Nobody expected it to work. Honestly, on paper, a show about three strangers starting a true-crime podcast in a swanky Upper West Side apartment building sounds like a recipe for a "middle-of-the-road" streaming filler. But then you saw the cast of Only Murders in the Building season 1 on the screen. It was weird. It was jarring. Steve Martin, Martin Short, and... Selena Gomez? It felt like a glitch in the simulation.
Yet, that friction is exactly why the show exploded. When it premiered on Hulu in 2021, it wasn't just another mystery; it was a masterclass in cross-generational chemistry. You had two comedy legends who have been riffing off each other since Three Amigos in 1986, paired with a Disney alum who brought a dry, millennial cynicism that kept the old guys from floating off into slapstick space.
The Trio That Anchored the Arconia
Let’s talk about Steve Martin. He plays Charles-Haden Savage. Charles is a washed-up actor famous for a 90s procedural called Brazzos. Martin plays him with this incredible, stiff-necked anxiety. He’s a guy who makes omelets for people who aren't there. It’s sad, but Martin finds the humor in the loneliness. He’s the "straight man," but he’s also deeply weird.
Then you have Martin Short as Oliver Putnam. Oliver is a disaster. He’s a Broadway director who hasn't had a hit in decades—mostly because he tried to put on a musical version of Splash with real water that ended in a literal flood. Short is a firecracker. He brings this frantic, desperate energy that balances Martin’s stillness. He’s always one "dip" away from a total breakdown.
Then there’s Mabel Mora. Selena Gomez was the wildcard. If she didn't work, the show would have been a nostalgic circle-jerk for Boomers. Instead, Gomez played Mabel with a low-energy, deadpan vibe that made her feel like the only adult in the room. She’s secretive. She has a traumatic past involving the "Hardy Boys" (her childhood friend group). Her chemistry with the "Olds," as she calls them, is built on a shared obsession with a podcast hosted by Cinda Canning.
The Supporting Players You Forgot Were There
The cast of Only Murders in the Building season 1 didn't stop with the big three. The Arconia is a character itself, and its residents are the lifeblood of the mystery.
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Amy Ryan as Jan Bellows is a standout. She starts as a charming bassoonist who catches Charles’s eye. Watching them date is genuinely sweet, which makes the eventual reveal—spoiler alert for a four-year-old show—that she’s a sociopathic murderer so much more jarring. Ryan plays the "girl next door" so well that you ignore the red flags, like her weird competitive nature about being the "first chair" bassoonist.
And then we have Nathan Lane. He plays Teddy Dimas, the deli king of New York and the guy who funds the podcast. Lane is usually known for high-energy comedy, but here he’s menacing. His relationship with his deaf son, Theo (played by James Caverly), provides one of the most innovative episodes in modern TV history. "The Boy from 6B" is almost entirely silent, told from Theo’s perspective. It shifted the show from a "cozy mystery" to a legitimate prestige drama for thirty minutes.
The Resident Suspects
- Jackie Hoffman as Uma Heller: She’s the grumpy neighbor we all have. Her insults are surgical.
- Michael Cyril Creighton as Howard Morris: The man loves his cat, Evelyn. Even after Evelyn dies. He’s high-strung and carries a lot of the show's cult-favorite energy.
- Zane Reis as Tim Kono: The victim. We mostly see him in flashbacks, but he’s the catalyst for the whole thing. He was lonely, disliked, and held the keys to a decade-old secret.
- Da'Vine Joy Randolph as Detective Williams: She’s the bridge to the "real" world. She hates the podcasters but eventually realizes they might actually be onto something. Randolph brings a much-needed groundedness to the whimsical chaos.
Why the Casting Felt Different
Most shows try to find actors who "fit" together. Only Murders found actors who shouldn't fit.
The contrast is the point. When Charles and Oliver are arguing about how to use a smartphone or what "AF" means, Mabel is there to roll her eyes. But the writing respects all of them. It doesn't treat the older men as idiots, and it doesn't treat Mabel as a shallow youth. They are all united by a singular, slightly unhealthy obsession with death and storytelling.
The guest stars also added a layer of "New York Elite" realism. Sting played himself. Having a rock legend as a prime suspect because he’s "not a fan of dogs" is the kind of specific, absurd writing that only works if the actor is game. Sting was game.
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The Cinda Canning Factor
We have to mention Tina Fey. As Cinda Canning, she’s the "Queen of True Crime." She’s a thinly veiled parody of Sarah Koenig or any high-level podcast mogul. She’s cold, calculated, and owns a literal army of assistants who look exactly like her. Her presence in the first season serves as the "north star" for our heroes. They want to be her, even though she clearly looks down on them. It’s a brilliant bit of meta-casting.
Technical Mastery in Performance
The cast of Only Murders in the Building season 1 had to navigate a tonal tightrope. The show is a comedy, but the stakes are a dead young man and a woman in prison for a crime she didn't commit.
The acting reflects this. When Selena Gomez talks about her dead friend Zoe, she isn't doing a bit. She’s grieving. When Steve Martin realizes Jan is the killer, the look of betrayal on his face is devastating. It’s not "funny" in that moment. That's the secret sauce. If the actors didn't take the mystery seriously, the audience wouldn't either.
What This Cast Taught the Industry
Before this show, streamers were obsessed with "youth-oriented" content. Only Murders proved that an intergenerational cast could pull in everyone from Gen Z to retirees. It revived the "cozy mystery" genre (think Murder, She Wrote) but gave it a modern, cynical edge.
The success of the season 1 cast paved the way for the massive cameos in later seasons—Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd, Eugene Levy. But none of that would matter if the core chemistry of Martin, Short, and Gomez wasn't bulletproof. They established the rhythm. The "two-person banter plus one observer" formula is now a blueprint for dozens of other shows trying to capture this lightning in a bottle.
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Key Takeaways for Fans and Writers
If you’re looking back at why this specific group of people worked so well, it comes down to three things:
- Vulnerability: Every main character is a "loser" in some way. They are all looking for a second act.
- Timing: The show arrived when people were stuck at home, consuming true crime at record rates. It poked fun at us while entertaining us.
- Contrast: You cannot have the zany energy of Martin Short without the stillness of Selena Gomez. They are the chemical reagents that make the reaction happen.
To truly appreciate the cast of Only Murders in the Building season 1, you have to watch the small moments. Watch how Steve Martin uses his physical comedy skills just to make a sandwich. Look at how Selena Gomez uses her eyes to show she’s actually starting to care about these two old men, even when she’s calling them "boomers."
Actionable Next Steps for Fans
If you've just finished Season 1 or you're planning a rewatch, here is how to get the most out of the experience:
- Listen to the soundtrack: Nicholas Britell’s score is as much a cast member as the actors. It sets the "whimsical-but-dark" tone perfectly.
- Watch for the background clues: The opening credits change every single episode. There are tiny visual hints about the plot hidden in the animation of the Arconia.
- Pay attention to the "Brazzos" references: A lot of the skills Charles uses to "solve" crimes are actually just bad acting tropes he learned on his old show.
- Check out "The Boy from 6B" again: Even if you’ve seen it, watch it with the sound off (as intended) to see how James Caverly and Nathan Lane communicate emotion through signing and facial expressions alone.
The magic of the first season wasn't just the "who dunnit." It was the "who are they." By the time the credits rolled on the finale, we didn't just want to know who killed Tim Kono; we wanted to spend another ten hours in an elevator with a failed director, a lonely actor, and a girl with a knitting needle.