Martin Short Interview On ‘Only Murders In The Building’

Only Murders in the Building went into production during lockdown in 2020 with a premise that might easily have served a single episode — three strangers come together to solve a murder in their apartment block. Five years on, the Hulu show is a fixture among Emmy voters, who regularly shortlist it for Outstanding Comedy and, likewise, show their affection for Martin Short by nominating him annually for Best Actor in a Comedy Series.

The reasons for the show’s appeal are manifold, starting with the odd-trio chemistry of the three leads (Short, plus his longtime co-conspirator Steve Martin and relative whippersnapper Selena Gomez). But there’s also a rich seam of irony being mined; in the first season, the proliferation of true-crime podcasts was satirized, which led to a studio deal being drawn up that saw the three sleuths meeting their Hollywood doppelgangers (Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis and Eva Longoria sort of playing themselves).

Before I speak to Short, producer and head writer John Hoffmann — seemingly just mooching around at Short’s smart, mid-century modern home — pops up to discuss the director for Season 5.

“It’s been a very tricky balance to draw,” he says. “The ‘meta’ nature of it — the reflection back — seems to be one constant theme for the show, which I wasn’t expecting from the beginning until we started to really get deeper and deeper into the kinds of progression that naturally would happen, I think, in this situation. So the part of it that really surprises me is that it’s able to hold so much, this show. I still can’t believe it. I can’t believe the way in which these three can find their ways comedically and dramatically but also holding all of that meta ‘wink-wink’ every now and then. That’s really the key.”

The last season teased a mafia connection for the future, bringing in the wife of New York’s dry-cleaning king, whose husband has gone missing. So what can we expect from the next 10 episodes? “What I think we’re doing in Season 5 is very different,” says Hoffmann. “We’re going straight into a New York story that’s happening very much currently. It’s also happening across the country, obviously, but also in the city itself. We’re pulling from the headlines to ask very specific questions about the balance of power in New York and who has that power. That’s what we’re really looking at — the shifting power dynamics of the country. And what’s really fun about it, the comedic side of it, is that the history of power in New York is pretty colorful, with the old mob and the new mob mixing in. What do those two look like, and how do they sit on either side, with our trio in the center of it?”

“Boy, I’m glad you’re answering this,” says Short. Now 75, the actor isn’t big on explanation, modestly giving the credit for his Only Murders character, eternal showman Oliver Putnam, to the show’s writers. However much that may be true, there can’t be many other actors that could play such a lovable loser with so much braggadocio and pathos. Here, with Hoffmann out of the way, Short reflects on the show that started small but dreamed so much bigger…

DEADLINE: Did you expect Only Murders to have such longevity?

MARTIN SHORT: I think, certainly, a fifth season in streaming is very unusual these days, but I don’t think any of us thought that way. Steve and I are from the movies also, so we were thinking, “Oh, maybe it’s just going to be one great season.” We were just hoping that it would be interesting. So you go from episode to episode, then suddenly there are 10 episodes, and you have a season. Then you’re renewed, so you do it again. Obviously, you don’t want a show to go up and down, but you’re so invested in where you are right now, it’s hard to get a perspective on it. But certainly, objectively, I can look at it and say, “This is our fifth season — that’s amazing.” And not expected.

DEADLINE: When did you realize it was working?

SHORT: I think after looking at a few episodes. I’m an executive producer, so I’m seeing rough cuts and giving notes, but I’m also getting a sense of, “Boy, actually, this is fun. I like these characters, and I like their interaction.” And then we’ve had brilliant guest stars, of course.

DEADLINE: At first, it wasn’t obvious how you’d sustain it.

SHORT: It’s very weave-y writing, it’s like, “Who? What? When?” But it all makes sense at the end, which is amazing.

DEADLINE: And very unusual for a streaming series.

SHORT: Yes, I know.

DEADLINE: So you’re being celebrated once again for Oliver Putnam. Where did that character come from?

SHORT: It’s like any character development. It starts, obviously, in the description and what the character’s saying, but then determining his clothing. In the first scene, he’s walking across the street, someone honks at him, and he screams, “Did you not see this coat?” So what kind of coat is that? And is that how he dresses? And how does he dress? You just start building it that way. It comes from the words.

DEADLINE: How would you describe him as a personality?

SHORT: I’ve always been drawn toward any character that has a bravado that’s clearly masking insecurity. I remember as a kid, I loved Don Knotts on The Andy Griffith Show. And he had a swagger, but you knew great insecurity. He had a squad car with a radio, and the aerial went all the way up and looped to the back — except he didn’t actually have a radio! And so those kinds of characters, to me, are just hilarious. With Oliver, when he tells those stories about all these celebrities he knows, are they really true?

DEADLINE: How much say do you have in those moments? There are scenes when he’s telling stories, these rich showbiz anecdotes. Do they let you riff on those?

SHORT: It’ll be discussed, but it really is quite the written show that I’ve performed. I weasel in freedom takes sometimes. And sometimes they use some of that, and sometimes they don’t.

DEADLINE What’s a freedom take?

SHORT: Oh, a freedom take is when you’ve done a few takes with all the words written as they were written, and then you improvise and try something different. Just to say you did everything you could do.

