← Only Murders in the Building Official Podcast
Only Murders in the Building Official Podcast
S2 E8: Black Out
00:49:45
Join Keener & KK as they take a deeper look into the life and death of Bunny Folger. Today we'll be talking to the writer of episode eight, Madeleine George, plus Michael Cyril Creighton who plays Howard Morris and Ali Stroker, Arconiac and host...
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- [00:00]
A
Hey, Kevin.
- [00:01]
B
Yes, Keener?
- [00:02]
A
I think this is the time we remind people that after the credits of each podcast we have the fan mail. And then sometimes we have great bloopers or great something. Little surprises, little nuances, little things to the very tippity tippy tippy last second.
- [00:17]
B
It's good to the last drop, Keener.
- [00:19]
A
Amen, brother.
- [00:20]
C
Straw Hut Media.
- [00:21]
D
How many times was Bunny stabbed? Eight times.
- [00:23]
A
Was it eight times? Oh, does eight.
- [00:26]
D
Maybe something a different person did it. Maybe a different person stabbed her every time. Just kidding. Absolutely not.
- [00:32]
A
You know.
- [00:32]
C
No, it's okay.
- [00:33]
A
We love red herrings. We don't care. You should just see now. Is he kidding, people? Is he kidding?
- [00:42]
B
Yeah.
- [00:43]
D
I'll never tell. I'll never tell anyone who it was. No one in my life knows who it is.
- [00:51]
B
Who are we? We're a couple of true crime aficionados.
- [00:55]
A
Kind of like Charles, Oliver and Mabel, the three main characters in the Hulu original show. Only murders in the building now in season two.
- [01:03]
B
And we're making a podcast about a show where the characters make their own podcast about a murder.
- [01:09]
A
I'm your host, Elizabeth Keener.
- [01:11]
B
I'm your host, Kevin Lahn.
- [01:13]
A
Why are we here?
- [01:13]
B
To solve a murder and to try to figure out who the killer is before all is revealed in the season finale.
- [01:19]
A
We may not be in the Arconia ourselves, but we'll get some inside information from members of the cast and crew and clues to help us piece it all together.
- [01:28]
B
Today we'll be talking to the writer of episode eight, Madeline George plus Michael, Cyril Crichton, who plays Howard Morris, and Ally Strogo, the Arconiac and host of the Hulu after show One killer question.
- [01:41]
A
We'll also hear more from showrunner and co creator John Hoffman.
- [01:45]
B
We'll talk about Howard's season two glow up, the art of the yodel, and whether or not we know the true identity of glitter guy.
- [01:52]
A
As of now, we've seen the first eight episodes, so listeners beware. We're going to give a quick recap. If you haven't watched, hit the pause button, stream episode eight right now and come right back so we don't spoil anything for you.
- [02:13]
B
Episode 8. Marv narrates the opening of this episode. He has a theory about the 6th Avenue Slasher. And we're in the midst of a blackout.
- [02:22]
D
Sometimes a killer stands out.
- [02:26]
A
And Oliver's DNA results come in, but he can't see them because the phones are down. The elevators are down too. And there's general mayhem in the lobby of the arconia the trio has to
- [02:35]
B
hike all the way up to Charles's apartment on the 14th floor if they want to. Lucy. She's at my place all alone if the killer is after her.
- [02:43]
A
Oh, yeah. And meanwhile, Lucy is home alone at the apartment when she hears someone breaking in. She escapes through the secret passageway in the bathroom and the intruder follows her in.
- [02:52]
B
A romance is blossoming between Howard Morris, the cat guy, and Jonathan, the handsome new subletter on his floor.
- [02:59]
D
I was just coming to see if
- [03:00]
B
you had any batteries I could borrow.
- [03:02]
D
That's amazing because I was just gonna come and ask if you had any batteries I could borrow.
- [03:07]
B
That's so funny.
- [03:08]
A
Lester and Nina have time to bond while Lester catches his breath after climbing 14 flights of stairs to bring her a package.
- [03:15]
B
The trio goes into the secret passageway to find Lucy, who's still running from the intruder. But the sound of someone else in the passageway scares the intruder off.
- [03:23]
A
And then there's a great moment when everyone in the arconia sings the sound of silence together. Vision that was planted in my grave still remains.
- [03:39]
B
The trio finds Lucy, and she finally admits to them that she was in the walls the night of Bunny's murder and she heard the killer sneeze.
