The entire 10-episode first season of Only Murders in the Building is available to watch on Hulu. Below is a spoiler-free review.
Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez play a mismatched trio of amateur sleuths in Hulu's charmingly wicked Only Murders in the Building. Now that the show's first season finale, "Open and Shut," has aired and the introductory mystery's been put to bed, we're doing an official review of the run as Only Murders is one of the most whimsical, wise, and venomous shows of 2021.
Previously a weekly release, Only Murders is now available for Season 1 binging for those who don't enjoy waiting too long between episodes when a puzzle is being pieced together and justice is on the line. The series is a pulpy patchwork of pleasantries, from besties Martin and Martin collaborating once again, to the inclusion of 40-years-their-junior (but still a showbiz veteran) Gomez, to the mild love letter being written to historic courtyarded New York co-ops, to an expertly executed meta through line about crafting a podcast (that also includes some fourth wall-breaking).
Only Murders in the Building is a winner, and even if you're able to get ahead of the "whodunnit" aspect a few episodes before the reveal, you'll enjoy being in this world so much that it won't matter.
With Season 2 already a go (and currently in production), Only Murders will return with more ghoulish goings-on at the Arconia, though this first season's only notable drawback is the finale's split-focus: resolving the murder of Julian Cihi's prickly loner Tim Kono (the main murder mystery) while simultaneously setting up next year's misadventures. But that's indicative of most season enders, to be fair. And, in fact, if you look back through Season 1, there are plenty of moments that solidly point to where the show is headed in Season 2. Heck, the series even opens with a flash-forward look ahead at where everything lands.
Only Murders works on multiple levels. Firstly, it stands as a joyous showcase for two elder icons of comedy, and then as a warm friendship tale involving three outcasts, each inhabiting their own fair share of loneliness and self-imposed isolation, learning to open up and experience life again. Steve Martin's socially anxious actor, Charles; Martin Short's extravagant and flighty director, Oliver; and Selena Gomez's closed-off artist, Mabel, bond over their true-crime podcast addiction, and then quickly congeal as misfits trying to distract themselves by playing detective in their own building after a neighbor turns up dead.
What begins as a lark for our heroes becomes a bonding journey that winds up in equal, if not greater, standing than the solving of the case itself. Their separate peculiarities and backstories, along with their collective delusion of podcast glory, make for a captivating team who are drawn together despite Mabel's age difference. Along the way, there are red herrings, dead ends, twists, and betrayals that not only make for a fun case, but also coat the entire series with a medium-within-the-medium element as Oliver leads them all through creating a podcast that grabs people with great traditional storytelling — despite the fact that they're supposedly tackling real life.
Nathan Lane and Amy Ryan are featured in formidable recurring roles, Tina Fey pops in for a cameo (that may get a bit more screen time in Season 2), and rock star Sting has a grand time playing a fictionalized version of himself. Siddhartha Khosla's melodic score makes for a bouncy ear-worm that's haunting enough to accompany doom and dread while also being malleable enough to make its way into other pieces that accentuate camaraderie and romance.
Akin to Wes Anderson, Steve Martin and co-creator John Hoffman (Looking, Grace & Frankie) have delivered a hilarious and heartfelt bit of R-rated whimsey that occasionally presents itself like a dream, or even a recollection. Characters address the audience, evening speaking from beyond the grave, as the show sometimes lets you know it's aware of your own addiction to true crime and solving cases from your couch.