- POPSUGAR Australia
- Celebrity
- 21 Shows to Fill the Arconia-Size Hole in Your Heart After Only Murders in the Building Ends
21 Shows to Fill the Arconia-Size Hole in Your Heart After Only Murders in the Building Ends
The first season of Hulu’s hit mystery series Only Murders in the Building is officially coming to a close, and fans finally know who killed Tim Kono. The unlikely trio of Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez gives the show its perfect mix of zany and spiky energy, and their intergenerational dynamic allows the series to tell a touching story about the need for human connection. Add in the central mystery’s genuinely shocking twists and turns, and bold creative moves like the silent episode, and you have the recipe for an unforgettable first season. The only downside: Mabel, Charles, and Oliver’s search for Tim Kono’s killer was much too short. So to fill the Arconia-sized hole in our hearts until the series returns for season two, we have assembled a selection of shows like Only Murders in the Building. Granted, there’s no singular show that embodies everything that makes Only Murders in the Building so special, but these shows, which range from cozy mysteries to comedies about starting over, all have plenty in common with the wit and mystery you’ve come to expect from Only Murders. Find your next favorite show ahead!
Agatha Raisin
Only Murders in the Building shares a significant amount of DNA with the cosy mystery genre, which was perfected by the Brits. If you’re not well-acquainted with the genre, then Agatha Raisin is the perfect place to start. The show follows a retired PR whiz who moves to the Cotswalds, where she becomes an amateur detective. With its witty sense of humor and sprawling cast of quirky villagers, Agatha Raisin is sure to give you major Arconia vibes.
Psych
Thanks to Martin and Short’s gift for physical comedy, Only Murders in the Building has its share of laugh-out-loud slapstick moments. If you want even more hijinks to go with your crime-solving, then Psych‘s fake-psychic Shawn Spencer and his best friend Burton Guster have got you covered. This is one crime show where the comedy is always front and centre.
Search Party
No other show on this list resembles Only Murders in the Building more than Search Party. When a former friend from college goes missing, a bored twenty-something named Dory enlists her friends to launch a search, which quickly gets out of hand. This dark comedy is definitely more cynical than Only Murders, but it will also remind you of Mabel and her Hardy Boys in a major way.
Barry
Charles’ past as a TV-show detective is a frequent plot point throughout season one of Only Murders, which might leave you craving more stories that mix action with a look at the inner-workings of the world of actors. If so, consider Barry. The series stars Bill Hader as a stoic hitman who follows a target into an acting class, and inadvertently finds a new direction in life.
Bored to Death
Bored to Death is a forgotten HBO comedy that stars Jason Schwartzman as an author who turns his love of crime novels into a career as a private investigator. Unfortunately for him, the reality of being a P.I. is nowhere near as glamorous as he imagined it would be.
Castle
There was a time when quirky crime series were all the rage on network television, and Castle was one of the best. This long-running drama followed a crime novelist turned consulting detective who both annoys and charms the detective he teams up with when one of his books inspires a series of copycat murders.
Fallet
One of the reasons that Only Murders is so much fun is because of how well it understands armchair detectives. Likewise, the genius of Fallet lies in its ability to turn the tropes of the dreary Nordic crime drama genre on its heads. When a tough Swedish detective is teamed up with a group of British colleagues who are far less acquainted with the world of gritty murders and labyrinthine mysteries, hilarity inevitably ensues.
Fargo
FX’s reimagining of the classic movie Fargo changes casts and time periods each season, but the crime anthology series never loses its sense of humour. On the whole, it is a darker show than Only Murders, but if you love the dynamic cast of characters who populate the Arconia, then you’re going to fall hard for the ridiculous characters (and incredible actors) who keep this series about small-town crime stories fresh.
The Flight Attendant
Unlike Mabel, Charles, and Oliver, the central character in The Flight Attendant, Cassie, is less than thrilled to find herself in the middle of a murder mystery. However, she eventually embraces her role as an amateur detective when she realizes no one else is coming to clear her name after she wakes up next to a dead body with no memory of what happened the night before.
