Steve Martin. Martin Short. Selena Gomez. It sounds like the setup for a joke that shouldn't work, yet Only Murders in the Building turned into the most unexpected powerhouse on Hulu. Honestly, if you told someone ten years ago that a show about three neighbors starting a true-crime podcast in an Upper West Side apartment building would become a multi-season phenomenon, they’d probably think it was a niche PBS special. It isn't. It’s a masterclass in tone.
The show lives or dies on the chemistry of its leads. You've got Charles-Haden Savage (Martin), a washed-up TV detective from the 90s, Oliver Putnam (Short), a theater director whose ego outpaces his bank account, and Mabel Mora (Gomez), a dry-witted millennial with a secretive past. They are the Arconia's oddest trio.
How Only Murders in the Building Revived the Cozy Mystery
We’ve seen enough gritty, dark crime dramas to last a lifetime. People are tired of the rain-slicked streets and the brooding detectives who hate their lives. Only Murders in the Building flipped the script by embracing the "cozy mystery" aesthetic. It’s warm. It’s colorful. It feels like wearing a cashmere sweater while someone talks about a gruesome stabbing.
The Arconia itself is basically a character. It's modeled after real-life legendary New York City apartment buildings like The Ansonia or The Belnord. In fact, the exterior shots you see in the show are filmed at The Belnord on 86th Street. This setting creates a closed-loop environment. It’s a "locked-room" mystery expanded to an entire city block. Everyone is a suspect because everyone shares a wall.
It’s also surprisingly meta. The show doesn't just feature a podcast; it comments on our collective obsession with true crime. We are the audience, and we are also the characters. When the trio gets obsessed with Tim Kono’s death in Season 1, they are mirroring the way people spend hours on Reddit threads dissecting real-life cases. It’s a bit of a wink at the viewer. "Yeah, we know you're weird for liking this," the show seems to say. "We are too."
The Evolution of the Trio
The dynamic shifts constantly. In the beginning, Charles and Oliver were the relics, and Mabel was the bridge to the modern world. But as the seasons progressed—especially moving into the Hollywood-centric Season 4—the lines blurred. Selena Gomez brings a grounded, almost heavy energy that prevents Martin and Short from floating away into pure slapstick. Without her, the show might be too "vaudeville." With her, it feels real.
Steve Martin and Martin Short have been friends for decades, dating back to Three Amigos. You can't fake that kind of timing. They know exactly when to step on each other’s lines and when to let a look linger. It’s effortless.
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Realism vs. TV Magic at the Arconia
The show gets a lot of things right about New York living, but let's be real: those apartments are insane. Oliver Putnam is supposed to be broke, yet he lives in a multi-million dollar sprawling unit with high ceilings and custom molding. That’s the "TV magic" part. But the show handles the social politics of a high-end co-op brilliantly. The board meetings, the grumpy neighbors like Bunny Folger, and the constant friction between residents—that’s pure Manhattan.
If you’ve ever lived in a building with a "mosey" neighbor, you get it.
Why Guest Stars Love This Show
The list of cameos and recurring roles is genuinely ridiculous. Meryl Streep. Paul Rudd. Nathan Lane. Amy Schumer. Sting played himself! This happens because the show is a safe space for high-level actors to be weird. Meryl Streep’s turn as Loretta Durkin, a struggling actress who finally gets her break late in life, wasn't just a cameo; it was a deeply felt performance that earned her award nominations.
The writing team, led by John Hoffman and Steve Martin, treats these characters with respect. Even the murder victims aren't just props. Through flashbacks, we actually get to know people like Bunny or Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd). It makes the eventual reveal of the killer hit harder because you actually feel the loss of the victim.
The Impact of the Season 4 Move to Los Angeles
There was a lot of chatter about whether the show would lose its soul by heading to LA. The Arconia is the heart of the series. Moving the action to California for the movie-within-a-show plotline was a risk. It changed the lighting, the pacing, and the vibe.
