Only Murders In The Building - Season 1 [2021] (2025)
The first season of Only Murders in the Building (2021) follows three strangers—Charles-Haden Savage, Oliver Putnam, and Mabel Mora—who live in the Arconia, an upscale New York City apartment building. Despite their age differences, they bond over a shared obsession with true crime podcasts. When fellow resident Tim Kono dies under suspicious circumstances, they launch their own podcast, Only Murders in the Building, to investigate. Core Cast & Characters
Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin): A semi-retired, misanthropic actor famous for playing the 90s detective "Brazzos".
Oliver Putnam (Martin Short): An eccentric, struggling Broadway director who often uses his theatrical flair to analyze the case.
Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez): A secretive young woman renovating her aunt's apartment; she reveals she was childhood friends with the victim.
Oscar Torres (Aaron Dominguez): Mabel's friend who was recently released from prison for a crime he didn't commit.
Jan Bellows (Amy Ryan): A professional bassoonist and resident of the Arconia who becomes Charles's love interest. Episode Guide Summary
The season consists of 10 episodes that aired between August and October 2021.
Why Season 1 Stands Above the Rest
While the subsequent seasons (S2’s painting mystery and S3’s Broadway whodunit starring Meryl Streep) have their merits, Season 1 remains the magnum opus for a specific reason: Intimacy.
Later seasons expand the world to include Hollywood stars and huge set pieces. Season 1 is quiet. It is about the anxiety of living alone in a big city. It’s about the awkwardness of sharing an elevator with a potential killer. It’s about the sound of a falling body from the floor above.
The show also handles its emotional core beautifully. The reveal of Mabel’s past with Zoe and Tim turns the "murder of the week" into a tragedy about lost childhood. The final shot of the first season—Mabel covered in glitter from a knitting needle, the police sirens arriving—is less a cliffhanger and more a painting of surrender.
The Arconia as a Character
The Arconia, with its gothic arches, creaky dumbwaiters, and endless secret passages, is more than a setting; it’s the show’s soul. It represents the paradox of New York living: being surrounded by thousands of people yet feeling utterly alone. Charles eats the same bland omelet alone every day. Oliver has been alienated from his family and evicted from his creative purpose. Mabel haunts the halls of a childhood friend’s aunt’s apartment, clinging to a past that no longer exists.
The building’s other residents—the cat-loving, acid-green-ring-wearing Bunny; the stuttering, tie-dye clad music producer Sting (playing a fictionalized version of himself); and the superfan arsonist Jan—form a rotating cast of red herrings. Each resident represents a different flavor of isolation, suggesting that in a city of millions, an apartment building is just a vertical village of secrets.
Only Murders in the Building - Season 1: A Deep Dive into Hulu’s Murderous Hit
In an era saturated with grim, nihilistic crime dramas and convoluted streaming mysteries, something surprisingly warm and witty broke through the noise in the summer of 2021. Only Murders in the Building - Season 1 didn’t just solve a killing; it revitalized the whodunit genre by wrapping it in a blanket of New York City charm, unlikely friendships, and a genuine love for the art of the podcast.
Starring the dream team of Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, Season 1 of Only Murders in the Building became a cultural phenomenon. But what made this first season so addictive? Let’s take an exhaustive look back at the case that started it all: the death of Tim Kono.
Why Season 1 Resonates
Beyond the clever plotting and the chemistry of its three leads (the Martin-Short vaudeville energy grounded by Gomez’s deadpan cool), Season 1 endures because of its emotional core. It’s a show about the fear of being forgotten. Charles fears irrelevance. Oliver fears failure. Mabel fears becoming a ghost in her own life.
Their solution is radical: they listen to each other. The podcast becomes a tangible proof of their existence. The final scene of the season—the three of them sitting on the roof of the Arconia, looking out at a city that doesn’t know they exist—is not a moment of triumph. It’s a moment of connection. They didn’t just solve a murder. They saved each other from a far worse fate: dying of loneliness long before their bodies give out.
In the end, Only Murders in the Building Season 1 is a love letter to the cranky, beautiful, chaotic art of being a neighbor. And it reminds us that sometimes, the best mystery isn’t who killed Tim Kono—but who is living in apartment 14C, and whether they’d like to come over for dinner.
