Overview

TV shows in the past few years seem to be copy and paste of previous shows whether it’s Euphoria and Riverdale or the hundreds of crime shows that don’t have any noticeable differences. On February 3rd, Netflix added a breath of fresh air for comedy show lovers: Murderville.

“I just liked how different it was than other shows, it was kinda like a 30 minute SNL sketch,” said Luke Longmire (‘22).

The Story

Murderville follows detective Terry Seattle (Will Arnett) as he tries to solve murders with his partner. The twist is that each episode Terry gets a new partner, who is played by a different celebrity each episode.

“Without Will Arnett the show wouldn’t have worked. He played the role perfectly and was so funny,” said Kieth Roberts (‘19).

The celebrity cast features Conan O’Brien, Marshawn Lynch, Ken Jeong, Kumail Nanjiani, Sharon Stone, and Annie Murphy. The partner is also not given lines and doesn’t know what is going to happen in each scene. They are forced to improvise their way through the mystery. At the end, they need to decide who they believe the killer is.

Pros and Cons

There are six episodes in this season, and each is between 30 and 40 minutes. It’s an easy show to sit down and watch if you need a quick laugh. Each episode has its own personality because of the differing celebrity partners.

Some episodes are far better than others with Ken Jeong’s episode being the worst. He is a hilarious comedian, but his constant break of character took away from the jokes.

Out of the six different celebrity actors Marshawn Lynch was by far the best. His personality and improv fit perfectly along with Will Arnett. Although Marshawn has had a few cameos in different shows and a few commercials, we had never been able to see his acting and comedic personality. There are multiple scenes that stand out, but his opening joke mistaking an urn for a vase set the precedent of how the episode was gonna go.

“Marshawn Lynch stole the show. I didn’t think he was gonna be my favorite, but it wasn’t even close,” said Blake Bouchard (‘22).

Verdict

Overall, Murderville brought a new concept to life through improvisation and celebrity guests. If anyone is looking for something to laugh at and to be surprised by, give Murderville a watch.