“Unraveling the Mystery: How ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Breathed New Life into TV Whodunits”
The murder mystery, as late as the ’90s, took a different tack. The shows in question focused on a general recipe of well-known tropes like red herring clues to give the story the element of surprise. Meanwhile, the protagonist solving these mysteries would carry with them some potential suspense, as they may be the next to be targeted—or get in the way when the killer thinks they’re two steps ahead.
Anyone who’s seen a mystery-of-the-week show can recognize these melodramatic elements.
But another commonality among this genre is that the shows tend to stray away from the gravity associated with cinematic television. The exemplary mystery show—procedural, cozy, or otherwise—doesn’t take itself too seriously. It doesn’t make light of murder, necessarily. But with reliable character humor and believable distractions to guide the audience’s gaze. Ultimately, it’s a whodunit—scandalous, full of misdirection, and deadly fun.