Only Fans

Currently running its second season on Hulu, Only Murders in the Building is a half-hour comedy starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez. Their characters, obsessed with true crime podcasts, decide to create one of their own when a resident of their fancy New York apartment building dies under mysterious circumstances.

This is a fun show, but it's a bit of an oddity, and it's definitely not for everyone. It's absolutely a comedy, but it's rarely laugh-out-loud funny and it doesn't traffic in classic "set up / punchline" structure. There's a dramatic side, and that obviously revolves around a mystery that slowly unspools over the course of a 10-episode season. But it's not a particularly difficult mystery to unravel; don't expect to be stunned by the big reveal. Still, the cocktail of these seemingly disparate elements is great together when shaken up.

You don't have to actually listen to podcasts to be entertained, but it's certainly funnier if you have. True crime podcasts in general, and Serial in particular, are lampooned regularly throughout the first season. At the same time, the show doesn't develop just one format and stick with it. A late season one episode notably unfolds with no dialogue (a conceit that is both gimmicky and organic at the same time). And the humor/drama balance does fluctuate quite a lot from one episode to the next in an engaging way.

That said, you have to like at least one of the stars, and you can't dislike any of them. This show is Steve Martin as his Steve Martin-iest, and even more Martin Short at his most Martin Short-iest. The former is in cheesy Dad mode all the time, while the latter is playing an exaggerated cartoon character. I'm generally quite the fan of Steve Martin, and can tolerate Martin Short, so it works for me. My friend, who can't stand Martin Short, would find this absolutely unwatchable. (Meanwhile, Selena Gomez, for her part, is usually made to play the "straight man" opposite the two of them. It feels like she could do more than is written for her, but this is a vehicle mainly for her veteran co-stars.)

The list of other co-stars and guest stars is pretty wild. In season one alone, you'll see Amy Ryan, Tina Fey, Nathan Lane, Sting, Jane Lynch, and more. The guests are often the ones playing broader and against type as well, which is a lot of fun.

Season two is unfolding right now (and I'm a few episodes behind as I write this). But I can at least recommend season one as a fun bit of lightness. Most people I know have a flood of one-hour dramas in their TV queue, so Only Murders in the Building -- which I'd give a solid B -- can slot in easily for some variety.