As the summer approaches quickly and college students begin to enjoy life again, now time spent in class and doing homework will be replaced with time outside and indulging in movies and TV shows. My family takes pride in indulging in all forms of media while we’re all in the house for breaks and holidays we love to watch new and beloved shows. The only issue with this is that I am a chronic TV sleeper. If you put me on the couch with my favorite dog, Milo, on my lap, nine times out of ten, I’ll be asleep within fifteen minutes. It’s gotten to the point where my parents will purposely turn on a show they know I don’t care about. Imagine their surprise when I remain fully awake and engaged with Only Murders In the Building season 2 episode 5 “The Tell”.
Without any context for the rest of the show, this episode completely captivated me. The episode follows the eclectic Broadway director Oliver Putnam (Martin Short, Three Amigos), with straight-laced retired actor Charles (Steve Martin, Father of the Bride) and blunt-edge millennial Mabel (Selena Gomez, Wizards of Waverly Place) as they host a seventies themed dinner party with a game of “Blackout” (similar to that of Werewolf or Mafia) to get intel on the most recent murder in their apartment complex.
And just like that, I began my journey through the hallowed halls of the Arconia. I started, and subsequently finished, all three seasons within a week, all while completing my first college finals week. In the pockets of time I wasn’t studying, I kept asking myself “Who killed Tim Kono?”
The show begins when three completely different neighbors are thrown into a friendship as they bond over their favorite true-crime podcast during a pesky fire alarm in their building. However, the happiness quickly fades as they find one of their neighbors has mysteriously died. With the police quickly dismissing the case Oliver, Charles and Mabel become “true crime” detectives of their own. But who in the building could have done it? And why?
After that night it seems like people won’t stop dropping in the building! Each season follows a new murder in the Arconia, and our favorite, unlikely detectives as they try to track down the killer. After watching and rewatching each season whenever I’m bored with my other shows, season two remains my favorite. While season one is iconic and season three is the most elaborate, season two’s mystery has such a charm. It feels realistic with motives, twists and turns and effortless call-backs to previous events and sets up new plot points. Season two is also the only season where I incorrectly guessed “whodunit”, which is more evidence of the comedic-genius of the show.
The brilliance of Steve Martin and John Hoffman (The Emoji Movie) sucked me in, each episode contains witty writing, quirky New York characters and a star-studded cast including Meryl Streep, Jane Lynch, Paul Rudd and Oscar-winning Da’Vine Joy Randolph. Their on-screen rapport and comedic timing are cornerstones, while Gomez’s Mabel seamlessly fits into the unlikely trio.
With the warmer months on the way and dear ol’ Pittsburgh teasing us with brief days of sun, I find myself obsessively checking to see if the fourth season release date has been set. Hulu announced on October 9th that the show would return within the next year. And with one of my favorite characters as the newest Arconia victim, I am sitting on the edge of my seat. With all of our favorite suspects returning, the fourth season will also include new actors such as Eugene Levy (Schitts Creek) and Kumali Nanjian (The Big Sick) to join in the chaos. With the rest of the seasons, I am confident this one will be incredible and that there will not be any zzz’s being caught during my initial watch.