Only Murders in the Building is an enormously charming series, but perhaps it is a little too charming. The Disney+ series (which secretly belongs to Hulu) tells a story about three people who live in the same building and start a true crime podcast after a murder takes place in their building. It is a series with a very nice cast, consisting of Martin Short, Selena Gomez and Steven Martin, with various stars joining each season, such as the last season with none other than Meryl Streep. Paul Rudd was also part of that season, so that says something about how high level it is. A hugely entertaining series that mixes the whodunnit genre with a lot of humor.
True crime podcasters
Cue Bodkin. A considerably less charming name and that completely suits this series. Remove the Hollywood, choose a significantly more unknown cast, less slick, less perfection, and let it take place in the Irish countryside: a bit different. But at the same time not. It is also about a group of people who make a true crime podcast and of course also go after crime: sounds familiar, right?
But then a bit rougher. The beautiful Irish country, wonderful accents and a lot of dark humor, which we love so much in Europe. They don’t know glamour, they mainly have a raw edge. And it is also ‘based on a true story heard in a pub’: what more could you want? The Irish don’t like it at all when a few podcasters interfere with their affairs.
Bodkin
Bodkin, by the way, refers to the town. And at the end of the very atmospheric trailer, one of the podcasters wonders: What if this cold case is not cold at all? But it only really ends when a tractor with a disco ball in it passes by. This promises to be a nicely twisted story, in which Will Forte, Siobhán Cullen, David Wilmot, Robyn Cara and Chris Walley come together as the cast of the series.
We’re curious to see who wins, Bodkin or Only Murders. Of course, the latter already has some seasons to live on, and it was before. Plus there’s an all-star cast that already has a sizable following. But hey, they don’t have Irish accents, they’re not on the gigantic Netflix and they might be a bit too glamorous for true crime… We’ll see how Bodkin does: this series can be seen on the red N on May 9.
