''Only Murders in the Building'' is an American

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

television series created by

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

and John Hoffman. The ten-episode first season premiered on

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

in August 2021. The plot follows three strangers played by Steve Martin, Martin Short, and

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

, with a shared interest in

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 pe ...

podcasts who join together to investigate a death in the apartment building they all live in. The series has received critical acclaim for its comedic approach to

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

, as well as the performances and chemistry among the lead performers. In the first season, after a suspicious death in their affluent

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

apartment building, the three neighbors start their own podcast about their investigation. In the second season, which premiered in June 2022, the trio themselves become suspects in the bloody murder of another building resident. The series has received numerous accolades, including nominations for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series is an annual award given to the best television comedy series of the year. From 1960 to 1964, this category was combined with the Comedy Specials (one time programs) category so that both type ...

and for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. The award is presented to the best performance by a lead actor in a television comedy series. Beginning with the 18th Primetime Emm ...

for Martin and Short. In July 2022, the series was renewed for a third season.

Cast and characters

Main

as Charles-Haden Savage, a semi-retired actor who was the star of the popular 1990s detective drama TV series ''Brazzos''. He lives in 14C at the Arconia. * Martin Short as Oliver Putnam, an ambitious but financially struggling

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

director who spawns the idea of the podcast and becomes its director. He lives in 10D at the Arconia. *

as Mabel Mora, a young artist who lives in 12E at the Arconia, a refurnished unit that she is renovating for her aunt and who was friends with the first season's murder victim, Tim Kono, through her childhood and teenage years. ** Madeleine Valencia (season 1) and Caroline Valencia (season 2) portray young Mabel. * Aaron Dominguez as Oscar Torres (season 1), a friend of Mabel and Tim who was wrongly convicted of the murder of their friend Zoe ten years earlier and recently released from prison. *

Amy Ryan Amy Beth Dziewiontkowski, known professionally as Amy Ryan, is an American actress of stage and screen. A graduate of New York's High School of Performing Arts, she is an Academy Award nominee and two-time Tony Award nominee. Ryan began her pr ...

as Jan Bellows (season 1; recurring season 2), a professional bassoonist who lives in 6A at the Arconia and starts dating Charles. *

Cara Delevingne Cara Jocelyn Delevingne ( ; born 12 August 1992) is an English model and actress. She signed with Storm Management after leaving school in 2009. Delevingne won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014. Delevingne sta ...

as Alice Banks (season 2), Mabel's love interest who works at an art studio called Third Arm Gallery

Recurring

* Vanessa Aspillaga as Ursula, the Arconia's

building manager Building management (in the UK) is a discipline that comes under the umbrella of facility management. Hard services usually relate to physical, structural services such as fire alarm systems, lifts, and so on whereas soft services allude to cleaning ...

* Julian Cihi as Tim Kono (season 1), a resident of 9A at the Arconia who dies in the first episode. The mysterious circumstances surrounding his death spur Charles, Oliver, and Mabel to do their own investigation. *

Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and playwright. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1997–2006) and for creating the ...

as Cinda Canning, the host of the true crime podcast ''All Is Not OK in Oklahoma'', a parody of

Sarah Koenig Sarah Koenig (; born July 9, 1969 in New York City) is an American journalist, public radio personality, former producer of the television and radio program ''This American Life'', and the host and executive producer of the podcast '' Serial''. ...

* Adina Verson as Poppy White, the ambitious but abused assistant of Cinda. * Ryan Broussard as Will Putnam, Oliver's son *

Maulik Pancholy Maulik Navin Pancholy (, born January 18, 1974) is an American actor and author who is best known for his roles as Jonathan on '' 30 Rock'', Baljeet Tjinder in ''Phineas and Ferb'', Neal in the first season of ''Whitney'', and as a character nam ...

as Arnav (season 1), Charles' next-door neighbor, an Arconia resident in apartment 14F *

Jackie Hoffman Jacqueline Laura Hoffman (born November 29, 1960 in Queens, New York City) is an American actress, singer, and comedian known for her one-woman shows of Jewish-themed original songs and monologues. She is a veteran of Chicago's famed The Second ...

as Uma Heller, an Arconia resident in apartment 3F *

Jayne Houdyshell Jayne Houdyshell (born September 25, 1953) is an American, Tony-winning actress known for her performances on stage and screen. Houdyshell made her Broadway debut in the 2005 production of ''It's a Wonderful Life''. The following year she earn ...

