“Wouldn’t it be fun to do a TV show send-up of true-crime podcasts? Wouldn’t it be fun to write a role for Martin Short where he gets to play to all of his biggest, silliest impulses but also gets to show his rarer poignant side? Hey, wouldn’t it be fun to do it classic whodunit style, with everything centered on a big, stodgy Upper East Side apartment building? What if it juggled different narrators for each episode? What if there were a bassoonist played by Amy Ryan, and what if, for some reason, Sting showed up! What if you, Steve Martin, the creator of this show, also starred in it? What if you also get Selena Gomez to star in it! Does that make sense? Is that going to work? Unclear, but wouldn’t it be fun to try?” — Kathryn VanArendonk, “Only Murders in the Building Is a Joyful True-Crime Parody Romp”