Only Murders In The Building - Season 1 [upd]
Only Murders in the Building - Season 1: A Deep Dive into Hulu’s Murderous Hit
In an era saturated with grim, nihilistic crime dramas and convoluted streaming mysteries, something surprisingly warm and witty broke through the noise in the summer of 2021. Only Murders in the Building - Season 1 didn’t just solve a killing; it revitalized the whodunit genre by wrapping it in a blanket of New York City charm, unlikely friendships, and a genuine love for the art of the podcast.
Starring the dream team of Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, Season 1 of Only Murders in the Building became a cultural phenomenon. But what made this first season so addictive? Let’s take an exhaustive look back at the case that started it all: the death of Tim Kono.
Overview
A trio of true-crime-obsessed neighbors — Charles Haden-Savage (a washed-up actor), Oliver Putnam (a struggling theater director), and Mabel Mora (a young woman with a mysterious past) — unintentionally form an investigative team after a suspicious death in their Upper West Side apartment building. They launch a podcast to document the case, uncovering secrets, lies, and surprising connections to their own lives. Only Murders in the Building - Season 1
The Unlikely Trinity: Charles, Oliver, and Mabel
At the heart of the show’s success is its impossibly charming trio of leads, who feel like a comedy experiment designed in a lab to succeed.
- Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin): A former TV detective from a 90s cop show called Brazzos, Charles is introverted, obsessive, and lives a life of sterile isolation—cooking omelets for one and nursing decades-old grudges. Martin, playing against his manic "wild and crazy guy" persona, delivers a masterclass in restrained sadness.
- Oliver Putnam (Martin Short): The walking id of the group. Oliver is a washed-up Broadway director drowning in debt, dipped in tweed, and wearing a scarf that has its own personality. He talks in italics, views every life event through the lens of dramatic staging, and possesses the delusional optimism of a man who believes his next comeback is just one good dip recipe away.
- Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez): The Millennial anchor. Mabel is sardonic, mysterious, and hiding a dark past involving a cold case from her childhood. Gomez holds her own against two comedy titans, grounding the show’s manic energy with a dose of Gen-Z apathy and genuine emotional weight.
“The three of us, we’re not a team,” Oliver says in the pilot. “We’re a support group for the lonely.” That line captures the soul of the show. Only Murders isn't really about who killed Tim Kono; it’s about three broken people who find family through a shared obsession with death. Only Murders in the Building - Season 1:
The Premise: Three Strangers, One Obsession
The setup is deceptively simple. Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin) is a semi-reclusive actor famous for a 1990s procedural called Brazzos. Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) is a desperate, cash-strapped Broadway director with a flair for the dramatic. Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) is a sharp, mysterious young woman renovating her aunt’s apartment.
They share nothing in common except loneliness and a residence at the Upper West Side’s opulent, fictional Arconia. When a fire alarm forces the building’s residents into the courtyard, they discover a fellow neighbor, Tim Kono, has died. The police rule it a suicide. The trio, however, bonds over their favorite true-crime podcast and decides Tim was murdered. Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin): A former TV detective
Thus begins the central engine of Only Murders in the Building - Season 1: they launch their own illegal podcast to investigate the case, titled, naturally, Only Murders in the Building.
Tone & Style
A witty, character-driven mystery blending dark humor with genuine emotional beats. The series balances clever procedural puzzle-solving with heartfelt character arcs, using meta-commentary on true-crime culture and podcasting.