as Bunny Folger, the iron-fisted board president of the Arconia and resident in 12A. Bunny appears in flashbacks in season 2. ** Houdyshell also voices Mrs. Gambolini (season 2), Bunny's pet parrot who was left to Oliver in her will *

Da'Vine Joy Randolph Da'Vine Joy Randolph (born May 21, 1986) is an American actress and singer. She first gained recognition as Oda Mae Brown in the Broadway production of '' Ghost: The Musical'' (2012); she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a ...

as Detective Williams, a detective on the Kono murder who initially closed the case but becomes interested again after her wife starts listening to the podcast *

Nathan Lane Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. In a career spanning over 40 years he has been seen on stage and screen in roles both comedic and dramatic. Lane has received numerous awards including three Tony Awards, ...

as Teddy Dimas, a

Greek American Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest es ...

Arconia resident in apartment 6B, deli chain owner, and old friend and patron of Oliver's with ties to

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

, who agrees to sponsor the podcast. * James Caverly as Theo Dimas, Teddy Dimas's son who is deaf and also lives in apartment 6B *

Michael Cyril Creighton Michael Cyril Creighton is an American actor and writer best known for his portrayal of Howard Morris in ''Only Murders in the Building'', Patrick in ''High Maintenance'', Joe Crowley in ''Spotlight'' and his Writers Guild of America Award-winni ...

as Howard Morris, a resident in Arconia apartment 3C and cat lover, whose cat Evelyn died the same night as Tim Kono *

Zainab Jah Zainab Jah is a British award-winning theater, television and film actress of Sierra Leonean descent. She is mostly known for her theater performances as Maima (Wife Number Two) in Danai Gurira's Broadway play '' Eclipsed'', ''Venus'', and ''Sch ...

as Ndidi Idoko (season 1), an Arconia resident in apartment 9B, Tim Kono's next-door neighbor who looks forward to annexing his apartment * Russell G. Jones as Dr. Grover Stanley, an Arconia resident in apartment 6C who is a therapist *

Jaboukie Young-White Jaboukie Young-White (born July 24, 1994) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. Early life Young-White was born to Jamaican immigrants and raised in Harvey, Illinois. He later attended Marian Catholic High School where he partic ...

, Daniel Oreskes,

Ali Stroker Alyson Mackenzie Stroker (born June 16, 1987) is an American actress, author and singer. She is the first wheelchair-using actor to appear on a Broadway stage, and also the first to be nominated for and win a Tony Award. Stroker was a finalist on ...

and Orson Hong as Sam, Marv, Paulette and Grant, enthusiastic fans of the ''Only Murders in the Building'' podcast * Olivia Reis as Zoe Cassidy (season 1), a friend of Mabel, Tim, and Oscar who died ten years ago after falling from the roof of the Arconia * Teddy Coluca as Lester, the doorman at the Arconia *

Zoe Colletti Zoe Margaret Colletti (born November 27, 2001) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the television pilot of ''American Men'' (2006) and played her first major-film role in '' Annie'' (2014). Colletti appeared in 2018 films ''Wildl ...

as Lucy (season 2), the teenage daughter of Charles' ex-girlfriend, with whom Charles has a tenuous father-daughter relationship *

Michael Rapaport Michael David Rapaport (born March 20, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. Beginning his career in the early 1990s, he has made over 100 appearances in film and television. His film roles include ''True Romance'' (1993), '' Higher Learning ...

as Detective Kreps (season 2), a police detective on Bunny's murder *

Christine Ko Christine Ko (born August 3, 1988) is a Taiwanese-American actress, known for her roles as Emma on the CBS sitcom '' The Great Indoors'', Mandy on ''Upload'' and Emma on ''Dave''. Before her success in America, she had a brief career in Taiwa ...

as Nina Lin (season 2), Bunny's protégé and the Arconia's new board president * Ariel Shafir as Ivan (season 2), a server at Bunny's regular diner *

Paul Rudd Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame i ...

as Ben Glenroy (season 3; guest season 2), a theater actor who dies while performing on stage

Guest

* Adriane Lenox as Roberta, Oliver's ex-wife * Sting as a fictionalized version of himself (season 1), an Arconia resident *

Roy Wood Jr. Roy Norris Wood Jr. (born December 11, 1978) is an American humorist, stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian, radio personality, actor, producer, podcaster, and writer best known for his correspondent appearances on ''The Daily Show with Trevor Noah ...

and Jacob Ming-Trent as Vaughn and Lucian (season 1), hosts of a horticulture podcast who give Charles and Oliver a ride * Jimmy Fallon as himself (season 1) *

