Only Murders in the Building: Hulu's New Crime-Comedy is a Production Fit for the Stage

By Kate Mazade

What do Teflon omelet pans, Louis XIV-style dog beds, and yellow faux-fur coats have in common? Nothing—except their owners are desperately and ridiculously trying to discover "Who Killed Tim Kono?"

Created by John Hoffman and Steve Martin, Hulu's Only Murders in the Building follows a ragtag trio as they hunt down a killer in their Upper West Side Co-op. Alongside the venerable Steve Martin and zany Martin Short, an unlikely Selena Gomez fills the role of the tercera amiga. A 21st century whodunit, the trio narrates a true crime podcast—affectionately nicknamed OMitB by their four adoring fans—as they investigate the criminal misgivings of their neighbors.

With cinematography by Chris Teague, the show has a Hardy Boys-meets-Rear Window vibe with aerial approach shots and dollhouse transitions. The mysterious, vintage quality is cemented with the shows graphics, designed by Hunter Popalis and Emma Stensaas. Shades of crimson, olive, mustard, and teal are reminiscent of Ludwig Bemelmans's Madeline illustrations, and the New Yorker's signature Irvin typeface places the show firmly in Manhattan.

With production design by Curt Beech and set decoration by Rich Murray, OMitB might as well be filmed in Lincoln Center. Like back-of-house theatre spaces, the scenes both reveal and disguise the characters, setting the stage for a perfectly curated production.

*Photo by Craig Blankenhorn, courtesy of Hulu.*

The Building (where murders happen)

The curtain rises on the trio's residence: a gleaming Italian renaissance apartment building that spans a full city block. Dubbed "The Arconia" for the show, the building is actually the Belnord, according to House Beautiful, and its rusticated stretched archways serve as portals into the microcosm of OMitB. With a sweeping courtyard and central fountain, the Arconia drips in inherited elegance.

The corridors—a testament to how separate lives overlap—are rich with pewter paint accented by white picture frame molding and plaster relief work. Luxurious elevator lobbies are framed with chocolate butterfly marble inlays and crown molding. The trio first meet in the elevator—an oak paneled "box seat" from which the residents have a concealed but clear view of their neighbors when the elevators doors open on each floor.

Within the theatre of the Arconia, each lead has carved a niche—created a home that says as much about them as it does about their role in the murder.

The Box Office (Charles's Midcentury Apartment)

Charles-Haden Savage, played by Steve Martin, is a retired television actor trying to relive his glory days of staring as Brazzos in a 90s detective show. A tribute to a different time, his apartment is over-designed with geometric wallpaper, teal cabinets, and bronze Gougie light fixtures. The urban modern home is boyish with open cerulean shelves yet refined with quarts counters and jewel tones. Despite the jazzy color blocking, Charles's apartment is a false front—a representation of what was that is now obsolete—a paper ticket a will call to online QR codes.

The Prop Room (Oliver's Over-Stuffed Nest)

Oliver Putnam, brought to life by Martin Short, is a Broadway directorial wash up, wheeling and dealing around New York—in a magnificent violet trench coat selected by costume designer Dana Covarrubias—to disguise his bankruptcy. His opulent, eclectic apartment is rich with mismatched stories. Decorative fluted columns stand against red velvet drapes with gold tassels, sweeping palm fronds fan over plaid wallpaper, and tufted furniture squeezes in around a baby grand piano. The wallpaper in the dining room is printed with theatre galleries framing the proscenium mantle piece. Oliver's forgotten collectibles signify his disability to let go.

The Fly Loft (Mabel's Empty Tower)

Mabel Mora, depicted and viciously styled by Selena Gomez, is a quietly sarcastic aspiring interior designer squatting in her unseen aunt's top floor apartment. Stripped to the bones, Mabel's home seems to be caught mid-renovation. With only the essentials—a frameless bed and a yellow and brown striped sofa—amid the exposed studs, she lives like a vagabond in the palimpsest of upper echelon sophistication. Charcoal sketches adorn the plasterwork and cardboard boxes stack on the terrazzo floor with a penny tile border. A shadowed shell, Mabel's apartment is more of a marionette's hideaway than the picture of a happy home.

A meticulously styled creation with layered sets and bold costuming; Only Murders in the Building is a masterpiece. Like "Clue" with cat eye and a cane-backed couch, the first season makes viewers nostalgic for the present. A true love letter to New York, the show lays the stage for mystery- and design-lovers alike, where the secret lives of a couple of has-beens and a nobody overlap in a suspense-filled crime-comedy tale.

The first season of Only Murders in the Building is available for streaming on Hulu.