Get Shorty
Based on the film of the same name (and the book by Elmore Leonard), Get Shorty is an offbeat comedy about a mobster who changes careers and becomes a Hollywood movie producer. Even though the premise is wildly different than Only Murders in the Building‘s, both shows share a similar sense of humour and a nod to to the behind-the-scenes world of Hollywood.
The Good Place
There’s no crime to solve in The Good Place, but the central characters are tasked with solving a pretty big mystery when Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell) realises she may have been sent to “the good place” by mistake when she died. That’s the central premise of this warm and thought-provoking comedy that throws together a group of unlikely people to contemplate philosophical questions about what it means to be good. It also serves up a meaty role for Ted Danson and some forking funny jokes along the way.
Grace and Frankie
Precious few television shows give people over the age of 50 anything interesting to do, but both Only Murders and Grace and Frankie prove life can get even more interesting after 70. For Grace (Jane Fonda) and Frankie (Lily Tomlin), that means starting over after their husbands reveal they’ve been in love with each other for decades. They embark on new relationships, while also starting their own business.
Hacks
Watching Mabel connect with Charles and Oliver gives Only Murders in the Building a sense of warmth that would be missing if the show was only about Mabel or her older neighbours. Hacks takes a similar approach to intergenerational storytelling by having Hannah Einbinder’s Ava reluctantly write jokes for Jean Smart’s aging comedian Deborah Vance. The two women often clash and misunderstand each other, but even though their relationship is far more contentious than the Only Murders trio, it’s still a fascinating look at what happens when younger and older generations collide.
The Hardy Boys
Mabel and her friends are huge fans of The Hardy Boys mysteries, so it only stands to reason that you should check out this adaptation of the classic books. In the wake of their mother’s death, Frank and Joe Hardy’s dad relocates them to the small town where their mother grew up and they promptly find themselves drawn into a mysterious case they rope their new friends into helping them solve.
Home Before Dark
Home Before Dark skews younger than Only Murders in the Building, but fans of the Hulu comedy will find lots to love here. The show follows a precocious young girl named Hilde, who uses her journalistic instincts to solve a decades-old cold case in her father’s hometown. Along for the ride are her family, who just want her to be a normal kid, and her friends, who find themselves drawn away from their juice boxes and right into the middle of a murder mystery.
The Kominsky Method
If you love Charles and Oliver, just wait until you meet Sandy (Michael Douglas) and Norman (Alan Arkin). The Kominsky Method is a warts-and-all look at what it’s like to be an aging actor in Hollywood. There’s no mystery to solve, but if you want to see another show where two famous stars are given material worthy of their talents, then this is the series for you.
Monk
If your favourite character on Only Murders is Charles, then you’ve probably enjoyed watching him slowly step out of his comfort zone to take a chance on meaningful relationships again after his traumatic breakup. Monk explores similar themes as former police officer Adrian Monk, who has obsessive-compulsive disorder, turns to assisting his old colleagues with cases while also trying to solve the mystery surrounding the murder of his wife, Trudy.
Pushing Daisies
Want a comedic crime show with a dash of the supernatural? Then you need to make Pushing Daisies the first show you watch post-Only Murders in the Building. This whimsical story of a baker who can bring dead things back to life is full of murder mysteries, romance, and a fairytale-style narration that will warm your heart.
Terriers
The late, great Terriers is a one-and-done classic about two private detectives who get in over their heads when they become involved in a case that’s way above their paygrade. This noir style dramedy is anchored by terrific performances from Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James, whose chemistry is so natural they’ll make you feel like their characters, ex-cop Hank and ex-con Brett, really have been friends for years.
Truth Be Told
Though Truth Be Told is a straight up drama, the show’s podcast element makes it a good match for viewers of Only Murders in the Building. When the case that made Poppy (Octavia Butler) a podcast superstar comes back to haunt her, she becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth before a potentially innocent man spends the rest of his life in jail.
Truth Seekers
Ghost hunting shows are basically true crime’s scrappier cousin, and Truth Seekers is a hilarious sendup to the genre of reality TV that finds people searching old prisons and creepy houses for spirits. Technically, Gus (Nick Frost) is a broadband installer by trade, but it doesn’t take him long to drag his unwitting new partner into his side gig as a paranormal investigator – or for them both to discover that ghosts are far more real than they ever imagined.