Steve Martin can't imagine 'Only Murders in the Building' without Selena Gomez

Hosted by

“That's a good idea: three older guys who live in a building and solve murders because they don't have anything else to do,’” says Steve Martin, whose idea morphed into adding Selena Gomez as the third cast member. Martin Short (left), Selena Gomez and Steve Martin attend a premiere for season 2 of "Only Murders in the Building," in Los Angeles, California, on June 27, 2022. Photo by Mario Anzuoni/REUTERS.

Actor, comedian, musician, and producer Steve Martin had been invited to one of talent manager’s Sandy Gallin’s showbiz parties in New York. There, he recalls seeing a lot of actors, including three older ones, when Gallin suggested he should write something for them. 

“I thought, ‘That's a good idea: three older guys who live in a building and solve murders because they don't have anything else to do,’” Martin recalls. His premise was: “They're too tired to go downtown to investigate things, so they limit it to only murderers in the building, so they could just stay home to solve the crime.” 

From that idea, Martin was introduced to John Hoffman and the two created “Only Murders in the Building,” the biggest comedy hit on Hulu. 

Now, the duo share how they met, and what it took for them to get Martin’s idea from paper onto the screen.

But first, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav cancels “Batgirl.” Kim Masters and Matt Balloni discuss what this means for the DC brand and the studio. 

Credits

Host:

Kim Masters

Producer:

Joshua Farnham