Verdict: Essential viewing. A perfectly orchestrated first movement in a symphony of suspense and heart. Only Murders in the Building - Season 1
Season Report: Only Murders in the Building (Season 1) Only Murders in the Building premiered on August 31, 2021, as a Hulu original. Created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman, the season blends comedy, mystery, and drama across 10 episodes. It became the most-watched comedy premiere in Hulu’s history. 1. Plot Overview
The story centers on three strangers living in the Arconia, an upscale Upper West Side apartment building, who share an obsession with true crime podcasts. When a neighbor, Tim Kono, is found dead, the trio suspects foul play and starts their own podcast to document their investigation.
The Victim: Tim Kono, an unpopular resident whose death was initially ruled a suicide.
Key Conflict: As they dig deeper, the trio discovers that many neighbors—and they themselves—are hiding secrets.
The Finale: The season concludes with the resolution of Tim Kono's murder, only for a new body to be discovered, leading to the trio’s arrest and setting up the second season. 2. Main Cast and Characters
The series is anchored by the "central trio," whose intergenerational chemistry received significant praise.
In the velvet-draped, cream-colored confines of the Upper West Side’s fictional Arconia, three lonely strangers found an unlikely cure for isolation: a shared obsession with true crime podcasts. Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), a once-famous TV detective now reduced to cooking omelets alone; Oliver Putnam (Martin Short), a bombastic, cash-strapped Broadway director still clinging to past glories; and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez), a sharp, mysterious young artist renovating her aunt’s apartment—they had nothing in common but the building’s elevator and a burning need for connection.
That changed on the night a fire alarm blared, herding the Arconia’s eccentric residents into the courtyard. There, they discovered a fellow tenant, the reclusive and shady Tim Kono, dead from an apparent gunshot wound to the head. The police and media quickly ruled it a suicide. But the trio, ears perked by years of listening to podcasts like All Is Not OK in Oklahoma, noticed the tell-tale flaw: Tim Kono was found clutching a garbage bag of Amber Kono, his favorite spicy snack, despite the police report claiming he shot himself with his right hand—when in fact, Tim was left-handed.
Thus, their own podcast, Only Murders in the Building, was born. Episode by episode, the unlikely trio—Charles the neurotic, Oliver the bombastic, and Mabel the guarded—began interviewing the building’s living gallery of suspects. There was Howard, the jumpy cat lover whose feline, Evelyn, died the same night as Tim. There was Sting, playing an exaggerated version of himself, who had a bitter feud with the victim. There was Teddy Dimas (Nathan Lane), the gruff deli king, and his silent son Theo (James Caverly), who communicated in American Sign Language. And then, the pattern emerged: Tim Kono had been hunting a massive jewelry theft ring tied to a black-market grave-robbing operation, all connected to a six-figure emerald ring.
As their online following grew—led by the adoring (and slightly suspicious) super-fan "Miss" Cinda Canning (Tina Fey)—so did the danger. Charles was poisoned by a toxic acid meant for them. Oliver’s beloved son was threatened. And Mabel’s past, darkly entangled with Tim Kono’s, bubbled to the surface: she and Tim had been childhood friends, part of a secret group of "Hardy Boys" who investigated the Arconia. They had stumbled upon a cold case—the disappearance of a young woman named Zoe—years ago. Tim had been their friend, not their enemy.
The season’s masterful twist arrived in the penultimate episode, delivered almost entirely in silence. Through Theo Dimas’s perspective (a brilliant silent episode titled "The Boy from 6B"), we learned the truth: Zoe’s death had been an accident. She had been fighting with Theo, slipped, and fell from the Arconia’s roof. But in a panic, Theo—whose father was the real jewelry thief—covered it up, and Tim Kono had been silently investigating ever since, hoping to clear Theo’s name and find justice for Zoe. The "murder" of Tim Kono wasn’t a suicide, nor was it a random act. It was a cover-up of a cover-up.
The killer? Not Theo, but his father, Teddy Dimas. Learning that Tim was about to expose the jewelry ring, Teddy strangled Tim and staged the gunshot to look like a suicide. In a final, breathless episode set in the Arconia’s secret, cavernous elevator shaft, the trio cornered the killer. A wild chase ensued, complete with a falling body (a beloved parrot named Mrs. Gambolini), a very angry Teddy, and the arrival of the NYPD.