Mandy Gonzalez Mandy Gonzalez (born August 22, 1978)Mandy Gonzalez
on

Jane Lynch Jane Marie Lynch (born July 14, 1960) is an American actress, comedian and author. She is known for starring as Sue Sylvester in the musical comedy series '' Glee'' (2009–2015), which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. Lynch also gained recog ...

as Sazz Pataki, Charles' stunt double *

Amy Schumer Amy Beth Schumer (born June 1, 1981) is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She ventured into comedy in the early 2000s before appearing as a contestant on the fifth season of the NBC reality competition series ''Last Comic Standing'' ...

as a fictionalized version of herself (season 2). She moves into Sting's former apartment and proposes a TV series to Oliver based on their podcast. * Ben Livingston as Charles' late father (season 2) * Shirley MacLaine as Rose Cooper (season 2), Charles' father's lover and painter, who pretended to be Bunny's mother, Leonora Folger. *

Andrea Martin Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and ''Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), ''W ...

as Joy (season 2), Charles' longtime makeup artist and love interest *

Mark Consuelos Mark Andrew Consuelos (; born March 30, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Mateo Santos on the ABC soap opera ''All My Children'' (1995–2001; 2010) and as Hiram Lodge on The CW drama '' Riverdale'' (2017–2021) ...

as Mabel's late father (season 2) * Jason Veasey as Jonathan, Howard's neighbor and love interest (season 2)

Episodes

Season 1 (2021)

Season 2 (2022)

Production

Development

In January 2020, it was announced that

and Martin Short would star in an untitled Hulu series, created by Martin and John Hoffman, with Martin, Short, and Hoffman as executive producers, alongside

Dan Fogelman Dan Fogelman (born February 19, 1976) is an American television producer and screenwriter whose screenplays include ''Cars'', ''Tangled'', and ''Crazy, Stupid, Love''. He also created the 2012 television sitcom '' The Neighbors'', the 2015 fairy ...

, with

20th Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Compa ...

serving as the studio. On September 14, 2021, Hulu renewed the series for a second season. On July 11, 2022, the series was renewed for a third season.

Casting

Alongside the initial announcement, it was announced Martin and Short would star in the series. In August 2020,

joined the cast and also serves as an executive producer. In November 2020, Aaron Dominguez joined the cast in a series regular role. In January 2021,

joined the cast in a series regular role and

joined the cast in a recurring role. On December 1, 2021, it was reported that

joined the cast as a series regular for the second season. On January 12, 2022, Short announced that Shirley MacLaine and

were cast to guest star for the second season. On February 11, 2022,

joined the cast in a recurring role for the second season. On October 25, 2022, Jesse Williams was cast in a recurring capacity for the third season.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

for the first season began on December 3, 2020, in New York City, and concluded in April 2021.

The Belnord The Belnord is an apartment building at Broadway and 86th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is a New York City Landmark and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Construction The Belnor ...

was used for exterior shots of the Arconia. Filming of the second season began on December 1, 2021. Filming for the third season is set to begin in January 2023.

Music

A digital album for the score was released on August 27, 2021, four days before the series' debut. On July 15, 2022, the original song that was played briefly in the season 2 episode "Here's Looking at You", "Angel in Flip-Flops", was released online. It was performed by Steve Martin as his character Charles-Haden Savage and written by Martin and

Kirker Butler Kirker Butler is an American writer, who has written and produced shows such as '' Family Guy'', ''The Cleveland Show'', '' The Neighbors (2012 TV series)'', ''Galavant'', and '' Life in Pieces''. Career Butler joined ''Family Guy'' in 2004, an ...

, with

Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian singer, composer, actor, author, comedian, and multi-instrumentalist who served as David Letterman's musical director, band leader, and sidekick on the entire run of both ''Late Ni ...

as producer. An album for season 2 was released on August 12, 2022.

Release

''Only Murders in the Building'' premiered on August 31, 2021, on

. Internationally, the series premiered on the same day on

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

under the dedicated streaming hub

Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

, as an

original series Original programming (also called originals or original programs, and subcategorized as "original series", "original movies", "original documentaries" and "original specials") is a term used for in-house television, film or web series productions ...

, and on

Star+ A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...

in Latin America. Disney+ Hotstar released the series in select territories on September 3, 2021. On Disney+, Disney+ Hotstar, and Star+, ''Only Murders in the Building'' episodes were scheduled to debut on a weekly basis. The second season premiered on June 28, 2022.

