Only Murders in the Building – Hulu Review

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING on Hulu is a new comedic murder mystery. The series has a gorgeous vibe with brilliant dialogue and lots of twists. Half-hour episodes keep the pace sharp and get you hooked. Read our Only Murders in the Building series review here!

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING is a new series on Hulu. We’re getting a comedic murder-mystery with a true-crime podcast twist – which is almost a podcast spoof but still in a loving way. Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short play the three leads and they have a gorgeous vibe going with brilliant dialogue.

With its half-hour episodes, the pacing is on-point and since it premieres with the first three episodes, you’ll get enough to be hooked. I certainly was, but that happened about 10 minutes into the first episode.

Continue reading our Only Murders in the Building series review below and watch the first three episodes on Hulu now.

Hooked from the very beginning

I’ll be honest and say that I was completely hooked from the very beginning. That opening with a narrator setting the scene just works for me. When the opening monologue later becomes part of the story, I was completely in love with this series.

Of course, the pairing of Steve Martin and Martin Short is nothing new and it still works. The addition of Selena Gomez makes this particular Hulu series feel very current and fresh. Those jokes that land just a bit off with anyone under the age of 40 (or maybe 50) are saved by her reactions.

So you can laugh and be reminded that it’s old-school comedy that still works in some ways. Sometimes by the person telling the joke becoming part of the punchline!

The birth of a true-crime podcast

As you’ll probably know from the plot description (or the trailer), the three characters form a rather unexpected trio. They all have one thing in common; Listening to the same true-crime podcast (which is narrated by the awesome Tina Fey).

Obviously, the moment someone dies in their gorgeous Manhattan building, they decide to create their own true-crime podcast. So, you got a 90’s crime TV show star (Steve Martin), a Broadway director who loves the theater and theatrics (Martin Short), plus the mysterious young Mabel (Selena Gomez).

The three have nothing in common except their love for true crime. Also, their very diverse (to say the least) backgrounds and life experiences make up quite a strong team. Still, I’d definitely want Selena Gomez’s “Mabel” to run the investigation into my mysterious death. The other two are (so far) a bit too up their own butts to really pay attention to the case.

Then again, there might be a reason why Mabel (Selena Gomez) is much more invested. And that’s all I’m going to say about that.

Watch Only Murders in the Building on Hulu now!

This new Hulu series was created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman (Grace and Frankie, Looking). The starring trio of Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short are all executive producers. So are (among others) co-creator John Hoffman and director Jamie Babbit.

The ten episodes are directed by four different directors. Jamie Babbit (Santa Clarita Diet) is directing the bulk with four episodes and the remaining three each directing two episodes. The other three directors are Cherien Dabis (The Sinner, Ozark), Gillian Robespierre (Mrs. Fletcher), and Don Scardino (30 Rock).

The first three episodes of Only Murders in the Building are out on Hulu from August 31, 2021. Each Tuesday, a new episode will be released. There are a total of 10 episodes in the season with the final episode of season 1 out on October 19, 2021.

Only Murders in the Building is out on Hulu in the US and released on Star on Disney+ outside the US.

Details

Creators: John Hoffman, Steve Martin
Stars: Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Julian Cihi, Michael Cyril Creighton, Nathan Lane, Sting, Aaron Dominguez, Amy Ryan