The murder mystery genre has been a personal favorite of mine for a long time. Growing up with a pen in my hand and a notebook in my lap, it was impossible not to marvel at the intricacy and creativity of a good whodunit. The ability to stimulate, confuse, and exhaust an audience within the frame of a coherent plot is no easy feat – trust me, I’ve tried – but when done well, the result can be simultaneously chilling and inspiring. The genre has seen a resurgence in recent months with the release of the television series, Only Murders in the Building, a contemporary version of the traditionally gothic trope that stands out from its predecessors. The show is, without a doubt, a product of its era, as it appeals to DIY culture by suggesting that you don’t need the brains of Sherlock Holmes to solve a mystery, but while the crime is bewildering, the motives are base, and the sarcasm is biting, the unique appeal of Only Murders in the Building comes from the dynamic of its characters.
The series follows Charles, Oliver, and Mabel, a menagerie of quirky apartment dwellers – played by Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez – who share an interest in the same True Crime podcast. The three of them live in the Arconia, an ornate building in New York City that possesses a similar charm to the Overlook Hotel. Their coincidental meeting occurs on an awkward elevator ride, during which they briefly encounter Tim Kono, a fellow resident destined to become the victim of a murder committed in the building. In the wake of the murder, Charles, Oliver, and Mabel find themselves drawn to each other by a shared suspicion and a communal fangirl moment that inspires them to solve the crime and record their own podcast in the process.
A situation wherein a group of strangers get thrust into a murder investigation is not unfamiliar to the murder mystery genre; just ask Agatha Christie. What makes Only Murders in the Building distinctively compelling is the fact that the characters are realistic and relatable as well as zany and entertaining. Charles is not a high-functioning sociopath with detective skills out the wazoo, he’s just your average old white dude, trying to stay relevant in a society wherein he is slowly becoming obsolete. And the same goes for Mabel and Oliver; these are the types of characters you see on the street or in line at a Starbucks–they’re playing life by ear, just like you and me.
There is one line delivered by the podcast hostess from whom our three sleuths take inspiration that encapsulates this effect. The three of them are advised to “embrace the mess.” This can be interpreted in a number of ways, but in the show it is a vow of permission to indulge the nonsensical, vague, and chaotic aspects of life in order to find what one may be searching for. This paradigm is the show’s primary appeal because, like our protagonists, it is familiar. After all, look around; what is it that we see on Instagram, TikTok, and even dating apps? It’s young people – and I am certainly not exempt – who don’t have the slightest idea of what they’re doing, putting themselves out there in hopes of receiving validation and reassurance. We are all faking it until we make it, diving headfirst into the rough waters of life despite not knowing how to swim and actually surviving.
“Embrace the mess” is essentially the motto of the 2020s, and the characters’ success in solving the murder (spoiler alert) endorses it as such. Only Murders in the Building is without a doubt a fantastic show, but it is also a reminder of an evolving culture. I am not saying that this is necessarily a bad thing, rather I am noticing the extent to which certain ways of thinking that favor gusto over actual know-how are becoming institutionalized. What could have been a zany melodrama became, instead, a tantalizing illustration of real people in the midst of a messy situation. Only Murders in the Building is an iconic breed of murder mystery for this reason; it removes you from reality while rubbing your face in it at the same time.
