Hulu is extending the lease of Only Murders in the Building.
The Disney-run streamer has ordered a second season of the comedy starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez as residents of a New York apartment building who come together when a fellow tenant suffers a grisly death. The renewal comes two weeks and four episodes into the show’s eight-episode first season.
Hulu says Only Murders, created by Martin and John Hoffman and executive produced by This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman, had the highest premiere day tune-in for any comedy series (original or acquired) in the history of the platform — though, per usual with streamers, no specific numbers are attached to that claim. The series has also earned very positive critical response and strong rankings from viewers on review aggregators Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes.
“Only Murders in the Building reflects the kind of creative excellence that is the hallmark of Hulu Originals,” said ABC Entertainment and Hulu Originals president Craig Erwich. “Steve, John and Dan have created a uniquely captivating and entertaining series. The audience’s response to the delightful blend of mystery, humor and emotion in the show has been overwhelming and we can’t wait to follow this unlikely trio on their next adventure.”
Said Hoffman, “Everyone in our amazing Building worked with such love and expertise through extraordinary times — and with incredible support from Disney, Hulu and 20th TV — to create a first season that might live up to our legendary cast, our beloved New York City, and to make a show about connection. To feel we’ve connected with our audience and hit the mark enough already to have the chance to continue — and to carry on our show’s wild ride of mystery-comedy-empathy — is too exciting for words. So I’ll shut up now, and just say a huge thanks to all and I can’t wait for more.”
The series marks Martin’s first regular role in a scripted show in his storied career. Along with Short and Gomez, the regular cast also includes Aaron Dominguez and Amy Ryan.
“There has been something about this project that felt almost fated from the start; from Dan’s first lunch with Steve in which Steve happened to mention he had an idea for a series, to John jumping aboard to co-create it, to Steve’s agreeing to star but only if Marty joined him, to the inspired addition of Selena,” said 20th Television president Karey Burke. “The comedy this team delivered has been the obsession of every executive at this studio, and our friends at Hulu have treated it like the crown jewel that it is. And now, thanks to the incredible audience response, we are so happy to say there will be more murders in the building — which is great news for everyone, except perhaps the residents of the Arconia.”
Added Fogelman, “If you’d told 15-year-old me that I’d Zoom multiple times this week with Steve Martin and Martin Short to celebrate our show’s launch, I would have asked ‘What’s Zoom?’ But this is still all incredibly exciting. I’m so proud of all involved and grateful to Dana [Walden], Craig and Karey, and our fantastic partners at Disney, 20th and Hulu.”
Martin and Hoffman executive produce Only Murders in the Building with Short, Gomez, Jamie Babbitt, Fogelman and Jess Rosenthal. The show’s first season is slated to conclude on Oct. 5.
This story was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
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