‘Only Murders in the Building’ combines crime, cuteness

“Only Murders in the Building” (Tuesdays, Hulu) is yet another murder-mystery serial, but it brings its own flavor. Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez are all understatedly delightful, making me want to watch more work from all of them.

Perfect strangers

They play a trio of strangers in a New York apartment building who share an interest: true-crime podcasts. When a murder occurs, they aim to solve it. Short’s Oliver – a theater producer — is particularly driven to turn it into the first true-crime podcast that unfolds in real time.

They decide that if it’s a hit and they do sequels, the podcast won’t expand to the wider Big Apple. It’ll chronicle “only murders in the building.”

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The fact that they think the building will produce enough murders for sequels says something about the show’s darkly humorous view of NYC. And it’s a stereotypical view. But most of this series from Martin and John Hoffman is smart and detailed.

For instance, Oliver and former TV actor Charles (Martin) – who purchased their units decades ago when they were affordable — wonder how 20-something Mabel (Gomez) can afford to live there. (It’s her aunt’s unit, and Mabel is remodeling it.)

Mysterious investigators

Details about the trio’s lives – and their slowly budding friendships — make this a rather warm series even though it’s fair to call it a dark comedy. The funniest moment of the first three half-hour episodes (the show will proceed on a weekly schedule for the 10-episode run) involves a frozen animal corpse.

In that scene, Martin breaks out his old-school comic acting, and it’s a delight – especially since it’s balanced with Gomez’s superb straightwoman timing. I love the fact that Gomez’s character is named Mabel.

The actress (also great in Woody Allen’s “A Rainy Day in New York”) strikes me as an old soul despite looking even younger than her 29 years. She has a thoughtful yet tired-sounding voice that fits well here. The writers play this up in details such as Mabel growing up reading “Hardy Boys” books (and not newly published ones).

Short gives the broadest performance, but even he is relatively restrained. Plus, Oliver has the saddest of the three arcs, as he’s secretly broke and desperately wants to keep his apartment.

Cross-generational appeal

A Venn diagram would not normally have Gomez’s Disney and pop-music fan base overlapping that of comedy legends Martin and Short. The writers have fun with the generation gap. The elders see Mabel as an example of a Young Person. She sees them as old dogs she shouldn’t get attached to because they might soon die.

But this isn’t sitcom humor. The oldsters know how to use technology; it’s just that they don’t know the cultural norms. Oliver knows how to text; but he doesn’t realize a greeting and a signature are not necessary.

I’ve gone through this review without mentioning the murder. But that doesn’t mean it’s not compelling.

Mysteries about Mabel, Oliver and Charles – who sketchily quotes from his detective hit “Brazzos,” passing it off as his own backstory – are at the forefront. Also prominent is information about the victim, Tim Kono (Julian Cihi).

But I’m aware that motives, means and opportunity for building residents are being peppered in, even though they aren’t telegraphed. “Only Murders in the Building” is already great, but I suspect it’ll only build into something better.