For me, the most pronounced and powerful thread that ran through the first 10 episodes was that of loneliness. The trio at the show’s center are all profoundly lonely people. Charles-Haden Savage (portrayed by Grammy- and Emmy-winning comedy legend and series co-creator Steve Martin) is an actor who once played the titular character on a network television procedural called Brazzos and has now largely faded into obscurity. He lives alone, has few friends, and recently went through a particularly painful breakup that resulted in him losing contact with his ex-girlfriend and her daughter whom he adored. Oliver Putnam (portrayed by Tony- and Emmy-winning comedy legend Martin Short) is a far-past-his-prime Broadway producer who is estranged from his son and facing eviction due to immense financial woes. Mabel Mora (portrayed by pop musician and former child actress Selena Gomez) is a young, mysterious woman who is supposedly staying in her aunt’s condo while she redecorates it. She is cynical and isolated, which we learn is in large part due to a tragedy she was involved with as a teenager that intriguingly ties into the current mystery. All three of them are deeply flawed, lonely, and directionless. Their unspoken hope is that the podcast will bring them the purpose, excitement, and human connection that has long eluded them.
The series begins with the chance meeting of Charles, Oliver, and Mabel in the Arconia, the swanky and expansive condo building in the Upper West Side of Manhattan where they live. They have an awkward elevator ride together and are reunited shortly after when the Arconia is evacuated due to an alarm. During the evacuation, they discover their mutual love of true crime podcasts, but are not particularly eager to start a friendship. Upon their return to the building, they are informed that that the dead body of a young professional living in the Arconia named Tim Kono has been discovered. His death is immediately ruled a suicide, but Charles, Oliver, and Mabel are suspicious given that they rode a few floors with him in the elevator mere minutes before his death and he did not seem like a man who was about to take his own life.
As I expected, their investigation results in interpersonal conflict, major plot twists, and a host of colorful and menacing characters. What was not as I expected, however, is how successfully it is all pulled off. The backstory of the three main characters is revealed slowly and thoughtfully and their growing connection with one another feels organic and well-earned. There are numerous effective cliffhangers, a few of which are true jaw-droppers. There are enough cleverly written and brilliantly performed bit characters to fill a significant portion of the Guest Acting Emmy categories. And even the “red herrings” that inevitably present themselves in any murder mystery serve the purpose of character development, plot advancement, or — in the case of a frozen cat in a freezer — dark comedy.
A great deal of the credit certainly goes to the actors. Steve Martin is remarkably restrained as Charles, with a profound sadness permeating his performance. We only get occasional glimpses of his sardonic wit and virtually no sign of the “wild and crazy” comedy persona that made him a legend. In contrast, the character of Oliver Putnam seems tailor-made for Martin Short’s borderline-manic and aggressive style of comedy. He knocks it out of the park, giving the show’s greatest performance. It is so refreshing to see the remarkably gifted comedian play a nuanced character after years of being relegated to roles that bordered on caricatures. Their stellar performances are matched by Amy Ryan as Jan. She is Martin’s love interest, a bassoonist for the New York Philharmonic, and a fellow resident of the Arconia who has some secrets of her own. By the end of the season, Ryan has superbly blended the charm of her award-worthy turn as Holly on The Office with the edge of her Oscar-nominated work in Gone Baby Gone and created a fully developed and very satisfying performance.
There are a host of smaller roles that are also performed spectacularly. The most notable is Nathan Lane (The Birdcage) as Teddy Dimas. The Tony-winner plays a deli magnate who also lives in the Arconia that Oliver frequently turns to for financial investment. It is a particularly hard-edged and aggressive performance relative to Lane’s typical work and it is both commanding and fascinating. As Teddy’s deaf son Theo, newcomer James Caverly gets an excellent showcase in the show’s 6th episode. Tony nominee Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Dolemite is My Name) puts a fresh and amusing twist on the obligatory “exasperated detective” role. Emmy winner Jane Lynch (Glee) shows up in the penultimate as Charles’s stunt double from Brazzos (who is also one of his only friends). The larger-than-life comedienne is impressively reigned in and gives one of the best performances I have seen her give in years. There are also a host of gifted character actors such as Jayne Houdyshell, Jackie Hoffman, and Michael Cyril Creighton, who all turn in memorable performances as eccentric residents of the Arconia. And, finally, there are a pair of very memorable cameos. The first comes from music legend Sting, who plays a fictionalized version of himself that lives at the Arconia and is briefly a suspect. The second comes from Tina Fey (30 Rock) who makes a few brief appearances as Cinda Canning, a legendary true crime podcaster who the trio is enamored with.
