Murderville: 5 Reasons Netflix’s True Crime Comedy is So Bingeable

I’m not gonna lie. When I first watched the trailer for Murderville I thought it looked way too silly for me. However, Will Arnett was in it. My husband is a huge fan so I told him about it.

The weekend before Wayne and I had binged another new Netflix release, The Woman in the House Across from the Girl in the Window. I don’t think either one of us had high expectations for that one either, but it surprised us. Sucked us right in and before we knew it, we’d watched the whole thing. (And had a darn good time doing it too!)

And the weekend before that we binged season 4 part 1 of Ozark. 

So this past weekend, Wayne cheekily asked, “What’re we watching this weekend? Any other new Netflix releases we might be interested in?”

That’s when I reminded him about Murderville. First, he wanted to check out the trailer though. To my surprise, he had the same reaction to it that I did: underwhelmed.

“I don’t know,” he said, sounding a little bit disappointed and not very enthusiastic. “I guess we can give it a shot.”

We did and ended up binging two and a half episodes before we had to get going. But later that evening after dinner, we promptly turned it back on.

Let’s first take a look at what the series is about and then why it’s so bingeable.

Murderville Storyline

Here’s the description from Netflix:

Eccentric detective Terry Seattle teams up with clueless celebrity guest stars to investigate a series of murders in this improvisational crime comedy.

Will Arnett stars as Terry Seattle (who’s never been to his namesake city). The celebrity guest stars include Conan O’Brien, Marshawn Lynch, Kumail Nanjiani, Annie Murphy, Sharon Stone, and Ken Jeong.

Murderville Format

Each episode is pretty formulaic. It starts with Terry being introduced to his new celebrity partner for that week. After they’ve had a chance to get to know each other and exchange some comedic quips, Chief Rhonda Jenkins-Seattle (Haneefah Wood) comes to tell them, “There’s been a murder.” That’s when the duo sets off to do what homicide detectives do: investigate.

After they’ve familiarized themselves with the case and the suspects, the celeb is sent in “undercover” to where one of the suspects is. Meanwhile, Terry hangs back (usually in his 1982 Dodge Rampage) and feeds them lines, including the celeb’s cover name, which is always something crazy.

Then it’s time for the celeb to solve the case. They explain their reasoning for their choice, then Chief Rhonda reveals who the real murderer is and why.

What Makes Murderville Bingeable

1. Short Episodes

Like The Woman in the House Across from the Girl in the Window, each episode of Murderville is only a little over 30 minutes long. That makes them easily digestible.

2. The Clue-like Wit

You know what Murderville reminded me of the most? The 1985 movie version of Clue. Will Arnett as Terry Seattle is sillier than Tim Curry as Wadsworth but their parts are similar.

And you have to be a fan of the one-liner kind of comedy to appreciate it, but the quick-witted play on words is fantastic.

3. Playing Along

I wasn’t expecting to be able to put my sleuthing cap on to solve the murders in each episode too. But the clues are all there to solve —if you really pay attention and have a good eye for detail.

It’s sort of like going to a mystery dinner theater in the privacy of your own home.

4. The Celebrity Guests

It’s fun to see them squirm a little and fight the urge to laugh a lot. It’s clear that they all had a lot of fun during taping.

And then it’s fun to see if they’ll correctly guess who the murderer is, whether it’s by using solid deduction or just making a lucky guess. Some of them are surprisingly astute, while others fall victim to the red herrings.

5. The Novelty

That I can think of, there’s really never been a show like Murderville before. It’s a fresh, fun, and unique blend of improve and mystery.

Murderville Trailer

Check-In

Are you a fan of whodunits?