Only Murders in the Building returns on August 27 for Season 4, and ahead of its release, the stars of the critically acclaimed Hulu series, Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, are discussing what it was like to uproot the show from New York and take it to Hollywood. Kicking off with the episode titled “Once Upon a Time in the West,” Charles, Oliver, and Mabel are whisked off to tinsel town to meet with the executives at a prestigious movie studio that are eager to adapt their popular true-crime podcast into a feature film.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter at the premiere of Season 4 of Only Murders in the Building, the trio talked about what it was like to bring the series to Los Angeles for a moment, rather than stay situated in New York. Gomez, who portrays Mabel Mora in the series, got straight to the point of saying it was “fun.”
“We have a great cast, and we’re going to Hollywood, and it was fun to shoot here for a second.”
Before she could elaborate further, Martin, who grew up in Inglewood, California and stars as Charles-Haden Savage, politely interrupted her with a laugh to continue. “It was so much fun coming out here to shoot. It’s like a New York show, and then we come out here to shoot where I grew up. It was just shooting in the Hollywood Hills.”
In turn, he was humorously interrupted by Short (Oliver Putnam in the series), who encouraged his co-star to stop babbling. “We get the point, you liked it. I’ve got a flight in two days, so we got it.”
Only Murders in the Building Continues to Experiment in Season 4
It seems that every great series that has gone on to be regarded as a classic has, at one time or another, explored various ways to captivate viewers with quirky episodes that stand out from the rest. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one that comes to mind, as is Grey’s Anatomy, both of which featured musical episodes that still resonate to this day. Only Murders in the Building is no exception, as the Season 1 episode “The Boy in 6B” featured just one word of dialogue that was reminiscent of the Buffy episode “Hush.”
Season 4 will continue the trend, exploring the found footage sub-genre in its sixth episode. Shot without the use of a traditional camera, Martin says that it was not only an experience that was a lot of fun, but one that he jokingly says fits the style of Short.
“It was really fun because it was actually real. There were real mini-cameras, iPhones, phones, hidden cameras, and it was really fun because once you got it, you’ve got it. The sloppier it is the kind of better, which fits in with Marty’s performance style [laughs]. We had a good time shooting those scenes.”
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Only Murders in the Building Season 4 premieres on Hulu on August 27, with nine more episodes following weekly until its conclusion on October 29. Check out the full exchange between Martin, Gomez, and Short below.