Only Murders In The Building Creator Was Inspired By A Real-Life Experience

Warning: Spoilers for Only Murders in the Building.

John Hoffman, the co-creator of Only Murders in the Building, reveals that the series was partially inspired by his own experience. Consisting of ten episodes and led by Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, the Hulu show follows three strangers who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves investigating an actual murder.

Only Murders in the Building has been one of the most anticipated arrivals to the streaming landscape since its first teaser trailer. But, after the premiere of its first three installments, fans were quickly caught by surprise. Gomez’s character, Mabel, is unlike the two other protagonists. She links to the murder victim, Tim Kono (Julian Cihi), and grew up with him. Hoffman, who co-created the series with Steve Martin, recently explained how part of the story is based on his own history.

In an interview with The Wrap, Hoffman opened up about the central premise of Only Murders in the Building was partially inspired by a tragic experience in real life. He also noted that Mable’s situation of losing touch with someone and then learning that they’ve passed away hits close to home. Hoffman talks about initially hearing that he’d lost an old friend to suicide and struggling to accept the fact. In his comments, which can be read in full below, the co-creator details how he kept investigating until he uncovered the truth of what happened.

“In crafting this story, there’s a personal connection I have to a mystery like this. And it just so happened that in tragic form, a year before I started writing this show, a friend of mine was found dead on his floor with someone else and it was deemed a murder-suicide. And, with my friend being the one who had committed suicide and committed murder, I couldn’t fathom that at all based on the person I knew. But I hadn’t spoken to him in over 20 years, and he was very dear to me when I was growing up. So I went on a mission to find out what the hell has happened here. And my gut told me, that is impossible. And by the end of the year of truly investigating, going to Wisconsin, meeting his family, meeting his kids, learning what his life had become, the whole case had been investigated and reversed. And the truth was, he was killed… That sounds very dark for a lovely comedy series like this. But it was close to Mabel’s experience.”

Each of the first three episodes of Only Murders in the Building focuses on one of the three central protagonists. In the second episode, which focuses on Mabel, viewers get to see how deeply the loss of Tim affects her. Though she hides it around Charles (Martin) and Oliver (Short), she has a deep connection to the case. By adding that element, the Hulu dramedy doesn’t do away with the story of three unlikely companions solving a murder. Still, it does a personal undercurrent to the proceedings, and it has allowed Gomez’s character to emerge, in these early episodes, as the emotional lynchpin of the show. While both Charles and Oliver are interested in Tim for selfish reasons, either to fill boredom or for potential financial gain, Mabel looks to have suffered through a genuine loss.

In its way, it serves as a sort of meta-commentary on the rise of the true-crime genre. Millions of people enjoy listening to podcasts and watching documentaries to piece together clues or even for the sake of debating their respective theories. Only Murders in the Building embraces the trend as well, in its way, as viewers are invited to speculate over what led to Tim’s demise. Still, through Mabel’s relationship with Tim, it serves as a reminder that the victims of these popular crime stories once had entire lives of their own that were sadly cut short. Hoffman’s experience with his friend is as clear an example of that as any.

Source: The Wrap

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Abdullah Al-Ghamdi
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Abdullah Al-Ghamdi joined Screen Rant in August 2019, focusing on movie and television news. In January of the same year, he wrote a 3500+ word piece on why Primo Colón is underrated. He considers it his finest work. When he’s not arguing for the merits of his favorite wrestler, he can be reached at: [email protected].

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