TV Review - Only Murders in the Building

Steve Martin and John Hoffman created this series about a group of people creating a podcast. It's not the first series starring a podcaster. Truth Be Told (2019) was about a podcaster. That series was on Apple TV+, which makes sense because Apple Computer was the company that coined the term "podcast." However, Apple TV wasn't the first to do a show about podcasters. ABC jumped on that bandwagon first with Alex, Inc. (2018). Shows and films featuring podcasters as brief characters have been spread about, but a show where the protagonist is a podcaster is rare. Alex, Inc. is more about podcasting in a more corporate environment. This one is more about podcasting independently or guerilla style. Because it's Steve Martin, it's podcasting with a lot of comedic stumbling. The humor is such that it walks a fine line of mocking the creation of podcasts and the culture around it to a loving appreciation of the power of the medium.

Steve Martin stars as Charles-Haden Savage, an aging actor who was on a hit detective show back in the 80's. He seems to be mostly retired and living in a luxury apartment building in Manhattan called the Arconia. Charles is a personable and charming guy who likes interacting with fans. He'll stop to take pictures or sign autographs, but he does have a bit of a social issue, particularly in the romance department. He lives alone in his apartment and doesn't seem to have a social life or a family life. In fact, it's arguable how personable he really is, as he also seems to be a bit alienated from his neighbors in the Arconia. The only neighbor of interest is a beautiful, age-appropriate woman named Jan, played by Amy Ryan (Birdman and Gone Baby Gone), a bassoonist.

Martin Short co-stars as Oliver Putnam, a Broadway director who lives in the Arconia, but he hasn't been as successful in theater as Charles has been in television. His last show, which was financed by a producer who also lives in the Arconia, failed miserably. He's in trouble because of it and is having trouble paying his bills, like his rent at the Arconia. He's desperate to get another show, but when a death occurs at the Arconia, Oliver suspects that it was a murder and decides to make a podcast about it. He gets Charles to be the host and they investigate the death to see who the guilty party is.

Selena Gomez also co-stars as Mabel Mora, a young woman whose profession isn't really known. She says she's living in the apartment of her aunt. She learns that Oliver and Charles are investigating the death. She's the opposite of both of them in terms of personality. She doesn't seem to be as personable. In fact, she can be very cynical and sardonic in her tone. A lot of the comedy on her part is her one-liners or reactions to their age and ignorance to certain things. Her humor is the equivalent to "OK boomer."

When it comes to the OK boomer comedy, most of it is directed at Charles. Oliver is a boomer but he's not as much of an anathema to Millennials as Charles can be. For Oliver, his comedy stems from his slight narcissism and his obsession with doing whatever it takes to produce the show. Watching the three of them bounce off each other is funny and makes the initial episodes entertaining. However, as the series goes along, it eventually has to deal with the murder and unfortunately, the murder mystery isn't that engaging or interesting.

What was engaging or interesting was when the show delved or revealed more about the personal lives of its main characters. Seeing Charles go out on a date with Jan and having him explain his social issues. Learning that Oliver has an African-American son named Will, played by Ryan Broussard, was cool. Besides Will living in New Jersey and being a veterinarian, the series didn't go any further in the relationship between Oliver and his son, Will. Perhaps, that's something for Season 2, but I felt the lacking here. The personal life of Mabel gets broached. We get some scenes with her so-called "Hardy Boys" like Oscar aka tie dye guy, played by Aaron Dominguez. Those scenes don't feel like enough to grasp the relationship Mabel has with any of the other young people in the Arconia.

There are of course some funny scenes, such as the ones with Tina Fey who plays a podcasting impresario. Another involved a reference to Christopher Meloni. There are even some great bits with Nathan Lane who plays Teddy Dimas, the producer that Oliver knows and who helps fund the podcast. Teddy has a deaf son named Theo, played by James Caverly who is deaf in real-life. Seeing Teddy's relationship with Theo and giving a deaf actor some exciting things to do on-screen were all great. I even like Da'Vine Joy Randolph who plays a Black lesbian police detective. The series stars two old white men but has the foresight to surround them with an interesting diverse cast. However, the two old white men are the main characters and the drop-off in my interest in them wasn't good. My drop-off in my interest in the murder mystery wasn't good either.

Rated TV-MA.
Running Time: 30 mins. / 10 eps.

Available on Hulu.