Murderville - General Discussion

[BetterButter]

 

[twoods]

Watching Conan and Will break script and try not to laugh cracked me up. 
 

Marshawn Lynch was hilarious. He definitely had fun doing this show. “Detective Bag-a-bitch.” Gah!

[AheadofStraight]

Watched the first 2 episodes and we thought it was hilarious!

[twoods]

When Kumail was “ugly walking” and making his signature noise  I was laughing so hard that I started to cry. Even Will couldn’t keep it in. I don’t know how all the actors can keep such a straight face. 
 

Edited February 5, 2022 by twoods

[BusyOctober]

Loving this!  On the 3rd episode and Kumail is fantastic.  Major props to Marshawn Lynch too…never knew he could do improve so well!  I so want more than 6 episodes.

[TooMuchRealityTV]

I binged season 1 and it was surprisingly great. Based on the description of the show I did not know what to expect. As it turns out they picked really good celebrity partners. And who knew Marshawn Lynch was funny? Already mentally making a list of who should be Terry's partners in season 2.

[iMonrey]

I binged all six episodes in one afternoon and thought it was really fun and original. The celebrities spend most of their time trying not to laugh at Arnett but also trying to piece together the clues and solve the murder. I thought Conan O'Brien did the best job playing along and improvising because that just comes naturally to him, and Sharon Stone took the assignment the most seriously and stayed in character the best. Nanjiani and Jeong mostly just laughed their way through the whole thing and Annie Murphy looked like a deer caught in the headlights. To be fair I wouldn't be able to keep from laughing either.

This is right up Arnett's alley, I hope they do more episodes.

Edited February 7, 2022 by iMonrey

[incandescent]

This was really fun! Felt like we were watching the guest stars play a game rather than do a bit. I must say, I kinda felt like they did Annie Murphy dirty with her set-ups, "first meeting where your new senior hits on you" is not really funny and it felt unnecessary to insist she actually does the macaron work while the player would at that point ostensibly be taking notes.

[Cranberry]

I binged all of these today. It's a fun concept but I found the show pretty hit or miss. Conan O'Brien and Kumail Nanjiani were the best at really getting into the improv part of it, I thought, although Sharon Stone did a good job as more of a straight man with her deadpan jokes. Marshawn Lynch and Annie Murphy seemed in a little over their heads, and Ken Jeong was clearly having a blast but was doing too much laughing/reacting and not enough improvising.

I loved it when the scripted players cracked up (like "Kathy" did when Conan told his senators joke), but the absolute best thing was when the comedians made the dead bodies smirk. I noticed that in Kumail's (when he had to check the guy's mouth and couldn't stop snickering) and even more so in Sharon Stone's (when they were playing with the poor guy's nipples, he almost started laughing). 

[Corgi-ears]

On 2/9/2022 at 8:44 PM, Cranberry said:

Conan O'Brien and Kumail Nanjiani were the best at really getting into the improv part of it

I thought Kumail was terrible. Even just in the opening sequence, Will A. was feeding him all sorts of lines and set-ups ("Did you have a girlfriend in high school? What did you do?"), and Kumail kept going, "I would rather not say," "I don't want to tell you." It's like he's never heard of the first and only rule of improv. 

[mbgriffith1]

I love Will Arnett and most of the guest actors, but thought this was maybe the worst “comedy” I’ve ever seen. Dumb at best, painfully awkward at worst. 

[Cranberry]

10 hours ago, Corgi-ears said:

I thought Kumail was terrible. Even just in the opening sequence, Will A. was feeding him all sorts of lines and set-ups ("Did you have a girlfriend in high school? What did you do?"), and Kumail kept going, "I would rather not say," "I don't want to tell you." It's like he's never heard of the first and only rule of improv. 

I definitely noticed that at first -- I've never done improv but even I know that "yes, and..." is the rule! I felt like he got more into it later on and seemed to be having a lot of fun, so I ultimately enjoyed his episode. Maybe most of the others underwhelmed me enough to make him look better, heh.

