Some spoilers below for those who aren't caught up with the first four episodes of Hulu's Only Murders in the Building.
Hulu’s new true crime comedy Only Murders in the Building follows the unlikely trio of Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez as they investigate the murder — or was it really just a suicide? — of a man in their New York City apartment building. Brought together by their love of a Serial-esque true crime podcast, Charles, Oliver and Mabel start their own podcast to document their investigation, which points to the murderer being one of their fellow residents at the Arconia. Everyone’s a suspect, and that includes the Grammy-winning icon Sting, who happens to also live in the building.
Sting plays himself in the role, with a rather moody portrayal of a celeb who likes his privacy (there’s a chuckle-worthy “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” joke there) and hates dogs. It’s not a super flattering role, and the fourth Season 1 episode — aptly titled “The Sting” — frames things so that the rock star starts to look like he might have had something to do with the mysterious death of Julian Cihi's Tim Kono. Series stars Martin Short and Steve Martin talked to Collider recently about working with Sting on the streaming comedy, with Short offering nothing but compliments, saying the musician was fully on board with the part.
He was completely game for all of it. He came to the set, knowing every line of long speeches. He was enthusiastic, focused, and endlessly being funny and charming.
It certainly did seem like a fun role to play, with Sting getting to tap into some different emotional notes, while also requiring a healthy amount of self-deprecation. There was some sarcastic joking about the rock star’s relevance in regards to the character played by pop princess Selena Gomez — "The guy from U2?" Also, any celeb emphatically stating they don’t like dogs can be a pretty polarizing thing to witness, but fans likely know he's (probably) not a dog-hater in real life.
Steve Martin agreed with Martin Short, though, saying Sting had a great sense of humor on set, which I can only hope makes the rock star pleased as punch, since these are such high compliments coming from true comedy icons. In Martin's words:
Yeah, he was a lot of fun. He had a great sense of humor about it. And he was fun to be with, off the set and off screen when we were not shooting. I’ve known him, off and on, for many, many years, and always found him charming. He and his wife, Trudie Styler.
How very Charles-Haden Savage of Steve Martin to mention his years-long relationship with Sting. On Only Murders in the Building, Savage is an actor known primarily for his longtime early-career gig as "Brazzos," a quirky detective from a popular TV police procedural, while Martin Short's Oliver Putnam is a flamboyant but struggling Broadway director, and Selena Gomez as Mabel Mora, the secretive young woman who says she’s renovating her aunt’s unit in the Arconia, but could feasibly be up to anything. Even framing Sting! Well, probably not that, but here's hoping Gomez had as good of a time with the musician as Martin and Short.
Only Murders in the Building is streaming now on Hulu, with new episodes being released every Tuesday. While we wait to see which way this murder mystery will twist next, check out these other recent releases from Hulu, and also be sure to check out our 2021 Fall TV Schedule so you don’t miss the upcoming premieres of all your favorite shows.
