Hulu's "Only Murders in the Building" Is Smart, Savvy and Socially Aware

It may seem obvious now but the idea of pairing Martin39s low energy laidback goofiness with Short39s chaotic overthetop nuttiness and then combining that odd coupling with the youthful grounded cynicism of Gomez39s character was a stroke of genius I also dig the fact that while all three lead actors have a plethora of family friendly entertainment underneath their respective belts the show itself is not above showing some blood and dropping the occasional fbomb Neither of which happens gratuitously either it happens just enough so that viewers understand that these are supposedly real people who are dealing with stakes that are equally realistic especially in our crime ravaged citiesBesides the entertaining crossdynamics of our trio of civilian detectives what stands out most about this series is its overall style The animated intro to the series as well as the light yet inquisitive nature of the score make for what feels like a cozy experience But it39s not And every apartment in the show is designed in a way that reflects both the naturedisposition of the occupant as well as the building as a whole The building and its many occupants have a sordid history and that history plays a heavy hand in how the plot is developed throughout the show39s narrative The second season delves even further into the Arconia39s many secrets and believe me she39s got plentyFunnily enough Only Murders in the Building isn39t the only mystery series in recent memory to adopt a whodunitstyle for its story Six months after the series premiere of OMITB in August of 2021 came AppleTV39s The Afterparty which had a somewhat similar format Read my review of it here There39s a group of wouldbe strangers with checkered pasts who are brought together by the shared trauma of someone they all know being murdered at which point they all remain together until that murder is solved On the way there each episode focuses on a specific suspect and by the time it ends that suspect is seemingly eliminated until finally the true killer is revealed at the end of the seasonOnly Murders follows almost the same format the protagonists meet someone they know dies they stick together each suspect is eliminated then comes the resolution except for that fact that in the long run OMITB39s format is more conducive to multiple seasons In The Afterparty which has also already been greenlit for another season the person solving the crime is an actual detective and the previous crime was location and victimspecific as far the suspectsguests go meaning there39s no lowhanging reason why said detective would ever have to come in contact with anyone from that season one case when it comes to solving another murderHowever Only Murders just has to keep having murders happen in or in relation to the Arconia and as long as at least one of the leads still lives in the building there will always be a reason for the three of them to have a horse in that metaphorical race It39s actually a pretty perfect set up especially considering the fact that the fictional podcast that the show is named for also can39t continue unless there are more say it with me now murders in the buildingAnother thing that this series is particularly good at is transference of suspicion My guess about who did what changes from episode to episode I imagine that reaction is one that the people behind the show were trying to solicit and whether they realize it or not they39ve had great success The murder victim in season two Arconia Board President Bunny Jayne Houdyshell was a relentless heel of a character during season one and absolutely had it out for our leads So when she bites the bullet at the bottom of season one it39s painfully obvious that her murderer could be pretty much anyone except for our leads of course Add to that the influx of guest stars this season a list that includes the likes of Amy Schumer Carla Delevingne Christine Ko and a handful of others and what you39ve got is a situation where it really could be anyone The only thing I know for sure is that it probably won39t be whoever we think it isThis series beyond being a stellar mystery show also goes out of its way to be as progressive as possible while still making it feel organic The fictional building which is a character in and of itself is chock full of a multicultural group of tenants including Teddy Dimas played by Nathan Lane who steals the show by the way Dimas who not only has a deaf son for whom he learned sign language something that a lot of nondeaf parents of deaf children apparently don39t do that often also spoke of the reallife Armenian genocide during season one This is one particular genocide that gets a lot less press than other genocides that the general public may be readily aware of so it felt like a big momentQueer characters and relationships also abound including the revelation this season that Mabel Gomez is bisexual as proven by her relationship with Delevingne39s character AliceLook this series is a vessel for some serious talent as well as being diverse as hell and to top it all off it covers a widerange of topics including parentchild relations the age gap between Boomers and Millennials the age gap between Millennials and Gen Z America39s apparent love of murder podcasts and the multifaceted nature of human beings in general It39s light enough to stay as fun as it should be while still being grounded enough for the stakes to feel like they matter So while the fictional property value of the Arconia continues to fall you know 39cause all the murders the joy this show brings me continues to rise I truly hope that this fictional Upper West Side apartment building continues to be unsafe long enough for us to get another couple of seasonsSeason 2 of Only Murders in the Building is now streaming on Hulu Click the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Hulu's "Only Murders in the Building" Is Smart, Savvy and Socially Aware

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Ainsley Andrade

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Hulu's "Only Murders in the Building" Is Smart, Savvy and Socially Aware

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"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

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