Hulu’s ‘Only Murders in the Building’ takes aim at true crime
“Only Murders in the Building,” a new Hulu series (streaming Aug. 31) about three true-crime obsessives who try to solve a murder themselves, is intriguing and twisty and self-referential and goofy, occasionally even a little lost.
Wait, that’s just Martin Short. He plays one of the three, along with his old friend and comedy touring partner Steve Martin – and Selena Gomez. Thus the intriguing part, not the combo you would expect. Which is a good thing.
It works. Of course, Martin and Short have a great rapport, a kind of comedic shorthand and flawless timing. But Gomez joins right in – a kind of deadpan, acerbic presence who keeps the other two in check and adds a much-appreciated contemporary contribution.
Gomez is funny, and gives her character a hard-won wisdom that plays nicely against Martin and Short.
Martin and John Hoffman created the show, in which Mabel (Gomez), Charles (Martin) and Oliver (Short) live in the Arconia, an apartment building in New York City.
Charles is the former star of a decadesold popular cop show; fans still recognize him, to his evident delight. Oliver is a Broadway director – the perfect role for Short, who excels at going over the top. Oliver loves to name drop, to remind everyone that he was someone once, and in his busy mind still is.
Mabel’s past is a little more mysterious.
What brings them together is, appropriately enough, a death in their building. Police think it’s a suicide, but Mabel, Charles and Oliver, who binge on truecrime podcasts, suspect foul play. They decide to try to prove this was murder and solve the crime – and, of course, make a podcast about their quest while they’re at it.
Thus the title, of both the show and their podcast. At one point, after a murder in Central Park, Oliver wonders if they should branch out and look into that, too. No, Charles insists. No outside murders. Only murders in the building.
There are all sorts of developments as they start to look into the victim and his life. And his death, naturally. Trust is an issue throughout, as is the slowly revealed pasts of the characters.
Da’vine Joy Randolph is laugh-outloud funny as a detective on the case. Nathan Lane plays a deli king with an interest in the arts and other things, the great Amy Ryan plays a bassoonist flirty with Charles, and Sting – yes, that Sting, what other Sting is there? – plays … Sting.
Kind of an angry version of Sting, in fact. The discussion among Charles, Oliver and Mabel about him is funny and revealing. Nothing in the show really matters unless it’s filtered through the three of them.