TV Review: Only Murders in the Building Season 2 Returns to the Golden Age of Hitchcock Thrillers
Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez on the set of “Only Murders in the Building.” Photo courtesy of Hulu.
By Kate Mazade
Hulu’s Halloween show, affectionately named OMitB, is a design-lover’s Christmas. The crime-comedy starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez puts the structural trench coats, warm autumnal tones, and darkened hidden passageways in spooky season.
While the first season of “Only Murders in the Building” set the stage for the true-crime-podcast-within-a-streaming-series, Season 2 deviled into the past for a contemporary twist on vintage costuming and trap doors fit for Beaux Arts balls and mid-century thrillers.
Courtesy of Hulu.
Courtesy of Hulu.
Courtesy of Hulu.
The (Throwback) Lookbook
Costume designer Dana Covarrubia, whose work on Season 1 was nominated for an Emmy, nodded toward history with the compositions in Season 2 that drew inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock films. Her designs for Selena Gomez’s Mabel Mora were direct reflections of iconic outfits by 35-time Oscar-nominated designer Edith Head in The Birds, To Catch a Thief, and North by Northwest. Mabel's chunky layered looks and bold patterns bring Gomez into the canon of smart, seductive, and sly heroines alongside Tippi Hedren, Grace Kelly, and Eva Marie Saint.
In addition to Mabel’s jealousy-inducing wardrobe are the archetypal outfits of the other stars. Steve Martin’s Charles Haden Savage epitomizes New York polish with the same loveable father figure character of the actor’s other roles. With his ever-present quarter zips and tried-and-true denims and stripes, Charles could be nothing but trustworthy.
Meanwhile, Martin Short’s Oliver Putnam dons cashmere, silk, and corduroy in a rainbow of jewel tones—outfits not dissimilar to someone rummaging through an old trunk to piece together the perfect costume. Creating a character or concealing one? You decide.
The downfall—or perhaps the success—of the character-driven costuming is that it does not reveal the killer. Even a deep investigation into each character’s wardrobe doesn’t give it away, beguiling viewers into a false sense of security before the murderer is unmasked. The outfits, so meticulously styled, reflect the characters’ backgrounds and values, meanwhile creating a guise under which someone can hide in plain sight.
Courtesy of Hulu.
Courtesy of Hulu.
Courtesy of Hulu.
The (Secret) Set
A year ago, we unpacked the interiors of each person's apartment, unraveling the characters like Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window. But not even an unseen observer could unlock the mystery sets of Season 2—ones that lie beyond the patterned wallpaper and velvet drapes, within the walls of the Arconia itself. Each episode reveals a hidden space—dusty passageways, fake closets, concealed elevators—shaking the characters’ knowledge of their homes, which were created by production designer Curt Beech, set decorator Rich Murray, and art director Jordan Jacobs—whose designs won a 2022 Primetime Emmy.
With each uncovered passageway, the Italianate Arconia, complete with an arched entryway and Piazza Navona-esque courtyard, falls more akin to a Scooby-Doo haunted house—or even an H.H. Holmes Murder Castle.
It was a difficult undertaking to upstage Season 1—the surprise and comedic value falling short of the previous episodes—but the designers were up to the challenge. Covarrubias, Beech, and Murray added both physical and metaphorical layers to the costumes and set, and to the characters by association. Season 2 brings a vintage Nancy Drew vibe to the show with details that prove that everything is not what it seems.
All episodes of Season 2 of Only Murders in the Building are available for streaming on Hulu.