DEADLINE: At the start of every season, do you go through what shape it’s going to take? You obviously keep saying that it’s a very scripted show, but do you have any sort of say in the shape of the show, not just Oliver, but in terms of how it’s going?

SHORT: No. Well, I don’t think it’s so much “I have no say” as much as…

DEADLINE: You don’t want it?

SHORT: Yeah, I don’t want it. Because I know that’s covered. That’s why actors sometimes go to dailies during the making of a movie. It’s because they’re not going to be in the edit room when the decisions are being made. They’re going to see if the director is any good. They want to know that when he said, “Moving on,” did he really have it, or should he have done more takes? And once you start to feel, “No, we’re in safe hands,” you let that go. It’s more time to learn lines.

RELATED: Renée Zellweger Joins Fifth Season Of ‘Only Murders In The Building’

DEADLINE: Talking about the guest stars, how are the guest stars decided upon? What kind of meetings do you have about that?

SHORT: Oh, that is definitely run past Steven, Selena and myself. If they suggested someone that I either personally hated or professionally hated, that vote would go a long way. It wouldn’t work.

DEADLINE: What’s different about Oliver this time round?

SHORT: I don’t know. I don’t analyze myself that way. I don’t sit back and say, “You know what I’ve done with Oliver this season…?” I look at the script and I think, “How do I make this real and funny?” That’s what I think. And know that I’m in such good hands. That’s the other huge liberating thing about doing a show like this. Especially into a Season 5, you feel like you’re in such safe hands that no one’s going to make you look like an idiot. No one’s going to make the wrong choice. And so, it loosens you up. It makes you feel very free. But I don’t really go in with endlessly preconceived notions of what might come across. I certainly prepare thoughts, but you want to be open to the moment and what the other actor is giving you, and maybe that’s going to change your mind.

DEADLINE: Do you have a favorite scene or a favorite line that Oliver has come up with?

SHORT: No, I don’t. I let people tell me what their favorite line is too. It would be, to me, a little bit creepy if I said, “Yes, I have five of them. My fifth favorite thing is…”

DEADLINE: You’ve talked a lot in your past about comedy, having fashions and phases, and Only Murders seems to withstand that.

SHORT: Yeah, but with Selena and her generation represented, it’s a much more nuanced situation. Anything that is different and original is fascinating.

DEADLINE: Have you discovered a whole new fan base as a result of that?

SHORT: Well, I’ve done so many different kinds of things. When people come up to me, I can almost tell as they’re approaching me what they’re going to want to talk about. If it’s a 45-year-old guy, it’s ¡Three Amigos! If it’s a 40-year-old woman, it’s Father of the Bride. If it’s a 28-year-old who looks like he’s on meth, it’s Clifford.

DEADLINE: That didn’t get very good reviews, did it?

SHORT: No, it didn’t.

DEADLINE: Do bad reviews dishearten you at all?

SHORT: Well, no one likes a bad review, but in the case of Clifford … that was made in 1994 and sometimes, like a lovely wine, a film needs to age a little bit. [Laughs] It has a very passionate fan base now.

DEADLINE: I very much enjoyed your guest stint on Jimmy Kimmel’s show last year.

SHORT: Oh, thank you.

DEADLINE: Jiminy Glick seemed just as relevant as ever.

SHORT: I think it’s like why certain traditions in show business last. Like SNL or Second City in Chicago and Toronto. Glick is just someone who … there’s always going to be someone like him who’s doing that job. I call them “morons with power.”

DEADLINE: Can you name any examples?

SHORT: You can just look at a newspaper.

DEADLINE: He’s still pretty anarchic compared to what passes for comedy nowadays.

SHORT: Well, it’s always been a weird character for me because I don’t plan anything, I just improvise it. And then we edit it to make everyone look better. To me, it’s a combination of stupidity and arrogance, and by combining those two together, you have a new character.

DEADLINE: Do you enjoy the comedy of embarrassment? Do you enjoy it when people are uncomfortable? Not unpleasantly uncomfortable, but just enough that they don’t know what to make of you when you’re in character…

SHORT: Well, I think they know that there’s no real negative intentions, that it’s all just silly. Jiminy Glick would ask a guest, “Do urinal dividers take the fun out of urinals.” Now, there’s nothing critical to the person being asked the question, it’s just a moronic question.

DEADLINE: Looking ahead, do you have anything lined up? Or are you completely focused on the next season of Only Murders?

SHORT: Well, Steve and I have many live concerts for the next few months.

DEADLINE: Do you still get the same buzz from performing live as you used to?

SHORT: Oh, it’s fun. I’m Canadian. In the ’70s, there was no star system, so you just did the three mediums [TV, film, stand-up] always at once. And that, to me, kept it all interesting. And so that’s what I’ve always done. So I love the idea of doing one thing and then you’re doing another. It’s like, “Oh, now you’re doing live shows,” and “Oh, now you’re back to filming again.” The much bigger concern is, how do you, after many, many years, still feel motivated and intrigued and — “Ooh, it’s a new mountain!” — invigorated by it? You’ve reached a point where you’re not worried about the rent anymore.