- [03:47]
A
And in the stairway, they see someone running down the stairs in a suit and mask. Mabel hits them with a bag of dips. They come in handy.
- [03:55]
B
They come in handy. The power kicks back on, and it's Marv. But he's not the killer, and he wasn't the one chasing Lucy. He was actually trying to protect lucy from the 6th Avenue SL down in the lobby.
- [04:08]
A
Detective Kreps shows up. He's being very suspicious. He has an injury on his arm, and Mabel spots pink glitter behind his ear, leading us to believe he is glitter guy. You don't seem like an Upper west side guy to me, Detective Krebs.
- [04:21]
B
Don't I? I go to Zay bars all the time. Best bagel, cream cheese and lox in the city.
- [04:30]
C
If we were kind of breaking into a jog in season one, like, we started to sort of start, sprint and tumble in season two as a writing group, I think we felt really like at liberty to make big leaps and take big swings and try really fun stuff. I hope that's true for all the other people. That's how it felt for me.
- [04:50]
A
This is Madeline George. She's the writer of episode eight.
- [04:53]
C
I really care about being, like, a representative New Yorker on this writing staff that's LA based. And so that's why I wanted to work on the Blackout episode.
- [05:02]
B
We talked to her last Season two for the episode she wrote with Kim Rosenstock, episode six, To Protect and Serve. And the writers room is a collaborative place. Even though there's one or maybe two writers credited on any given episode, most of the plot points, the scenes, and the jokes are created collaboratively.
- [05:21]
C
There's some amount of writers getting to identify, like, where they feel a connection with something thematic or something, you know, in the content of an episode. But it's not like the writers are like, put me here. And then that's what happens, you know, I think it's more like a matchmaking process that the showrunner does, trying to figure out where people might be best used.
- [05:41]
A
Case in point, the blackout. Madeline wanted to be the one to write the episode, but she wasn't the one who pitched the idea initially.
- [05:48]
C
The blackout, really? Yeah. It was Joshua Griffith who pitched the idea initially, I think, to have a blackout episode. And we're not the first TV show to do it, obviously, but it is, like, a rich and exciting territory to explore. Like, what happens to New York City in a day like that, especially in
- [06:04]
B
such a big city like New York, and then seeing all of the residents of the building all together trying to figure out what to do and getting a little buzzed on gut milk.
- [06:13]
C
Sure. Well, why wouldn't you? I mean, getting drunk is a. Is a classic approach to handling a blackout. When everything shuts down, like, why shouldn't you, you know, eat all the ice cream out of the freezer before it melts and drink everything in the cupboard?
- [06:27]
B
You kind of have to. It's going to go bad.
- [06:29]
C
I mean, I've lived in New York for a really long time, and I've lived through all kinds of catastrophes in New York City, like terrorist attacks and superstorms and multiple blackouts. And I feel like there's this idea that, like, oh, New Yorkers will tear each other limb from limb in a crisis, but it's really the opposite. New Yorkers come together in a moment like that. People come out of the woodwork. People emerge from their apartments, and they join each other on the street, and then they, like. Yeah, you know, oftentimes it's about, like, drinking together or eating all the ice cream out of the freezer in the bodega or something like that.
- [07:01]
B
And the next day, when the power is returned, there might be some regrets.
- [07:04]
C
Yeah, no doubt. Or you never speak to those people again.
- [07:10]
B
We have a blackout, people.
- [07:11]
D
We need to get to Lucy.
- [07:13]
B
She's at my place all alone. If the killer is after her. Wait, Lucy, your semi stepdaughter? Not now, Marv. We're in crisis mode.
- [07:21]
C
Well, Marv, I think maybe the writers hold a collective mythology around Marv that goes much deeper than any we than appears on the screen, even. But first of all, the amazing Daniel Oreskes plays him, and I think brings so much kind of wounded humanity to that character. And so we have imagined him. You know, of course, he's a super fan. That's one of his main activities. He has this sort of complicated family and home life that we barely refer to. And then he's. His profession is, we learned this season, a mold inspector, which means he's like, you know, getting into the cracks and crevices and behind the walls, so to speak, of other people's houses. And in that way, he sort of parallels our investigators. But, you know, he's just like. I think we. I think we feel like he's got a big heart and has trouble figuring out, like, where to put his. All his emotions. And he ends up in this sort of antihero role in 208 where he really. Where that really goes to the end. On it.