Reception

Audience viewership

On September 3, 2021, it was reported that ''Only Murders in the Building'' set a record for the most-watched comedy premiere in Hulu history. On October 28, 2021, Hulu Originals president Craig Erwich said in an interview with ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

'' that the show had become the most-watched comedy ever on Hulu "by a good measure." In the same article, ''Vulture'' reported that, according to Parrot Analytics, the show went from having about 16 times the audience demand in the U.S. as an average show when it debuted on August 31 to generating 37 times typical demand by the time the season 1 finale dropped on October 19. This meant that the day after the finale the show ranked as high as 14th on the list of most in-demand shows in the U.S. and signaled a "massive" 135% growth rate that according to Erwich is mainly attributable to word of mouth. According to the streaming aggregator JustWatch, ''Only Murders in the Building'' was the most-streamed TV series across all U.S. platforms during the week ending October 24, 2021, and second during the week ending October 31, 2021. According to Parrot Analytics, which looks at consumer engagement in consumer research, streaming, downloads, and on social media, ''Only Murders in the Building'' was the third-most in-demand streaming original series in the U.S. during the week of August 13 to 19, 2022, as well as during the week of August 20 to 26. According to

Whip Media Whip Media Group is a private American company selling enterprise software for content distribution, as well as TV- and film-related user data. It operates physical offices in the US, the UK, and the EU. Background Whip Media Group is the result ...

, it was the most-streamed TV series across all U.S. platforms during the week ending August 7, 2022, and during the week of August 28. According to the streaming aggregator JustWatch, it was the third-most streamed TV series across all U.S. platforms during the week ending July 3, 2022.

Critical response

For the first season,

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8/10, based on 105 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "''Only Murders in the Building''s silly approach to true crime obsessives is at once hilarious and insightful, thanks in large part to its extremely charming central trio."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

gave the first season a weighted average score of 76 out of 100 based on 34 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Kristen Baldwin of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' gave the first season a "B" grade and wrote, "''Only Murders'' delivers above-average laughs, a clever mystery, and a starry cast. But it's hard to shake the feeling that the show missed an opportunity to be something special." Reviewing for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'',

Alan Sepinwall Alan Sepinwall (born October 19, 1973) is an American television reviewer and writer. He spent 14 years as a columnist with ''The Star-Ledger'' in Newark until leaving the newspaper in 2010 to work for the entertainment news website HitFix. He ...

gave a rating of four and a half out of five stars and said, "The series soon turns out to belike ''

The Princess Bride The Princess Bride may refer to: * ''The Princess Bride'' (novel), 1973 fantasy romance novel by American writer William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He ...

'', ''

Galaxy Quest ''Galaxy Quest'' is a 1999 American science fiction comedy film directed by Dean Parisot and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. A parody of and homage to science-fiction films and series, especially ''Star Trek'' and its fandom, the ...

'', or ''

Jane the Virgin ''Jane the Virgin'' is an American romantic comedy-drama and satirical telenovela developed by Jennie Snyder Urman. The series premiered October 13, 2014, on The CW and concluded on July 31, 2019. It is a loose adaptation of the Venezuelan t ...

''that rare and wonderful thing: the parody that also offers a great example of the genuine article." For the second season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 98% approval rating with an average rating of 8.05/10, based on 110 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus states, "''Only Murders in the Building'' gets a new lease on life with a knottier sophomore outing that retains the series' core charm and wit." Metacritic gave the second season a weighted average score of 79 out of 100 based on 25 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Accolades

The seventh episode of the first season was given the Seal of Authentic Representation from the

Ruderman Family Foundation The Ruderman Family Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation established in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, managed by the Ruderman family. The foundation operates in the US and in Israel in two main areas: inclusion of people w ...

for the portrayal of Theo by James Caverly, as an actor with a disability and at least five lines of dialogue. The first season was recognized with

The ReFrame Stamp The ReFrame Stamp for Gender-Balanced Production certification is awarded by ReFrame to corporations and media that show progress toward gender equality and greater representation of women in key roles. History On June 8, 2018, the ReFrame Stam ...

for hiring people of underrepresented gender identities, and of color.

Notes

References

External links

* *
Official pilot screenplay
{{Hulu Only Murders in the Building 2020s American comedy-drama television series 2020s American mystery television series 2020s American LGBT-related comedy television series 2020s American LGBT-related drama television series 2021 American television series debuts English-language television shows Television series created by Steve Martin Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Murder in television Television shows filmed in New York City Television shows set in Manhattan Bisexuality-related television series Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series