Only Murders in the Building

For deaf actor, “Only Murders” saved a dark time

James Caverly’s acting career was zipping along neatly.
He’d done shows everywhere – Boston and Baltimore and Berkeley, Ithaca, NY, and Washington, D.C. and more. Now it was time to live in the center of the theater world.
And then? “I moved to New York City, believe it or not, two weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic hit …. All of a sudden, the entire industry just collapsed.”
He was deaf and unemployed … and somehow, it worked out. A key episode of “Only Murders in the Building” (shown here) – rerunning at 9 p.m. Jan. 16 on ABC – brought new life. Read more…

Slow time for TV? Not if you like mysteries

Sure, the TV world is sputtering now. Summer line-ups are winding down; the fall ones are patchwork.
But let’s note an upside: This is a great time to watch mysteries.
A funny one (“Only Murders in the Building,” shown here) just started its season; a serious one (“Dark Winds”) began a week earlier. Another (“Justified: City Primeval”) is funny AND serious and violent..
Then there’s “The Lincoln Lawyer,” which just finished its split season. And “The Chelsea Detective,” which starts a new season on Aug. 28. Six days later, three shows – “Unforgiven,” “Professor T” and “Van der Valk” – all start their seasons on PBS. Read more…

Condo crime comedy for these amigos

Let’s think of this as “Three Amigos Go Manhattan.” Only with a murder mystery. And a new amigo.
“Three Amigos,” in 1986, was the first pairing of Steve Martin and Martin Short; the third star was Chevy Chase. Now comes “Only Murders in the Building,” a droll, 10-part series that starts Tuesday (Aug. 31) on Hulu; the third star (shown here) is Selena Gomez.
Yes, one of these is not like the others. Martin is 76, Short is 71 … Gomez is 29. “I had no idea who they were,” she joked, at a Television Critics Association virtual press conference. Read more…