They solved it. Tim Kono’s name was cleared. The podcast was a smash hit. The three, once isolated souls, now shared a bond stronger than family. They toasted with a bottle of Gut Milk—a repulsive, cheap wine that had become their inside joke. But as the credits rolled, a final, chilling image cut to Mabel’s own apartment. Hidden in the wall, behind her tapestry, lay a body: her Aunt’s friend, the building’s long-missing resident, wrapped in plastic. The case was closed, but one question remained—one that only the trio could answer next season: Who, in the Arconia, did Mabel think she was protecting? The building, it seemed, had more secrets than walls.
The first season of Only Murders in the Building (2021) is a 10-episode mystery comedy-drama that revitalized the "whodunnit" genre by blending old-school detective storytelling with the modern cultural obsession of true crime podcasts. Premise and Plot The story is set at The Arconia
, an upscale apartment building on Manhattan's Upper West Side. After a fire alarm forces an evacuation, three strangers—Charles-Haden Savage, Oliver Putnam, and Mabel Mora—bond over their shared love for a specific true crime podcast. When they discover a fellow resident,
, has died in what the police quickly rule a suicide, the trio suspects foul play. They decide to investigate the death themselves and document their findings in their own podcast, titled Only Murders in the Building The Core Trio
The season’s success is largely attributed to the chemistry between its three leads, who represent a unique intergenerational dynamic: Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin) The first season of Only Murders in the
: A semi-retired, socially awkward actor famous for a 1990s detective show called Oliver Putnam (Martin Short)
: An eccentric, struggling Broadway director living beyond his means and desperate for a hit. Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez)
: A dry-witted, mysterious young woman renovating an apartment who, it's later revealed, had a secret past connection to the victim. Key Mystery Elements
The investigation unravels several layers of Arconia history and resident secrets:
The first season of Only Murders in the Building (OMITB) premiered on Hulu on August 31, 2021. Created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman, the series is a mystery comedy-drama set in a fictional luxury apartment building called the Arconia on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Core Premise & Plot
The story follows three strangers—Charles-Haden Savage, Oliver Putnam, and Mabel Mora—who live in the same building and share an obsession with true crime podcasts. After a fellow resident, Tim Kono, is found dead, the police rule it a suicide, but the trio suspects foul play. They decide to investigate the death themselves and record a podcast titled "Only Murders in the Building" to document their findings.
Key Conflict: As they dig deeper, they realize the killer might be one of their own neighbors.
Twists: The investigation reveals Mabel's secret past with the victim and eventually exposes Jan Bellows, a bassoonist and Charles's love interest, as the murderer.
Season Finale: The season ends on a massive cliffhanger: just as the trio celebrates solving Tim's murder, the building's board president, Bunny Folger, is found dead in Mabel’s apartment, leading to the trio's arrest. Main Cast & Characters Only Murders in the Building: Season 1
The first season of Only Murders in the Building (2021) is a 10-episode whodunit that blends old-school detective storytelling with sharp comedic wit. Set in the prestigious Arconia apartment building on Manhattan's Upper West Side, it follows three strangers who bond over their obsession with true crime podcasts only to find themselves investigating a real murder within their own walls. The Central Mystery When resident
is found dead in his apartment, the police quickly rule it a suicide. However, the trio suspects foul play and launches their own podcast, Only Murders in the Building , to document their investigation. The Suspects
: Their search leads them through a series of colorful neighbors, including an obsessive cat lover, a world-famous musician (Sting), and the building’s stern board president, Bunny Folger.