[MerBearHou]

On 2/5/2022 at 12:40 AM, twoods said:

When Kumail was “ugly walking” and making his signature noise  I was laughing so hard that I started to cry. Even Will couldn’t keep it in. I don’t know how all the actors can keep such a straight face. 
 

I did too!  I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.  Especially because it took a little while for Kumail to get in the groove of playing off of Will.  The ugly walking and signature noise…I mean…OMG.

I also laughed till my sides hurt when Conan was eating the sloppy sandwich and Terry Seattle kept putting hot sauce on it, meanwhile Conan is trying to interview the waitress.  Conan did a great job overall.  

Murderville was just fun.  Some were better than others but all were silly fun.  I hope they renew for another season or more.  

Will Arnett is perfection in this.  So suited to him.  Wow, he plays off of the others so, so well.  Loved him.

Edited February 12, 2022 by MerBearHou

[Nilo]

Surprisingly, my favorite was Marshawn Lynch.  I never would have expected him to go all in with the improv.  The one-way mirror scene  had me gasping for breath.

[MtLCL]

LOVE this show. It's the best fun I've seen in a long time. Watching actors break is quite possibly my favorite thing.

[bourbon]

I thought this was fun and funny and light and the perfect antidote to a gloomy February afternoon. I think the success of it depended on how the celebs approached their role in the show. Conan, Sharon, and Marshawn appeared to be playing roles, *versions* of themselves, rather themselves. Conan was playing hard boiled detective, Sharon was the deadpan, no-nonsense partner brushing off Terry's flirtations, Marshawn was the gung-ho new recruit (Bagabiche! It's French!). Ken and Kumail were just kind of themselves with Kumail refusing to go along with the questions about his girlfriends and Ken just a giggly mess. I thought it was most successful when there was buy-in from the celebs that they were actually playing roles and not just appearing on some reality show skit. Marshawn Lynch was hilarious. I'd love to see him do more comedy or host SNL or something. 

[Racj82]

On 2/5/2022 at 1:40 AM, twoods said:

When Kumail was “ugly walking” and making his signature noise  I was laughing so hard that I started to cry. Even Will couldn’t keep it in. I don’t know how all the actors can keep such a straight face. 
 

I had tears streaming down my face.

On 2/11/2022 at 11:06 AM, Corgi-ears said:

I thought Kumail was terrible. Even just in the opening sequence, Will A. was feeding him all sorts of lines and set-ups ("Did you have a girlfriend in high school? What did you do?"), and Kumail kept going, "I would rather not say," "I don't want to tell you." It's like he's never heard of the first and only rule of improv. 

I don't think you are seeing that he was deliberately fucking with Will by not going along with that bit. Which can also be another form of comedy. I love they brought it back with the female suspect and he still wouldn't bite.

I was expecting that they would use the bit in the end where Will tries to get him to say the name at the end as a form of bonding.

No judgment on Annie as a person but this wasn't her format.

I'm one of those people that loves to see people break so that's always a good time for me.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Ken and Kumail were just kind of themselves with Kumail refusing to go along with the questions about his girlfriends and Ken just a giggly mess.

I kind of wonder if maybe they didn't "get it." I mean, they are told it's improv but maybe they don't understand the formula or expect Will to mess with them like that. I don't know. 

Quote

No judgment on Annie as a person but this wasn't her format.

Yeah - "deer in the headlights" is how I described her episode. One would think working alongside improv greats like Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy would have prepared her better, but again - she probably didn't expect it to be like this.

Quote

I love Will Arnett and most of the guest actors, but thought this was maybe the worst “comedy” I’ve ever seen. Dumb at best, painfully awkward at worst. 

I worry that people will tune this in thinking it's just straight comedy and not get the set-up, because from that perspective it does seem kind of dumb. I was sort of on the fence for about the first ten minutes or so of the first episode, thought it was kind of dumb, but got more into it as they went along and I got used to the formula. 

