By Panagiota Katsaveli,
Crime, murders, and missing people leading the way is an area that deeply fascinates the public eye. Thus, many products of entertainment are targeted towards this desire to consume material based on crime cases, whether they are true or fictional. An abundance of podcasts, TV shows, movies, YouTube videos, etc. are constantly being created with this intention and the tone due to the nature of the topic is more serious and formal. However, this year, a TV show managed to perfectly combine the element of comedy with a murder investigation. This show is none other than Only Murders in the Building (2021-), and it is time to get familiar with it, if you have not already done so!
Starting from the core of this show, it is captivating and full of plot twists. It is an American mystery-comedy streaming television series, that follows the lives of three random neighbors obsessed with true crime podcasts. In the affluent Upper West Side, an apartment building called “The Arconia“, in which the three strangers reside, the murder of a young man takes place under mysterious circumstances. The three unlikely friends and partners decide to work on the case and start their own true-crime podcast covering it, after the police rule it as suicide. Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), an actor who was the star of the popular 1990s detective drama TV series Brazzos and lives in 14C at the Arconia, Oliver Putnam (Martin Short), a financially struggling Broadway director who spawns the idea of the podcast and lives in 10D, and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez), a young woman who lives in 12E, a refurnished unit that she is renovating for her aunt are determined to get to the bottom of this case regardless of the consequences. Relationships, ghosts from the past, and disclosures about the building, its people, and its history manage to keep the audience on their toes and produce an engaging crime thriller that was hailed by both the audience and critics.
Even though many might claim that the show is full of clichés and non-innovative plots, it is not this element that made it stand out compared to other shows of this kind. The show stands out, because it works on many levels and entails many different elements that create a mosaic — a perfect combination of unique characteristics. In the beginning, it seems like it could function as a satire for true-crime podcasts since the policewoman dismisses the three protagonists as “clueless crime junkies”, who are simply too obsessed with true-crime podcasts. As it turns out, though, it is their efforts and investigation that make the truth shine. Also, the fans of the podcast The three tenants of the Arconia start seeming to be people who lack a personal life and simply focus on the podcasts; this is a characteristic that is judged up to a point by others, but they end up providing crucial insight on the case.
It is important to note that the podcast is not only a focal point of the plot, but also helps it move forward, since the release of its episodes affects the development of the story. Moreover, the show is full of comedic elements that make it more lighthearted, given its darker story (a murder). One of the main troops exploited is the gap between generations, taking under consideration the age gap between Charles and Oliver, but also the fact that Mabel is non-negligible. The different ways they deal with situations because of that, and their distinct mindsets set them apart perfectly while bringing them closer at the same time. Lastly, the final episode entails the involvement of the deceased character, Tim Cono, which adds theatricality and vividness to the show. The character is able to narrate a part of his story and have his perspective known. The viewers are not simply exposed to the ideas of others of him, and they can get a taste for themselves about his character. The combination of these and much more make this show such a fun experience.
The most interesting thing about this show, which is a true innovation, is its inclusion of an episode with no audible dialogue and no actual sound. One of the recurring characters of the show, one of the building’s residents named Theo Dimas, is deaf and uses ASL to communicate. The show does not simply show him and other characters with whom he comes into contact use ASL, but it goes as far as to show the world the way he experiences reality. The episode that revolves around him and his involvement in the story has no audible dialogue and it contains heavy use of ASL by the characters who know it. The whole episode, even the interactions that do not involve this character, are covered by silence, and subtitles are provided for the viewers to read their exchanges. The episode is solely based on the visual elements, and this helps the audience understand how different things become when there is a lack of one element we often take for granted. The silence manages to create an effect of tension and mystery that benefits the storyline, and it is an interesting addition to the show. It differentiates it, adds a sense of inclusivity, and is an amazing twist to otherwise mundane episodes.
After a successful first season, the network decided to renew the show for a second season. The second season, as it has been known, is currently under production, and the introduction to its plot has already been established by the final episode of the first season. The show started and ended with the same scene, having a full-circle moment, which will be further explained in the new season. Upon successfully ending the Tim Cono murder investigation, the three protagonists are faced with another murder in their building, and this time they find themselves in dark waters. Even though I do not intend to give out any spoilers, the scene that opened the series is repeated, as Oliver and Charles run to Mabel and find her hunched over Bunny’s (another Arconia resident) dead body, covered in blood. While the Arconia inhabitants and others watch, the trio is brought out of the Arconia in handcuffs. The second season has already started filming on December 1st, 2021, and its release cannot come soon enough.
All in all, it is clear that the TV series Only Murders in the Building by Hulu is, without a doubt, one of the biggest hits of 2021 when it comes to TV productions. The captivating and full of twists storyline manages to make the show stand out and earned it another chance to continue its creative vision with a second season. If you have not watched it already, I cannot stress it enough that you check out this intriguing show. I, for one, cannot wait for the second installment of the series!
References
- Only Murders in the Building review – Steve Martin’s hit-and-miss whodunnit, theguardian.com, Available here
- Only Murders in the Building plays like a Nora Ephron murder mystery, vox.com, Available here