: The investigation eventually uncovers a black-market jewelry ring involving fellow resident Teddy Dimas. The Killer
: In a final shock, it is revealed that Charles's new girlfriend, Jan Bellows
(a professional bassoonist), poisoned Tim Kono after a secret romantic falling out. Lead Characters & Cast
The series is anchored by the unlikely chemistry of its three leads:
Only Murders in the Building - Season 1 The first season of Only Murders in the Building premiered on August 31, 2021 Why Season 1 Stands Above the Rest While
. It is a comedic mystery series that follows three neighbors— Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), Oliver Putnam (Martin Short), and Mabel Mora
(Selena Gomez)—who share an obsession with true crime podcasts. Plot Overview The Premise
: When a fellow resident, Tim Kono, is found dead in their upscale New York apartment building, the Arconia, the trio suspects murder and decides to investigate. They record their own podcast titled Only Murders in the Building to document their progress. Core Mystery
: The season centers on the question: "Who killed Tim Kono?" As they dig deeper, they uncover secrets about their neighbors and realize that the killer might be living among them. Personal Ties
: It is eventually revealed that Mabel was a childhood friend of Tim Kono. Their friendship fractured years prior after their mutual friend, Zoe Cassidy, fell to her death from the building's roof. Season Finale & Resolution The Killer : The murderer is revealed to be Jan Bellows
(Amy Ryan), a professional bassoonist who was dating Charles. She had been romantically involved with Tim Kono and killed him in a fit of jealousy after they broke up. The Motive
: Jan poisoned Tim and then shot him to make his death look like a suicide. The Twist Ending
: After Jan's arrest, the trio celebrates their success. However, the season ends on a massive cliffhanger: Charles and Oliver receive an anonymous text to leave the building, only to find Mabel covered in blood, leaning over the dead body of the building’s board president, Bunny Folger
. The three are led out of the Arconia in handcuffs as suspects. Critical Reception and Awards Critical Acclaim : The season received widespread praise, earning a 100% approval rating Rotten Tomatoes : It received 17 nominations
at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series. Nathan Lane
won Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Teddy Dimas. or a summary of
The True Crime Parody That Worships Its Subject
What makes Only Murders in the Building - Season 1 so sharp is its refusal to mock true crime fans. Instead, it celebrates them with obsessive detail.
Oliver’s obsession with sound design (recording the "foley" of dips and knitting needles) parodies the high production values of Serial. Charles’s hyper-analysis of people’s behavior mimics the fan who thinks they can solve a case based on a vocal fry. The show even features a scene where the trio discovers "the fandom" has found their podcast, leading to subreddit threads and obsessive fan art inside the show.
The series introduced a brilliant meta twist: The Cinda Canning Parody. Tina Fey plays a smug, ridiculously successful podcast host (a clear send-up of Sarah Koenig or Crime Junkie host Ashley Flowers), serving as the antagonist the trio hopes to dethrone. It’s a commentary on the commodification of tragedy—but it never feels mean, because the show recognizes that we are all Cinda Canning.
The Premise: Three Strangers, One Obsession
The setup is deceptively simple. Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin) is a semi-reclusive actor famous for a 1990s procedural called Brazzos. Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) is a desperate, cash-strapped Broadway director with a flair for the dramatic. Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) is a sharp, mysterious young woman renovating her aunt’s apartment.
They share nothing in common except loneliness and a residence at the Upper West Side’s opulent, fictional Arconia. When a fire alarm forces the building’s residents into the courtyard, they discover a fellow neighbor, Tim Kono, has died. The police rule it a suicide. The trio, however, bonds over their favorite true-crime podcast and decides Tim was murdered.
Thus begins the central engine of Only Murders in the Building - Season 1: they launch their own illegal podcast to investigate the case, titled, naturally, Only Murders in the Building.
The Arconia: A Character in Itself
You cannot discuss Season 1 without acknowledging the building. The Arconia (exteriors shot at the real-life Belnord) is a labyrinth of hidden passageways, creaky elevators, and secret gardens. It houses a rogue’s gallery of suspects:
- Sting (as himself): The musician living in the penthouse, initially a suspect due to a rhythmic tie-dye alibi.
- Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton): The cat-loving, emotional neighbor whose Evelyn (the cat) dies under mysterious circumstances.
- Theo & Teddy Dimas: A silent, angsty young man and his overbearing father, played brilliantly by Nathan Lane, who runs a grave-robbing ring.
- Bunny Folger (Jayne Houdyshell): The tyrannical board president who hates the trio’s podcast with a fiery passion.
Every apartment door hides a secret, making the building a vertical chessboard of red herrings.
Why it works
- Strong chemistry among leads provides both comedy and empathy.
- Tight plotting with layered red herrings keeps viewers engaged.
- Smart use of podcast framing creates tension between narrative and evidence.
- Balances mystery with character growth, appealing to fans of drama and comedy.