By David Craig

Published: Tuesday, 28 June 2022 at 12:00 am


The world’s most calamitous true crime podcasters return in the second season of Only Murders in the Building, which sees our hapless trio fight to clear their name after being framed for murder.

Comedy double act Steve Martin and Martin Short reunite for the latest episodes, playing washed-up actor Charles-Haden Savage and disgraced theatre director Oliver Putnam respectively.

They are joined by pop sensation and former Disney Channel star Selena Gomez, who reprises her role as the mysterious Mabel Mora, who has rediscovered a lust for life through her unlikely friendship with the duo.

As was the case with the initial run, there are some A-list Hollywood cameos and guest stars in Only Murders in the Building season 2, which you can find all the details of below.

Note: Be warned that spoilers follow for Only Murders in the Building season 1, which is now streaming on Disney Plus.

Steve Martin plays Charles-Haden Savage

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Steve Martin plays Charles-Haden Savage in Only Murders in the Building season 2
Disney+

Who is Charles-Haden Savage? Charles is an out-of-work actor whose heyday in the ’90s was defined by cheesy detective drama Brazzos, where he played the title role. He lives in a fancy New York City apartment building named The Arconia, which is also home to theatre director Oliver Putnam and snappy millennial Mabel Mora. They form an unlikely friendship in the first season as they uncovered who killed Tim Kono, another resident of the building and a childhood friend of Mabel’s. However, in the season 1 finale, another murder was committed for which the trio was framed – and now they must clear their name.

What else has Steve Martin been in? Steve Martin is one of the biggest names in American comedy. His career began in the 1960s, when he primarily worked in stand-up and sketch comedy. Film roles soon followed, with some of his most well-known projects being Three Amigos, Little Shop of Horrors, Parenthood, Father of the Bride, Cheaper by the Dozen, The Pink Panther, and Planes, Trains and Automobiles. He has collaborated with Martin Short on several occasions.

Martin Short plays Oliver Putnam

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Martin Short plays Oliver Putnam in Only Murders in the Building season 2
Disney+

Who is Oliver Putnam? Oliver is a theatre director who has struggled to get work for many years following his disastrous production of Splash! The Musical, based on the 1984 film starring Tom Hanks. It was a critical and commercial flop which caused him to be laughed out of the industry. Struggling to make ends meet, he jumps at the chance to launch a true crime podcast with longtime friend Charles-Haden Savage, which unexpectedly becomes hugely popular after going viral online. However, he’ll need to fight the murder accusations against him to benefit from his career’s newfound momentum.

What else has Martin Short been in? Short has worked with Steve Martin on several prior occasions, with shared projects including Threee Amigos, The Prince of Egypt, Father of the Bride and its sequel, as well as Netflix special An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life. His other films include Captain Ron, Mars Attacks! and Treasure Planet, while he has made memorable guest appearances on television comedies Arrested Development, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and The Morning Show.

Selena Gomez plays Mabel Mora

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Selena Gomez plays Mabel Mora in Only Murders in the Building season 2
Disney+

Who is Mabel Mora? Mabel is a young woman with a troubled past who moves into The Arconia shortly before the first murder is committed in the building. We later learn that the victim, Tim Kono, was a childhood friend of hers who had become estranged after a traumatic incident in their formative years. After uncovering the murderer, with help from Charles and Oliver, Mabel returned to her apartment to find the body of Arconia board president Bunny. Having been framed by an as-yet-unknown person, Mabel, Charles and Oliver are all led away in handcuffs.

What else has Selena Gomez been in? Gomez shot to fame via the Disney Channel, where she starred in popular children’s programme Wizards of Waverley Place before launching a successful pop music career. Besides Only Murders, her other recent acting work includes Jim Jarmusch’s The Dead Don’t Die and Woody Allen’s A Rainy Day in New York, while she has also taken voice roles in Robert Downey Jr’s Dolittle reboot and the Hotel Transylvania franchise. Gomez also hosts a cooking show on HBO Max titled Selena + Chef.

Cara Delevingne plays Alice

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Cara Delevingne in Only Murders in the Building season 2
Hulu/YouTube

Who is Alice? Alice is a charismatic artist and curator who discovers Mabel off the back of her podcast success. Impressed by her mural of the eccentric Arconia residents, Alice invites her to work on more projects at the studio – and it isn’t long before sparks fly between them.

What else has Cara Delevingne been in? Delevingne rose to fame as a model, but later transitioned into acting with romantic drama Paper Towns, superhero blockbuster Suicide Squad and sci-fi epic Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. She also starred opposite Orlando Bloom in Amazon Prime Video fantasy series Carnival Row.

Tina Fey plays Cinda Canning

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Tina Fey in Only Murders in the Building season 2
Hulu/YouTube

Who is Cinda Canning? Cinda is the biggest name in true crime podcasts. She has had a string of hits in the genre and aims to hold onto her position as the reigning champion. For that reason, Cinda is troubled by the surprise success of Only Murders in the Building and sets about making a new show that should soil the reputation of Charles, Oliver and Mabel for good.

