Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Paul Rudd, Meryl Streep, Michael Cyril Creighton, Jackie Hoffman, Tina Fey, Matthew Broderick, Jane Lynch, Jeremy Shamos, Jesse Williams, Mel Brooks, Teddy Coluca, Ryan Broussard, Jason Veasey, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, James Caverly, Gerard Caesar, Linda Emond, Ashley Park, Don Darryl Rivera, Wesley Taylor, Allison Guinn, Andrea Martin, Joel Waggoner, Taylor Colwell, Harry Sutton Jr.
Meta Theatre has perhaps never had a more perfect stage in which to set itself up as one of the highest forms of artistic style. Shakespeare’s Hamlet may have founded the humble beginnings, but in the third season of the comedy mystery drama Only Murders In The Building, that delight of being shown as a viewer the back door to the mind as the armchair detective cogitates on the suspects in the demise of Ben Glenroy, is one of the most persuasive pieces of television imagined.
The success of the series is not confined to the three main leads of Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez, nor in the magnificent way it found its way to being big names or give appreciation to perhaps lesser-known actors of just as finesse and dramatic quality, but in the presence of its two major landmarks used, The Arconia and the theatre in which Mr. Short’s Oliver Putnam and Mr. Martin’s Charles-Haden Savage are attempting to pull off the performance of a lifetime in their original musical in front of a full house on opening night.
It speaks volumes of the show’s continued presence in the minds of the viewer that the production of the third series is able to bring in three huge names from cinema to its confined world, and as Paul Rudd, Meryl Streep, and Matthew Broderick perform their respective roles with genius and marked sincerity, but this must not overshadow the performances of Michael Cyril Creighton as neighbour Howard Morris, Jesse Williams as Selena Gomez’s Mabel’s love interest, Tobert, and Jane Lynch, albeit briefly, reprising her role as Charles’ stunt double Sazz Pataki, all of whom add such intricacy to the overall feel of the show.
Murder has never been so entertaining, and with a sensational ending in which to see series four being confirmed, Only Murders In The Building has reached such a height that it will be fascinating to see just how they can top the third series. Outstanding television, one of the finest shows of 2023 without a shadow of a doubt.
Ian D. Hall