23
ON THE SCREEN
Stars of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ aren’t above trash talk
WHAT TO WATCH WHEN
YOU’RE STAYING HOME
By Yvonne Villarreal
Los Angeles Times
In this saturated true-crime
market, innovation can be a chal-
lenge. Then Steve Martin, Martin
Short and Selena Gomez walked
into the Arconia.
The trio’s unique and surpris-
ing chemistry has fueled Hulu’s
comedy-murder mystery “Only
Murders in the Building.” And it
builds in Season 2 on Hulu.
The famous whodunnit three-
some — former TV star Charles
(Martin), struggling Broadway
producer Oliver (Short) and trou-
bled artist Mabel (Gomez) — ever
the podcast trendsetters, have
become persons of interest in a
fresh murder case.
The fi rst season of the comedy
introduced viewers to the three
neighbors, all fans of a true-crime
podcast, who banded together
to solve a killing that happened
at their Upper West Side co-op
— launching their own podcast
in the process. After solving the
case, Charles, Oliver and Mabel
now fi nd themselves suspects in a
fresh case: the murder of their co-
op board president, Bunny (Jayne
Houdyshell), whom Mabel found
in her apartment, stabbed with a
knitting needle.
In a recent interview, Martin,
JULY 6�13, 2022
Amy Sussman/Getty Images/TNS
From left, Steve Martin, Selena Gomez and Martin Short attend the after-
party for “Only Murders in the Building” Season 2 at Sunset Towers on June
27, 2022, in Los Angeles.
Short and Gomez talked about the
new season, the show’s multi-
generational appeal and sharing
the screen with Shirley MacLaine.
The following has been edited for
clarity.
Q: The fi rst season was a fresh,
hilarious and insightful take on
the true-crime genre that set a
high bar for the second season.
I’m curious what intrigued you
about Season 2 and the mystery
surrounding who killed Bunny.
Short: Season 1 ended with
our arrests, so obviously that was
already set up: Are we going to
spend the rest of our lives in jail?
Are we gonna get out? And obvi-
ously since we didn’t do it, who did
it? It’s set up very cleverly.
Gomez: I just wanted to keep
knowing what was happening,
so it was really great. We kind of
picked up right where we left off .
Martin: I’m dedicated to solv-
ing a murder per season. I think it’s
very satisfying for the audience.
And then you sort of tease anoth-
er murder, if one happens, for the
next season.
Q: Selena, as a fan of the genre
who has attended things like
CrimeCon, did you feel like that
gave you added insight into how
to play a person of interest?
Gomez: Oh, yeah. I love escape
rooms, and I was just in a few
the other night and as soon as I
walked out, my friends looked at
me and said, “You are completely
Mabel in that escape room.” I’m
just fascinated with clues and
solving things and trying to fi gure
out the who, the why, the what.
The whole premise of the show
is basically three characters that
were a little bit lonely but found
this common ground, and I think
that’s what the bulk of the show
is — that you know they all have
this in common. And now they’re
all being accused of murder, so it
brings us closer.
Q: Season 2 has some new
faces, including Miss Shirley
MacLaine. How quickly did she
settle into the groove?
Short: Oh, it was a complete
trip. What I love about Shirley is
that she’s fi lled with a lifetime of
show business stories that she
will share with you right away.
There’s an immediate loose-
ness to her, and intimacy, and
she asked questions where she
actually wants the answer. She’s
interested in everything about
life. That’s what’s made her so
remarkable.
Martin: I just had a lifetime
fascination with her from “The
Apartment,” which I thought she
was so great in, so vulnerable
— an instant great actress. So it
was an honor for me to work with
her, and she was very kind to me.
I don’t know if it was an honor
for her to work with me. But she
acted like it.
Q: I have multiple text chains
going for this show that span
generations. When did you have a
sense of the viewer demograph-
ics?
Martin: I have no idea what the
demographics are. No one’s ever
told me. I’m always fi ghting for
taking our hard language out, and
everybody else is fi ghting to get it
in. So I never know quite where it
falls. It’s kind of a family show, and
it’s kind of not.
Gomez: After doing the fi rst
season, the reaction I got really
was warm and lovely and surpris-
ing. I don’t know, I would say like
15 and older and beyond.
Martin: I have heard, in my day,
though, [of] a 14-year-old using
the F-word. I read about it.
Q: Martin, if Steve is trying to
tone down the language on the
show, are you trying to amp it up?
Short: Effi ng yeah. We’re both
aware of certain things of [our]
character[s]. For example, I [as Oli-
ver] wouldn’t use certain language
in front of Mabel, because that’s
who Oliver is. But he wouldn’t be
afraid to say to, uh, Steve’s char-
acter, whatever his name is.
Martin: Charles!
Short: Oh, you’re Charles. I
gotta read some scripts.