‘Only Murders in the Building’ review: Steve Martin delivers an all-round delight of a mystery-comedy

In the true tradition of all crime stories, there are twists and turns galore with nothing as it seems, and everyone hiding something from the other

What fun this show is! With all its nods to crime stories, a ripping murder mystery, believable characters and charismatic leads, Only Murders in the Building is an all-round delight. Created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman, the show tells of three people living in the posh Arconia apartment building on the Upper West Side, who all share a passion for true-crime podcasts.

The three — Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin) who was famous for his role in the ‘90s detective show Brazzos, Oliver Putnam (Martin Short), a struggling Broadway producer, whose best work is behind him and Mabel, a young woman who is living in her aunt’s apartment ostensibly renovating it — get together when another apartment resident, Tim Kono (Julian Cihi), is murdered.

Putnam floats the idea of turning their in-house murder into a podcast, and the other two enthusiastically jump in. In the true tradition of all crime stories, there are twists and turns galore with nothing as it seems, and everyone hiding something from the other.