Hulu's Only Murders In The Building Could Have Had A Completely Different Vibe

Although "Only Murders in the Building" is known for being a cozy little mystery series, each season's main mystery is pretty straightforward. Sometimes the clues are so obvious that hardcore fans are often several steps ahead of the trio themselves. (That reveal of the cookies from season 3 was called out by fans seven episodes in advance, for instance.) That's okay though, because the real appeal of the show isn't the intricacies of its plot but the charming rapport between its three leads. Charles (Steve Martin) and Oliver (Martin Short) are two endearing, clumsy old guys, whereas Mabel (Selina Gomez) is a tired millennial who has to explain to them how to use their phones.

It's rare in real life for someone of Mabel's age to be hanging out with two septuagenarians all day, which is why it feels special to watch this happen on the show. But in the original pitch for the series, the generational clash wasn't there at all. As Steve Martin explained in a 2021 interview:

"I just had this thought over 10 years ago, and it was for three older guys who live in a building in New York who realize they have a common interest in solving crime. But because they're old they don't want to go outside the building because it's too tiring. So they decide they'll just do only murders in the building. I kept this idea in my head for 10 years, and then I was explaining it to Marty one day and he said, 'You know, we're old.' And then Selena came along, somebody's brilliant idea."

Would I have enjoyed a show about three lazy old guys who solved crimes without ever leaving the building? Certainly, but adding a younger presence to the series feels like a clear improvement. Rather than the old characters' laziness being the premise of the show, the version of "Only Murders" we got presented their laziness as a character flaw to overcome. Oliver and (especially) Charles may initially prefer a quiet, solitary life, but Mabel helps bring back the adventurousness of their youth. Granted, she's ironically even grumpier than the old guys half the time.

There was a moment in the season 4 premiere of "Only Murders" that seemingly called out Martin's original idea for the show for being a bit dull. At a Hollywood party where Mabel gets to talk to Eva Longoria (who is playing her on TV), Eva explains how the producers thought their podcast's age gap was "creepy," and decided to age up Mabel to be in her 40s in response. It's a fun bit of satire, pointing out how adaptations tend to sanitize the source material to the point where they end up killing the source material's whole appeal. 

Charles and Oliver hanging out with a 28-year-old woman is weird, sure, but it's also the spark that makes the show come together. The show amends a minor tragedy of the modern world, which is that people can learn a lot from those of different generations, but they tend to hang out mostly with those around their own age.

What helps keep "Only Murders" fresh is that, as much as the show positions Mabel as the cool young person bouncing off these lame old geezers, the show is still happy to flip the tables sometimes and let Mabel be the oblivious old guy. One of the funniest scenes comes in season 2, when millennial Mabel suddenly has to talk to Charles' Gen Z daughter Lucy (Zoe Colletti). It turns out that Mabel is also out of touch with the youths these days, a realization that only helps her appreciate Charles and Oliver's struggle even more. Hopefully, season 5 of "Only Murders" will offer a reverse scenario, in which Charles and Oliver are forced to hang out with someone so comically old that it makes them both look young and hip in comparison.