1. Home
  2. Entertainment

Murderville trailer puts Will Arnett in a whodunit comedy

By

Police procedurals are extremely common on TV, but there’s rarely been a show like Netflix‘s Murderville. The first trailer for this series demonstrates that Murderville is both a murder mystery and an improv comedy series starring Will Arnett as Detective Terry Seattle. Arnett and his regular castmates have a script, but his celebrity co-stars do not. And it’s up to them to figure out who the killer is.

Terry Seattle is the senior detective in the homicide division, so he’s seen it all before. However, his celebrity partners never had any crime-fighting training. Luckily, Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek), Conan O’Brien, Ken Jeong (The Hangover), and Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick) are gifted comedians who know their way around a good joke. Marshawn Lynch and Sharon Stone also have some comedic chops of their own and seem to have fun lampooning their well-known public personas. Each of these guest stars will essentially play themselves in a single episode. And if the trailer is any indication, they may have trouble keeping a straight face.

Murderville | Official Trailer | Netflix

Among the many hilarious moments in the trailer, Terry makes Jeong lie down in a chalk outline and he also gives O’Brien a ridiculously long name to use while he’s undercover. Part of the charm of the show is the way that it could potentially go off the rails. As an example, Nanjiani seems to break character at the end of the trailer simply because he can’t hold back his laughter at one of Arnett’s jokes.

Recommended Videos

Murderville is based on the BBC series Murder in Successville, which was created by Andy Brereton and Avril Spary. That show established the format of pairing fictional detectives with real celebrities for an improvised crime and comedy series.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Haneefah Wood also stars in the series as Terry’s ex-wife, Chief Rhonda Jenkins-Seattle, with Lilan Bowden as medical examiner Amber Kang, and Phillip Smithey as Det. Darren “Daz” Phillips.

Arnett has a long history with Netflix, including starring in and executive producing the animated series BoJack Horseman. He also reprised his role as Gob Bluth in Netflix’s revival of Arrested Development. Arnett is executive producing Murderville with Krister Johnson, Marc Forman, Jonathan Stern, Peter Principato, Brian Steinberg. Tom Davis, Andy Brereton, and James De Frond. The series was written by Anna Drezen, Chadd Gindin, Craig Rowin, Jack Kukoda, Marina Cockenberg, Kerry O’Neill, Hannah Levy, and Adriana Robles.

Murderville‘s six-episode first season will premiere on Netflix on Friday, February 3.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Blair Marnell
Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His bylines have appeared in Wizard Magazine, Geek…
3 great comedies you have to watch on New Year’s Day

When 2024 arrives, how do you want to celebrate the new year? If you're looking for movies, literally all of the options are at your fingertips on New Year's Day. But comedies are the way to go for anyone looking to laugh their way into 2024.

Towards that end, we've put together this list of three great comedies to watch on New Year's Day. And it's no coincidence that New Year's Eve plays a major role in all three films. But if we had to pick an absolute favorite out of these three, it's Ghostbusters II, a sequel that just doesn't get enough love.

Read more
3 great comedies you need to watch on Christmas Day

Let's face it: Christmas can sometimes be a downer. It could be that gathering together with your family is more stressful than joyful, or maybe this year, you're all alone and aren't feeling too great about that.

Well, there's one easy way to chase away the blues, at least for a couple of hours: watching a good comedy. No, we're not talking about Scrooged or Home Alone; everyone knows to watch them at this time of year. These three comedies are either underrated or just aren't thought about at Christmas. It's a shame, as it's the perfect time to watch them.

Read more
7 best comedies of 2023, ranked

2023 hasn’t been a banner year for every Hollywood genre. This year’s horror offerings have, in particular, left a lot to be desired. At the same time, this year has seen Hollywood deliver more inventive and memorable mid-budget studio comedies than it has in quite a while.

Not every one of the year’s comedies has necessarily hit the mark, but even flawed efforts like No Hard Feelings have brought welcome diversity to the entertainment industry’s typical yearly release slate. Now, with only a few weeks left to go before we all kiss 2023 goodbye, there’s no better time to celebrate some of the year’s funniest films.

Read more