‘Murderville’ Brings Cookie-Cutter Comedy to a Police Procedural

Tony Sokol

Netflix books a new culprit and flogs it to death. The premise of “Murderville” is simple: Venerated and decorated Senior Detective Terry Seattle (Will Arnett) is the only murder cop on the Homicide Division who can’t keep a partner.  Terry’s last partner disappeared in such a ludicrous way, only a celebrity guest star can replace her. But here’s the catch, each episode is almost exactly the same, except for the guest star, who is left to improvise their way through a script they’ve never seen. The only way to know what’s going to happen is to watch the previous episode. 

“Murderville” is based on the British series “Murder in Successville,” and feels like an American in-joke. It is fun to watch the celebrities pose as police trainees who ultimately have more sense than their trainer, the chaotic Detective Seattle. While each guest learns the details of the crime and the basics of detecting as the cameras roll, they tend to violate crime scenes less than the veteran homicide cop. The British series’ actors impersonated their guest celebrities. In “Murderville,” the celebrities play themselves.

Some of the guests do better than others. The actors usually try to match Arnett’s energy, but occasionally break the rules of improv, and negate the joke. Some of them treat it like a contest for who can get the most laughs. Others take it seriously. Marshawn Lynch is intent on solving the case, though he gets in some unexpectedly funny lines. Sharon Stone brings drama to the comedy, interrogating suspects with more fervor than the manic Det. Seattle. She takes both the crime and Arnett too seriously. We know, from the moment they meet, they will not make the mistake of falling in love.

The most suspenseful part of any individual episode is when the guest star will break character in laughter to the improvisation going on around them. In this, Conan O’Brien excels. Whether he’s biting himself to keep from bursting into hysterics or plunging his face into the crook of his elbow to cover it up, O’Brien brings self-conscious comic reaction to a Harvey Corman level. The whole scenario is his Tim Conway. 

Improvisational comedy troupes will often ask their audience for suggestions to set up a scenario to jam over. Each installment of “Murderville” feels like it began in this way. A magician’s assistant could get cut in half during a saw-trick accident, a food inspector may drown in soup, or a famous doll maker might become a part of a sinister collection. The murders can happen in an abandoned alley, a city Emergency Room, or a high school reunion. In this, the six-episode procedural crime comedy feels like a roleplay version of the board game “Clue.”

Arnett is all over the place, as he has to be. He is both the improviser and the audience throwing out suggestions. Occasionally slipping into his BoJack Horseman voice, he maintains spontaneity, keeping the pace when the guest star is in over their head. As Seattle’s own past comes out, his character becomes increasingly complex, but it is often because Arnett has to commit to the whim of a previous joke. 

The series finds footing by the third episode, which guest stars Kumail Nanjiani, and gives Seattle an excuse to attend his high school reunion. Kumail learns to gasp, and impersonate a Pakistani without sounding racist. Annie Murphy and Ken Jeong’s episodes benefit from exploring Seattle’s backstory.

Each episode centers on a different murder, but Seattle’s tangled history is a through-line. Haneefah Wood plays Chief Rhonda Jenkins-Seattle. She is his boss, and soon-to-be ex-wife. The chief has moved on, dating Detective Darren “Daz” Phillips (Phillip Smithey), while Seattle moves into his office, where his laundry and other sundries get in the way. Lilan Bowden, as Medical Examiner Amber Kang, a forensic scientist who loves balloons, rounds out the recurring cast.

The suspects, played by such actors as David Wain and Rob Huebel, are highlights. Their links to the victim are random. Their motives, indecipherable and ridiculous, like the Moms Against Magic association which believes sleight-of-hand tricks are the devil’s gloves. 

The most avid true-crime fans will try solving the cases, but shouldn’t overthink it. That leads to an “incorrect” conclusion. Each episode ends on the reveal of whether the celebrity guest correctly guesses the most unusual suspect. “Murderville” is very often surprisingly funny, as Arnett throws as much humorous fodder for the actors to run with. Some jokes get swallowed up in the rush. The moments which work can be hilarious, especially when the punch lines land in unexpected places, but it gets repetitive. It is not a show to binge-watch. 

“Murderville” premieres Feb. 3 on Netflix.