Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

Charles, Oliver and Mabel jump at the chance to investigate when businessman Tim Kono is murdered in their New York apartment building – what is this if not the perfect opportunity to launch a true-crime podcast? Has-been TV star Charles reckons it could revive his career, down-on-hisluck musical theatre producer Oliver is hoping for a lucrative sponsorship so he doesn’t get evicted, and Mabel… Why is Mabel hanging out with two men more than twice her age?

Father of the Bride fans will know that Steve Martin and Martin Short have great on-screen rapport, but in fact it is Selena Gomez as Mabel who steals the show. Their significant age difference provides a lot of comic fodder, and Selena, with her deadpan quips and knitting-needle murder fantasies, delivers some of the best lines in the show. For example: ‘I mean, a murderer probably lives in the building, but I guess old white guys are only afraid of colon cancer and societal change.’

Their suspects include music superstar Sting, who lives in their building and inexplicably hates Oliver’s dog; the mysterious ‘tie-dye guy’, who was seen slipping back into the building just before the murder; and (rather inconveniently) their podcast sponsor, played by Nathan Lane. Jane Lynch also makes an appearance as Charles’s one-time stunt double, and Tina Fey is perfectly cast as celeb podcaster Cinda Canning. Only Murders in the Building ends on a cliffhanger, so I can’t wait for Season 2.

To watch Hulu in South Africa, subscribe to a reliable VPN provider that can unblock Hulu, install its app or browser extension, register, and connect to a US server from the servers’ list.