Ultimately, it served as a critique of how Hollywood sanitizes stories. Seeing Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, and Eva Longoria play "movie versions" of Charles, Oliver, and Mabel was a brilliant way to explore the trio's insecurities. Charles worries he's boring. Oliver wants to be a star. Mabel worries she has no identity outside of the murders. It’s character development disguised as a Hollywood satire.
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Breaking Down the Mystery Mechanics
Each season follows a strict structure, yet it never feels formulaic.
- The Hook: Someone dies, usually right as the previous mystery ends.
- The Red Herrings: At least three characters are framed or look incredibly guilty by episode five.
- The Podcast: The trio records their progress, which serves as the show's narration.
- The Reveal: The killer is usually someone hiding in plain sight, often driven by a surprisingly human motive rather than pure psychopathy.
It’s a "whodunnit" in the purest sense, reminiscent of Agatha Christie but with more jokes about dips. Oliver’s obsession with dips—specifically hummus and pita—is a recurring gag that somehow never gets old. It’s these small, specific character quirks that make the show feel like a real world rather than a set.
What Other Shows Can Learn From the Arconia Trio
The success of Only Murders in the Building proves that there is a massive market for "adult" comedies that don't rely on cynicism. The show is genuinely heart-warming. It deals with loneliness, aging, and the fear of being irrelevant.
Charles's struggle with his stunt double, Sazz Pataki (played brilliantly by Jane Lynch), is a perfect example. Sazz isn't just a gag; she’s Charles’s shadow. Her death in the Season 3 finale set up a Season 4 that was much more emotional than people expected. It forced Charles to confront his own mortality and the fact that he’s not the hero of his own story—his stunt double was.
The Fashion and Visual Identity
We have to talk about the coats. The costume design by Dana Covarrubias has influenced real-world trends. Mabel’s yellow faux-fur coat and her chunky knits became an instant aesthetic. The colors are intentional. Charles wears cool blues and grays (stagnant, safe). Oliver wears vibrant purples and patterns (theatrical, desperate for attention). Mabel wears marigolds and deep reds (vibrant but guarded).
The visual language tells you who they are before they even speak. That's high-level production.
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Navigating the Future of the Series
As the show heads into its fifth season, the challenge is avoiding "murder fatigue." How many people can realistically die in one building? The writers have started branching out, using the "only murders" title more as a brand than a literal rule. By involving the characters in the broader world of Broadway and Hollywood, they’ve bought themselves more time.
The core tension will always be the podcast. Eventually, the law catches up. Eventually, the ethics of profiting off your neighbors' deaths have to be addressed. The show has touched on this, but it hasn't fully dived into the "dark side" of the trio's hobby yet. That might be where the real drama lies in the later years.
Practical Insights for Fans and Aspiring Sleuths
If you're watching the show and trying to solve the mystery along with the characters, pay attention to the opening credits. Every single episode features a slight change in the animated title sequence that hints at the plot of that specific half-hour. It’s a rewarding detail for the "obsessive" fans the show lovingly parodies.
For those looking to capture a bit of that Arconia energy in real life, the show teaches us a few things:
- Talk to your neighbors. You don't need to solve a murder, but there’s a whole world behind the doors on your hallway.
- Collaborate across generations. The best ideas often happen when someone with institutional knowledge (Charles/Oliver) works with someone who has a fresh perspective (Mabel).
- Don't take yourself too seriously. Even in the middle of a crisis, there’s usually room for a good dip.
The real magic of Only Murders in the Building isn't the mystery. It’s the idea that it’s never too late to start over, find new friends, or become the person you were always supposed to be. Even if that person is a true-crime podcaster with a penchant for theatrical flair.
To get the most out of your next rewatch, pay close attention to the background noise and the props in Charles’s apartment. The show frequently hides clues in plain sight—like the painting in Season 2 or the scripts in Season 4—well before the characters actually find them. Keeping a "clue board" of your own isn't just a fun way to engage; it’s actually how the show is designed to be consumed. Look for the deliberate color shifts in the cinematography whenever a character is lying; the palette often cools down significantly. This level of detail is why the show remains a gold standard for modern television comedy-dramas.