John Hoffman (‘Only Murders in the Building’ showrunner): Will musical-within-a-show ‘Death Rattle Dazzle’ get a Broadway run one day? [Exclusive Video Interview]
“I’ve never done anything as challenging in so many ways, and I’ve never relied so much on the great, heavy hitting, unbelievably talented writing staff on this show,” declares “Only Murders in the Building” showrunner John Hoffman. For our recent webchat he adds, “In every way, it felt like we’re stepping up and we had to give them something worthy and something they would feel good about. That’s all I cared about throughout the whole thing was I wanted everyone to feel good about what they were given and what they were doing and honor their huge talent, but also the mystery side and the twists and everything else that comes along is a painstaking process,” he says about the challenges of keeping all of the show’s signature plot twists in check.
He adds, “A 10-episode mystery is a very different thing from a two-hour movie of a mystery. To stretch that across 10 episodes and keep twists alive and deepen the character’s investments and have them reflect upon themselves as you’re going along, plus comedic set pieces. All of that is a challenge, but the truth is when you’re making it, you’re really having to hold all 10 episodes in your head when you’re actually shooting episode one through 10, so that you’re mindful of what’s coming, that you’re catching the things you need to catch.” We talked with Hoffman as part of Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&A event with 2024 awards contenders. Watch our exclusive video interview above.
Hoffman co-created “Only Murders in the Building” with comedy legend Steve Martin, who stars in the series alongside fellow comedy legend Martin Short and recording artist and actress Selena Gomez as three strangers with a shared interest (or obsession) with true crime, who suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one. After a suspicious death occurs in their exclusive Upper West Side apartment building, the trio begin their own investigation and start their own true crime podcast. The series is gorgeously rendered and often hilarious as the trio become entangled in the goings on at the exclusive Arconia building, soon coming to realize that a killer might be living among them as they race to decipher the mounting clues before it’s too late. After a hugely successful two seasons, the trio returned for Season 3, in which Oliver Putnam’s (Short) career comeback is in jeopardy when a murder disrupts his Broadway play, and it seems almost everyone involved is suspicious. This third season featured new all-star cast members including triple Oscar winner Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd, Jesse Williams, Ashley Park and Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph in a guest role.
Season 3 is often regarded as its most ambitious to date, centering the story on the making of a new musical along with the recognizable murder mystery that will always be the central framework this show is known for. So, will we ever see a “Death Rattle Dazzle” Broadway run? “Totally, well, off-Broadway at least,” Hoffman smiles. “There’s other talks about something like that. I won’t tease until we’re closer to it. But there’s a little talk about that happening which I would love. And [renowned songwriters] Pasek and Paul and all the great songwriters who came aboard for that. And then just that crazy show that was happening in the middle of our show, hopefully integrated,” he says. “But yes, that was what I was trying to do. It was ambitious. I was like, basically let’s swing for the fences.”
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