- [08:21]
B
Marv overhears that Lucy is in danger, and he springs into action. And luckily, he's at the Pickle Diner with the other super fans discussing the disappointments of season two of the podcast. Not ours. When the power goes out.
- [08:35]
A
Definitely not ours. Kk Never in a million years.
- [08:38]
E
Paulette seems like she might be either, like, the president or vice president of the club.
- [08:44]
A
This is Allie Stroker. She plays Paulette, one of the super fans.
- [08:48]
E
Like, she's just organized. She's trying to keep everyone together. And, like, the reality is, is, like, the rest of the super fans are a little bit of a mess. And so I kind of play like mama, you know, like mama hen with them and keeping everyone together and on. On task. You know, I imagine, like, that. Yeah, imagine Colette's, like, from upstate. She definitely, like, drives down to the city. She does not live in the. And I also, like, had this idea that she was, like, really into horses.
- [09:24]
B
Why horses?
- [09:27]
E
I just imagine Paulette as, like, a horseback rider. She, like, has a lot of horses. And she also just, like, loves this podcast. So she's, you know, she's, you know, upstate. She's not like a city gal. She's more of, like, a country galaxy Ally.
- [09:45]
B
Also hosts the official only murders after show. One killer question.
- [09:49]
A
It's very fun, but, kk, are we not the official after show?
- [09:53]
B
No, we're like the gut buzz zero and they're the gut milk original.
- [09:59]
E
It really is so fun to get more out of each character and learn more about them. So some of the episodes have our characters, and then some of the episodes have, like, special guests, like Melissa Rivers. Joan Rivers daughter is like, on our. Is it like, came Jane? Howdy, shell are Bunny. I mean, they're, like, super fans of the show. So it's like they watch and they have. And I think that that's also so fun that it's not just our characters that. That have something to say. It's like people become fans of the show so quickly because of the way it's set up. And we all feel like a detective.
- [10:45]
A
And one suspect we detectives feel like we can cross off our list now is Howard Morris.
- [10:50]
B
And season two, Howard has experienced some growth.
- [10:53]
D
Well, Howard got a glow up. My clothes were so much better because he's. He's out in mourning, so I got to wear some colors and some giant sweaters, and it was really fun.
- [11:04]
B
This is Michael Searle Crichton. He plays Howard Morris, the cat guy.
- [11:08]
D
Last season, he was so deeply entrenched in his mourning that he was pushing people away. He was a lot sharper with people. I think this season, I feel like Howard wants to come out of his shell a bit. He's realizing maybe he needs some human connection. And he really has a history with the building. He definitely knows everything that's going on. He's very interested in other people's drama. And he's obviously a bit of a gossip. And I'm sure that Uma and Bunny are great gossips, too, so I think he probably kept close to them. But, yeah, he knows a lot more than he lets on, I think. And he just is nosy. He's just nosy neighbor. He's like that classic nosy neighbor.
- [11:58]
C
Right.
- [11:59]
A
But you love him because he's so lovable. So that's why you can't. Even if he's a nosy neighbor, he's not one of those. Mrs. Kravitz. He's like the other, you know, the other side.
- [12:07]
D
Yeah. I mean, he has a bit of a sharp side. Like, I always think of him as, like, his feelings really go moment to moment. So he can be very happy one moment and absolutely furious the next. And it just depends on what signals he's getting from the person he's talking to.
- [12:24]
A
Okay. He should be off our suspect list, don't you think?
- [12:27]
B
Yeah. He was in his apartment, and he had his neighbor over for a glass of wine and a lot of candles.
- [12:33]
A
And by the way, kk we know exactly where he was during the blackout. And it wasn't creeping through the walls.
- [12:38]
B
Exactly.
- [12:39]
D
I have been alerted to many of the theories that are out there. I have heard that people think it. Well, are just have decided that it's not me in the passageways because I'm not thin enough to fit through them. Which to I say. What I say to that is, how dare you? And I wore a Spanx T shirt to the premiere and looked svelte as hell. So it could be me anywhere in that building. I could squeeze my way through anything in that building.
- [13:10]
A
You know, how dare they. He is svelte as can be that Michael Searle. So I don't know what they're talking about.
- [13:17]
B
Howard also seems to want to help the trio solve Bunny's murder.
- [13:21]
A
How does Howard feel about the trio and how does he want them to see him?
- [13:24]
D
I think my take and, you know, it changes for me as an actor episode to episode, because I don't get each episode. I don't get the episodes ahead of time, like, as a whole. So you're kind of learning. You take each episode at truth value, or what I think is truth value for each. Each single moment. So I really believed that Howard was trying to make friends with the trio and is maybe a little bit of a star fucker because he's like, into the fact that they have this really successful podcast that he loves and is very clearly has his own ideas of what the podcast should be. You know, he has ideas for episodes. This is like me with the writers inserting myself in the. You know, but just kidding. But this is, you know, he has.
- [14:19]
E
He.
- [14:20]
D
I don't know what his agenda is. I just think he wants to be part of something more. He's looking for a community and he's like, maybe I can get it through these three. These three who are doing the podcast. And maybe not. But I think he. I think Howard generally wants to be in everyone's good graces. I think he wants to be seen one way, even though sometimes he acts another way.
- [14:43]
A
Howard also has a new love interest this season, which makes us want to root for him even more.
- [14:48]
D
There was something really nice about character. Actors like me don't usually get a romance. You know, there's not. That's not something I get to play very often. Normally, if I have a partner in a show, I either like, I've killed them in one show, it's unrequited in several other shows, or I stand next to them and we never have any lines together, but to have them write this sort of beautiful, romantic sort of little night for Howard, it was really fun to play. It was fun to. And it was easy to be nervous around Jason, who I'm such a fan of and is such a great actor. So it was easy to, you know, act like I was falling in love with him.
- [15:33]
A
And I loved when you got confidence and you slicked back your hair a little bit and just walked in confidence.
- [15:38]
C
It was so good.
- [15:39]
A
The turn was so perfect. It was so fun to watch for a minute.
- [15:43]
D
You're like, is Howard going to kill him or.
- [15:46]
A
Yeah, that was right. Absolutely, you're right.
- [15:50]
D
It goes back and forth. Hi.
- [15:53]
B
Hi.
- [15:54]
D
So, hypothetically, if I sent my cat to live with Agnes from the library for a while and got an air purifier and vacuumed my entire apartment and lint rolled all of my sweaters twice, like I did to this one. That's very nice. Oh, thank you. It's new. If I did all of those things, would you consider going on a date with me in the light? I think that line was something more like, what if I got rid of my cat or something originally. And then we kind of changed it a little, because I don't think Howard would get rid of his cat. I think he would maybe let the cat go somewhere he could visit it for a little while. But like I said, he always. He has feelings in a moment and then just speaks them. So at that moment, he really wanted to keep Jonathan around.
- [16:38]
A
I was gonna. I was like, would Howard really get rid of his kitty? No. But he would do.
- [16:43]
D
I don't think so, but I think that it was such a. Like, what a magical night for him. And then what a horrible letdown when Jonathan starts sneezing. So I think he was.
- [16:53]
B
He was.
- [16:54]
D
He was like, how do I make this work? How do I make this work? Here are all my options.
- [16:57]
B
And Jason Vesey, who plays Jonathan, is on Broadway in real life, too. Right now, he's in the Michael R. Jackson play A Strange Loop, which won the Pulitzer for drama in 2020 and the Tony for Best New Musical this year.
- [17:11]
D
Oh, here's an interesting tidbit that Jason, who plays Jonathan, actually was in the Lion King on Broadway.
- [17:18]
C
Oh, I would.
- [17:18]
A
You know, that's crazy. Wow. Wait, okay, so did he. Was that why it's written like that? Because he was.
- [17:27]
D
No, I don't think they even knew that. I don't think they even knew that
- [17:31]
B
when they cast him.
- [17:32]
D
There's a crazy coincidence that's amazing.
- [17:34]
A
I love stuff like that.
- [17:36]
B
We're ready for Howard to find love.
- [17:38]
A
Human love rather than cat love. Although we love cat love.
- [17:41]
B
But human love, I mean, why not both?
- [17:42]
A
We're going to take a quick break, and when we come back, the mutual respect between Madeline George and Michael Cyril Crichton and the yodel Herd. Round the world yole.
- [17:52]
E
Hehoo hoo.
- [18:02]
D
Oh, my God, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize you were out there. I was just coming to see if
- [18:07]
B
you had any batteries I could borrow.
- [18:09]
D
That's amazing because I was just gonna come and ask if you had any batteries I could borrow.
- [18:13]
B
That's so funny.
- [18:15]
D
Well, thanks. Guess I'll ask 3C. Wait, no, come in. I have tons of batteries.
- [18:22]
B
If you ever. Tons of batteries? Why were you coming to ask if I had any batteries?
- [18:27]
D
I mean, I have tons of candles. Can I interest you in a votive or a dripless taper?
- [18:34]
C
Well, I mean, I couldn't be more excited about this storyline. First of all, Michael Cyril Creighton, who plays Howard, is just delish, beyond delish. And I have hilarious genius who I've admired for years for his work in the theater as well as on the screen. And he is just like such a dream to write for. I was a fan of his for a long time and I never had a chance to write for him in. You know, I'm a playwright and he's a stage actor. But so this is like a crazy stroke of luck for both of us to get to work together like this.
- [19:02]
B
Welcome back. This is Madeline George, the writer of Episode eight. She and Michael Cyril Crichton, who plays Howard Morris, have known each other for years, and the admiration is mutual.
- [19:13]
D
I used to work in a box office in the city and Madeline did plays there. And I'm a big fan of Madeline. As a playwright and a person, I just really like Madeline a lot. And when. When I found out that Madeline specifically was writing this episode, I was so thrilled because it's like, you can't go wrong with these writers. They're all incredible. Like, every single one of them is a genius. But I love Madeline so much. So, so excited that she wrote this episode.
- [19:43]
C
Yeah, we texted each other with, with a lot of delight when we found that out.
- [19:46]
A
Madeline brought Howard to life in this episode, but as usual, the storyline was collaborative.
- [19:52]
C
Yeah, I feel like actually it was Dan Fogelman, one of our executive producers, who's. Who was like, I really would like to see Howard get some action. I'm sure he said it More delicately than that. But, like, you know, this is an opportunity for us to see Howard go in a new and interesting direction. And. Yeah, so he steps out of his comfort zone, as one might, with the lights off, you know, where you can take a little bit more. You have a little more courage. And reaches out to one of his neighbors, played by the equally extraordinary Jason Ubisi. The two of them are just like, oh, my gosh, they're so. They're so lovely together. There's a little bit of a dark night of the soul moment, but a lot of people in the story are emboldened to make bigger connections than they would have if the lights weren't out.
- [20:35]
B
Was that sound of silence I heard you singing yesterday?
- [20:39]
D
It's the finale of our upcoming Simon and Garf yodel concert.
- [20:44]
B
Can I hear a couple bars?
- [20:45]
D
No, no, no, no. I never sing alone. That's why I founded a quartet.
- [20:48]
B
Okay, we'll duet.
- [20:50]
D
I'll do Simon, you do Garfield.
- [20:54]
C
There's a lot of music sort of stealthily throughout all of Only Murders in the Building. And I think, again, I think this was a Dan Fogelman moment where he was like, I'd like to see them sing together. But honestly, like, that image of song reaching each other, you know what I mean, Across a big distance. It's definitely inflected by our experience of the pandemic in New York, where there was this sense of, like, sometimes there were people who went out every night onto their fire escape and performed for their neighbors. You know what I mean? And there was, of course, the sound every night at 7pm of everybody leaning out the window and beating on our pots and pans. So I know this was common in lots of places, but in New York City, where when we were locked down, that the idea that, like, song or speech or noise could travel from apart from window to window, I think it really. It became something very dear to our hearts as New Yorkers. So there's a little note of that in there. And. But also, like, I think that in this episode, we finally get to go full goonies on these passageways, you know what I mean? And, like, really kind of run through them in the way that they were. That they're. Any secret passageway is built to be run through. And being able to use song as a way to find each other in the darkness like that in the passageways was just, like, sort of delish for us. The yodeling, I could not tell you, except that it is one of those kind of, like, over the top flourishes that Just belongs to the characters of the show and springs from the mind, really. I think of John Hoffman.
- [22:23]
B
Well, it works. It sounded really nice floating through the building with the song.
- [22:26]
C
Yeah, they're very beautiful, really. The best yodeled version of Sound of Silence ever on Hulu. I can say with confidence, hello, darkness,
- [22:35]
B
my old friend
- [22:38]
D
I feel the lady o'.
- [22:40]
A
Neill.
- [22:42]
D
Oh, you're a lady. You're the lady.
- [22:52]
A
And the vision that was planted in
- [22:57]
C
my brain still remains
- [23:03]
B
within the sound of silence in restless dreams I walked alone.
- [23:12]
D
There's a killer.
- [23:13]
B
Sorry.
- [23:14]
D
It's just one of the great breaks
- [23:15]
B
in folk rock history. It's hard not to sing along. Your baby stop crying. When my eyes were stabbed by the
- [23:30]
A
flash of a neon light that split
- [23:34]
B
the night
- [23:36]
A
and touched the sound silence.
- [23:48]
B
I was actually just realizing the song of Silence and Howard singing it, which kind of reflects on his life being alone for so long. And by the end of the episode, he does go on his first date.
- [24:00]
C
Yeah, good point. That's brilliant. That's. We meant that. That's why we did that. Exactly.
- [24:05]
A
Even though Howard's yodeling may feel effortless on screen, Michael says, it took a lot of practice.
- [24:10]
D
I hardly know how to sing. But John, pretty early on, before the season even started, called me one day and he's like, you know, this. This is where my mind is at right now. I just wonder if you have a yodel in you. And I was like, excuse me. He said, I'm wondering if you have a yodel in you. And. And because it's John Hoffman and because he's the greatest guy in the world, and I love the show so much, I just say, yes, of course, yes, I do. I definitely do. I can definitely yodel. Which I then immediately started Googling how to yodel. I watched. Basically, I found this woman, Jennifer, on YouTube, who had three videos that were like, three basic steps to learn a basic yodel. Because John was like, it's not going to be a. It's not gonna be a big yodel thing, I don't think, at this point. So just, you know, learn a basic yodel, learn how to crack your voice, etc.
- [25:01]
A
Hello there, fellow yodelers. I'm Jennifer, and I'm going to show
- [25:05]
C
you how to yodel in a basic
- [25:07]
A
yodel in just a couple of easy steps.
- [25:09]
B
First thing I want to tell you
- [25:11]
A
is practice, practice, practice, practice.
- [25:14]
C
And never, ever, ever give up.
- [25:16]
B
Don't give up.
- [25:18]
D
So watch these really great videos by this woman, Jennifer.
- [25:21]
A
It's not.
- [25:21]
D
And in the video she's always like, you know, she was really encouraging. She's like, you can do it. Never give up. You know, you can write me or call me if you have an issue. So I, like, spent many months, probably very leisurely learning these three lessons. And then I was like, when I find out what I'm yodeling, I can call her. And it turned out she had passed away, so I couldn't reach out to her.
- [25:45]
B
Jennifer might be gone, but her music lives on. We'll put a link to her how to Yodel video in the show notes in case you want to start your own yodel shop quartet.
- [25:54]
A
And the music group she started, Cattywampus String Band is pretty good, I'll tell you. We'll play a little bit at the end of the episode.
- [26:01]
D
But her videos were incredibly helpful. And then so just practiced and practiced.
- [26:05]
C
He worked his ass off to be a, like, star yodeler on that show. It's not like he came in with yodeling under his special skills on his tv.
- [26:14]
B
Next to cockney accent.
- [26:16]
C
Exactly. Historic dance. Right.
- [26:19]
D
The good thing was that, you know, Howard is not a solo yodelist. He's intentionally singing with a quartet so he doesn't have to stand out. And I think it's. The whole thing was that he just enjoys it. He doesn't have to be good at it, but he enjoys it, and it's something that he's very passionate about. But. But when it turned out, when I got the script and I was like, oh, I'm yodeling. The Sound of Silence. Like a song that is absolutely iconic in so many ways, I could not wrap my head around it. And I made, like, an sos. I need help. Please someone help me. And they hired this really amazing guy, Dan Faber, who actually, you can see him in a shot of, and I think it's episode three. He's one of the yodel shop people with the bow ties on. And he. He's a voice teacher, and he knows how to yodel. And he spent all of this time with me teaching me how to turn sound of silence into a yodel, which was something that my brain could not wrap its head around. And then he was there on set with me, and he practiced with me and Jason, who plays Jonathan. And so that's how that happened.
- [27:31]
A
And now, Michael, you can actually say yes. That's on your skills in a resume.
- [27:36]
B
Yes.
- [27:38]
D
Can't sing, but I can yolo. I know. I actually do know how to Gregorian chant, from which I'm not gonna do Right now.
- [27:45]
B
Feel free.
- [27:45]
A
Oh, damn it. Damn it. