Only Murders in the Building

At the Belnord, a grand pre-war apartment building on Manhattan's Upper West Side, three residents who barely know each other are thrown together by a sudden death and a shared obsession with true crime podcasts. Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin) is a former TV detective whose glory days are behind him; Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) is a broke Broadway director desperate for a comeback; and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) is a sharp, guarded young woman with a history in the building. When they suspect their neighbor's death was murder, they start their own podcast, "Only Murders in the Building," and stumble into a world of secrets that spans the Arconia's elegant hallways and beyond.

Created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman, the series premiered on Hulu in August 2021 and has run for five seasons, totaling 50 episodes. It's a comedy that doesn't skimp on genuine mystery, earning a strong 8.4 rating on IMDb and near-universal critical praise. The show's secret sauce is the chemistry between its three leads, Martin and Short's decades-long partnership gives their banter a lived-in rhythm, while Gomez grounds the chaos with a dry, modern edge. Each season tackles a new case, from a suspicious suicide to a Broadway star's onstage collapse, all while satirizing true crime culture with affection and wit. [edit]

Only Murders in the Building is a comedy-mystery series created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman, which debuted on Hulu on August 31, 2021. The show follows three residents of the Arconia, a fictionalized version of the real-life Belnord building at 225 West 86th Street in New York City. Charles-Haden Savage, a washed-up actor best known for his 1990s detective show Brazzos; Oliver Putnam, a down-on-his-luck Broadway director; and Mabel Mora, a sharp young woman who spent summers in the building as a child, are united by their love of true crime and their suspicion that a neighbor's death was not what it seemed. Their decision to start a podcast documenting their investigation sparks a new chapter in their lives, one that repeatedly pulls them into dangerous and bizarre situations.

Each season presents a self-contained murder case, while the overarching narrative tracks the trio's evolving friendship and personal growth. The first season centers on the death of Tim Kono, a reclusive neighbor, and the secrets that stretch back years, including lies the trio tells each other. The second season picks up right after the murder of Arconia Board President Bunny Folger, with the trio publicly implicated and forced to clear their names while dealing with a rival podcast. The third season shifts to Broadway, where Oliver directs a musical starring Hollywood action star Ben Glenroy, whose death on opening night leads the trio into the cutthroat theater world. The fourth season explores the death of Charles's stunt double and close friend Sazz Pataki, as a movie adaptation of their podcast brings Hollywood chaos to the Arconia. The fifth season tackles the suspicious death of Lester, the beloved doorman, plunging the trio into a web of billionaires, mobsters, and the changing face of New York.

Throughout, the show balances genuine mystery with sharp satire of true crime culture, and it's as much about the emotional lives of its characters as it is about solving crimes. Charles grapples with loneliness and aging, Oliver faces his failures as a father and artist, and Mabel navigates grief and the search for belonging. Their friendship, forged in the crucible of amateur sleuthing, becomes the heart of the series. The show has been renewed for a sixth season, which is currently filming in London with a host of new British cast members, including David Tennant and Nicola Coughlan.[edit]