[grandmabegum]

On 2/9/2022 at 4:44 AM, Cranberry said:

I loved it when the scripted players cracked up (like "Kathy" did when Conan told his senators joke), but the absolute best thing was when the comedians made the dead bodies smirk. I noticed that in Kumail's (when he had to check the guy's mouth and couldn't stop snickering) and even more so in Sharon Stone's (when they were playing with the poor guy's nipples, he almost started laughing). 

I specifically asked the show runner about the Sharon Stone corpse and if he knew that the nipple play was coming. Apparently he was just a model from Central Casting who showed up like 15 minutes beforehand and had zero idea about the touching.

[Lamima]

On 2/13/2022 at 9:39 PM, Nilo said:

Surprisingly, my favorite was Marshawn Lynch.  I never would have expected him to go all in with the improv.  The one-way mirror scene  had me gasping for breath.

I liked his best too. And was surprised to also enjoy Sharon Stone. Cute show. And Will Arnett is just hilarious and really good at this type show. I think a lot of what he did was specific to each guest star to annoy them. Like with Annie he didn't let her talk. The hot sauce with Conan. The asking Kumail to name his first love repeatedly. It's probably something he knows bugs them IRL....the making the desserts with Annie (maybe he knew something about her liking to be very neat and tidy...also made her lift head out of soup a few times). Also caught a bit of a nod to her va-jay-jay commercial (which I detest, btw).

Edited February 19, 2022 by Lamima

[Racj82]

 

[Ilovepie]

This was possibly one of the dumbest things I've ever watched, yet surprisingly funny. My favorite parts:

Conan eating the hot sauce and turning red. The magic guy doing a whole show while being interrogated.

Marshawn and the "one way mirror" - he really committed!

Annie's R-rated drawing and her disguise to meet the pancake king - that mustache!

Kumail's walk and sound. This episode didn't have much else, but that alone made it funny.

Sharon and Will messing with the dead guy's nipples. I am embarrassed to admit I couldn't stop laughing. Her facial expression when he said "let's agree not to fall in love with each other" - classic!

Ken telling the story of Little Red Riding Hood in the different voices. I felt it was all downhill from there -this was my least favorite episode.

I like that the chief would tell them if they got it wrong and fire them. By the third episode I was looking for clues and trying to figure it out myself. I hope there is a second season - maybe Terry can find love with the coroner, although maybe not after the tussle for the heart? My only issue is Will seems to be going for Michael Scott levels of awkward. I could do with less of that.

It would be hilarious to have a flashback that features Jennifer Anniston.

[grandmabegum]

Pretty interesting "how did they do it?"

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

I think that this show is hysterical.

On 2/11/2022 at 11:06 AM, Corgi-ears said:

I thought Kumail was terrible. Even just in the opening sequence, Will A. was feeding him all sorts of lines and set-ups ("Did you have a girlfriend in high school? What did you do?"), and Kumail kept going, "I would rather not say," "I don't want to tell you." It's like he's never heard of the first and only rule of improv. 

Yeah, I like him as a person but that was such a disappointment.  His overall attitude was just bad.  He was laughing AT Will's suggestions and constantly shooting them down.  He kept asking "Why would I do that?"  Why not just do it?  Why are you even here?

On 2/5/2022 at 1:40 AM, twoods said:

When Kumail was “ugly walking” and making his signature noise  I was laughing so hard that I started to cry. Even Will couldn’t keep it in. I don’t know how all the actors can keep such a straight face. 

They certainly can't!  So far, Ken is the least able to, then Kumail, then Conan.  I think Marshawn, Sharon, and Annie were the best at keeping a straight face.  But yeah, the guests, Will, the Chief, Daz, the coroner, are all really good at it.  

Edited March 21, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[JH Lipton]

On 2/19/2022 at 10:15 AM, grandmabegum said:

I specifically asked the show runner...

On 2/23/2022 at 1:44 PM, Ilovepie said:

By the third episode I was looking for clues and trying to figure it out myself.