What else has Tina Fey been in? Fey is one of the biggest success stories to come out of Saturday Night Live, having forged an impressive career both in front of and behind the camera. She is perhaps best known for leading the cast of US sitcom 30 Rock, which ran for seven seasons in total, while her film projects include Mean Girls, Date Night, Muppets Most Wanted and Pixar’s Soul. She also co-created and guest starred in Netflix comedy Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

Amy Schumer plays Herself

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Amy Schumer in Only Murders in the Building season 2
Hulu/YouTube

Who is Amy Schumer? Just as in real life, Amy Schumer is a prolific comedian based in New York City. She moves into The Arconia at the start of season 2, taking the apartment previously rented by rock star Sting.

What else has Amy Schumer been in? Schumer began her career in stand-up, with her breakout screen appearance being a successful run on NBC reality competition Last Comic Standing. Several years later, she launched her own sketch show Inside Amy Schumer, which gained her further recognition and led to film projects like Trainwreck, Snatched and I Feel Pretty.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph plays Detective Williams

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Da’Vine Joy Randolph in Only Murders in the Building season 2
Hulu/YouTube

Who is Detective Williams? Williams is a detective for the NYPD who first crossed paths with the Only Murders trio while investigating the death of Tim Kono. She warns them not to meddle in an active investigation, but is left frustrated when they do exactly that.

What else has Da’Vine Joy Randolph been in? Randolph’s career is going from strength-to-strength, with television work on This Is Us, Empire and The Last OG leading to key roles in recent features such as Dolemite is My Name, The United States vs Billie Holiday and The Lost City.

Jackie Hoffman plays Uma Heller

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Jackie Hoffman attends the 28th Annual Screen Actors Guild Award
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Who is Uma Heller? Uma is another resident of The Arconia who has no fondness for the Only Murders in the Building trio, suspecting them of being responsible for Bunny’s death.

What else has Jackie Hoffman been in? The comedian and actor can be seen in factual drama Feud: Bette and Joan, Netflix satire The Politician and Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs Maisel.

Jayne Houdyshell plays Bunny

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Jayne Houdyshell in Only Murders in the Building
Hulu/YouTube

Who is Bunny? Bunny was the former board president of The Arconia, who attempted to evict Charles, Oliver and Mabel towards the end of season one for the trouble they caused during their amateur investigation. However, she gave them a second chance in the building after they successfully exposed who killed Tim Kono. Unfortunately, Bunny herself was found dead shortly after, with the killer making a clear effort to frame the Only Murders trio for the crime.

What else has Jayne Houdyshell been in? Houdyshell’s television credits include Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, American Odyssey and The Good Fight, while on the big screen she has appeared in awards contenders Garden State, Downsizing and Little Women.

Michael Cyril Creighton plays Howard Morris

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Michael Cyril Creighton as Howard Morris in Only Murders in the Building

Who is Howard Morris? Another resident of The Arconia, Howard is a fussy and relatively antisocial man whose closest relationship is with his cat.

What else has Michael Cyril Creighton been in? Creighton has guest starred in a number of major television shows recently including The Good Fight, Billions, AJ and the Queen, and Dexter: New Blood. He has also appeared in acclaimed drama films Spotlight and Can You Ever Forgive Me?.

Nathan Lane plays Teddy Dimas

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Nathan Lane in Only Murders in the Building season 2
Hulu/YouTube

Who is Teddy Dimas? Teddy is an old friend of Oliver’s, who financially supported – and ultimately lost a lot of money on – his ill-fated production Splash! The Musical. In the first season, he is considered a suspect in the death of Tim Kono but is later found innocent, although the gang does discover his involvement in black market jewellery trade.

What else has Nathan Lane been in? Lane earned critical praise for his role in acclaimed factual miniseries The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story, where he portrayed defence attorney F Lee Bailey. His other television projects include legal drama The Good Wife and sitcom Modern Family, while he currently stars in Julian Fellowes’s period drama The Gilded Age.

Amy Ryan plays Jan Bellows

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Amy Ryan plays Jan in Only Murders in the Building
Disney Plus

Who is Jan? Jan is a professional bassoonist and Charles’ love interest in the first season. However, towards the finale, it is revealed that she is the murderer they have spent so long looking for. She had been having a secret fling with the victim, Tim Kono, but killed him when she wrongly suspected that he was planning to leave her.

What else has Amy Ryan been in? Ryan earned an Academy Award nomination for her performance in the Ben Affleck-directed thriller Gone Baby Gone, which led to further acclaim in Angelina Jolie’s Changeling and Michael Keaton’s Birdman. On the small screen, she has appeared in legendary HBO crime drama The Wire and comedy favourite The Office (US).

Sting plays Himself

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Sting appears in Only Murders in the Building
Hulu/YouTube

Who is Sting? Just as in real-life, Sting is a musician, known for being a member of rock band The Police as well as for having a massively successful solo career.

What else has Sting been in? Sting is primarily a musician and so acts relatively infrequently. However, he has taken roles in David Lynch’s Dune and Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, in addition to cameos as himself in Ally McBeal, The Vicar of Dibley and Zoolander 2, among others.

Only Murders in the Building is available to stream on Disney Plus. New episodes are released weekly. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight. 

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