New UWS-Based Comedy ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Now Streaming on Hulu

By Carol Tannenhauser

The first three episodes of Only Murders in the Building, created and written by Steve Martin, Dan Fogelman and John Hoffman, starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez, started streaming on Hulu on Tuesday.

One long-time Upper West Sider who watched the first episode pronounced it, “Good — very Upper West Sidey.”

Back in February, we covered the filming.

There’s been a murder in a fictional UWS building called The Arconia, and one of the residents is thought to have done it. The three main characters, all hooked on the same true-crime podcast, decide to make their own true-crime podcast, while trying to solve the murder.

The 10-part series was filmed in part at The Belnord on West 86th Street between Amsterdam and Broadway. “Untapped New York writer Julia Vitullo-Martin, who resides in The Belnord, says that only the exteriors and the courtyard were used for the show and the scenes in the elevator. Most of the interior scenes were filmed at 270 Riverside Drive, including the lobby.”

NBC Think had an interesting review of Only Murders in the Building:

The series also takes pleasure in the episodic format. (Hulu’s release model is to drop the first three episodes as a batch before switching to weekly installments, and the pacing reflects that.) The installments run in the 30-minute range, and each half-hour brings new recurring theatrical motifs to fit the different podcast episodes the trio is supposedly recording. (The podcast episodes don’t exactly correspond one to one with each installment, but the erratic releases are part of the running gag.) Between the auditions, musical numbers and random monologues, “Only Murders in the Building” winds up as much a series for Broadway and theater enthusiasts as it is for true-crime fans. And when the murder isn’t quite enough to keep the momentum going, the actors switch gears, leaning in hard to their New York City setting and gorgeously unaffordable real estate backdrops until the show re-finds its footing.

Here’s the trailer:

The remaining episodes of Only Murders in the Building will be released weekly every Tuesday leading up to the finale on Oct. 19. Please let us know how you like it.