I did too, so was miffed when they got Kumail's episode wrong. People will use cursive and block letters interchangeably, but someone will not use serifs on their "I"s at time and not at others.  The mouth-murder-note didn't have serifs, but the jock's "Learning is dumb" did.  We don't know if Lisa is good at knots, but since the coder was ruled out due to his throwing, and the jock was ruled out dues his writing, she had to be the killer.  @grandmabegum, if you know the showrunner, ask if anyone pointed this out. It weakened an otherwise good episode. 

[grandmabegum]

I do not know him. I just tweeted to him. You can also.

[DanaK]

I’m not sure about this show. It has some funny spots, but it’s very formulaic, especially with the listing of clues and the chief going over them and announcing the killer, which is saying something given the guest star doesn’t have the script and it’s overall very awkward

[SnarkShark]

Pretty good.  Conan was especially (although unsurprisingly) good.  I do think next season they need to aim for guests with more improv experience.   Any former Second City person (much better than SNL background for this).  Or any UCB or Groundlings person (some who went on to SNL).   Some of the ancillary players in this were recognizable people from that background.  

My wishlist:  Jack McBrayer.  Aubrey Plaza.  Jennifer Coolidge.  Paul Reubens.  Steve Carell. 

[DanaK]

Christmas special http://www.thefutoncritic.com/video/2022/11/18/video-who-killed-santa-a-murderville-murder-mystery-official-teaser-netflix-937110/20221118netflix03/

[Cress]

I thought Netflix would add the Christmas special to the existing Murderville episodes, but instead they listed it separately so I had search for it.

Marshawn Lynch came back for a fun cameo! Jason Bateman and Maya Rudolph were great, though I thought the Pete Davidson appearance was very unnecessary and far too late. He didn't even do any investigation. I figured out the killer based on the name tag clue but then they threw me off with the accomplice thing.

[redpencil]

Yeah, the Pete Davidson appearance was not needed (though Maya's reaction, asking why he was just getting there was great). But I did like having more than one person, and then making them explain what's happening when one comes in later.

[AheadofStraight]

Loved everything except Pete. He added nothing and mostly just laughed. There were several times my husband and I were almost in tears from laughing so hard. A couple times I remember were "dead" Sean rolling away from Jason giving him CPR and the naked sports guy, esp when trying to hug Jason. He's really a ginger! 

The "caw caw caw" was a nice callback to Arrested Development. 

[Cress]

Plus Jason claimed that Santa was beardless because he had "alopecia" which is a callback to the Sitwells on Arrested Development.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I watched the Christmas special 3 times, it was so funny.

I loved how both Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes were on it, Will's Smartless buddies, loved Maya, loved Pete.  Jason was looking soooooooooooo fine I love the long hair.

The last part with all of the guesses on the suspects really made me hysterical, I was probably crying from laughing.

On 10/25/2022 at 12:31 AM, SnarkShark said:

My wishlist:  Jack McBrayer.  Aubrey Plaza.  Jennifer Coolidge.  Paul Reubens.  Steve Carell. 

Great ideas!

 

Edited January 30, 2023 by Ms Blue Jay

[JTMacc99]

So with the rumor mill out there saying that season 2 could drop in February 2024 (and hey, it IS February 2024 now that I think of it), Netflix put this show on my suggestion list a couple days ago. 

I was pretty much signed up for all six episodes at the first crime scene with Conan and the little girl shows up and says, "Excuse me Mr. Policeman, when is the Magician going to finish the trick?"

And freaking Conan bends down and says, "Well, the magician can't put the lady back together, because what happened was that the magician really sawed her in half."

At that point I'm already chuckling, and then he follows up with "Cut through skin, ligament, muscle, bone. She had instantaneous, probably 90% blood loss, and then she went into that black void known as death. Where there is no return. She's gone, gone forever."

So great. Thank goodness Arnett wasn't involved in that scene at all. It was perfect.

[DanaK]

I've watched through episode 5 so far and some of the series is good, especially the off the cuff stuff, but it also gets pretty repetitive at the end of each episode as the trainee goes through the clues and evidence and decides who they think the murderer is, and then the police chief indicates whether they are right or wrong and details the evidence pointing towards the murderer. It's very stilted and dumb, not to mention again repetitive. I'm not sure I want another season