If there is a weak link in the ensemble, it is Selena Gomez. Much ado was made about the casting of Selena Gomez as the female lead with many questioning whether she had the talent to carry a show of this type or effectively play off of her esteemed co-stars. Some of these concerns turned out to be well-founded. Gomez does lack the professional polish, comic timing, and charisma of her costars. However, she is perfectly fine in the role and the mere fact that she can hold her own at all amongst the acclaimed veteran actors she shares the screen with is no small feat. I am optimistic that as the show progresses she will become more comfortable in the role and will gel as an equal member of the ensemble.
In addition to Gomez’s occasionally lackluster performance, the show also has another weak aspect in that it takes quite a while to find its footing. I found the final 4 episodes to be significantly better than the first 6, which at times feel a bit awkward in tone, unevenly paced, and meandering. These early episodes are certainly intriguing, but not always particularly satisfying. I suspect, however, that when I inevitably rewatch the season equipped with a better sense of the show’s identity and trajectory, these early episodes will play much better and I will develop a significant appreciation for them.
The show deserves immense praise for its artistry beyond acting. Its large writing staff (led by series co-creator John Hoffman) is clearly invested in the long game, setting up rich character dynamics and intricate mysteries and having the restraint and foresight not to reveal everything too quickly or obviously. The team of directors (led by Jamie Babbitt) keep things elegantly staged and maintain a remarkably cohesive visual style. The team of editors keep things briskly paced and prevent the mystery from becoming overly dense or confusing. The set design, costume design, and cinematography are all top-notch, turning the Arconia into a dazzling and fully realized world. And then there’s the simultaneously quirky and haunting score from composer Siddharta Khosla, which is one of the most memorable television scores I have heard in recent years.
By the time it wrapped its first season, Only Murders had evolved from a show that felt like little more than a well-cast, quirky satire of a murder mystery embroiling eccentric, well-heeled New Yorkers into something significantly more substantial — an utterly captivating and fully realized character study with a vast and intricate plot.
Season One Award Chances. We are not even halfway through the Emmy eligibility period, so it is wildly premature to talk about the show’s prospect of winning big next September. At present, its biggest competitors are the acclaimed second seasons of reigning Emmy champ Ted Lasso and HBOMax breakout The Other Two. However, there are countless shows left to do debut including the 11th season of 9-time Outstanding Comedy Series nominee Curb Your Enthusiasm, the 5th and final season of HBO’s Emmy nominated Insecure, and the 4th season of Amazon Prime’s Emmy favorite The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
But I can say with confidence that Only Murders in the Building will be a major player in all of the TV awards conversations. Steve Martin, Martin Short, Amy Ryan, Nathan Lane, and Jane Lynch all seem well-poised to receive nominations, as does the show’s superb behind-the-scenes team of creative talent. An impressive Emmy haul for the show would be a big feat for Hulu, which to date has only seen substantial awards success with a single series — The Handmaid’s Tale. (The dystopian drama based on Margaret Atwood’s award-winning novel currently has 15 Emmy wins from 75 nominations over its first 4 seasons).
Season Two and Beyond. Before the 5th episode of Season One had even aired, Hulu renewed the show for a second season. This suggests that in addition to gaining critical acclaim the show also earned some healthy streaming numbers. (Of course, there are few things in the world of media less transparent than viewership for streaming series, so we have no way of really knowing.) The show certainly set itself up for a second season with an immensely satisfying finale in which the murder of Tim Kono was solved only for another to immediately unfold.
In the final scenes of the episode, Charles and Oliver receive a mysterious text message from an anonymous sender, which sends them rushing to Mabel’s condo out of concern for her well-being. When they arrive, they find her standing over the bloody body of Bunny, the abrasive condo president. The police promptly arrive to take the three of them into custody as the disapproving neighbors and podcast super fans look on. Then Tina Fey’s Cindy Canning, also standing outside with her assistant, remarks what a great story this is going to be. It is a thrilling and clever ending that sets up a number of exciting directions for the now-guaranteed second season.
My main hope for the 2nd season is that it remains firmly grounded in its characters’ backstories, personalities, and interpersonal dynamics. Somewhat relatedly, I hope that it does a fairly clean reboot of the mystery and avoids trying to simultaneously delve into a new one and resolve the “loose ends” of the first season’s mystery that Mabel referenced in the finale. (See How to Get Away with Murder for a recent example of a strong show frequently undercut by its inability to know when to wrap up a mystery and move on.) But I ultimately have no reason not to trust the creative team’s vision. Their work in the first season vastly exceeded my expectations, genuinely surprised me on multiple occasions, and left me wondering how I am going to wait the many long months for a second season.
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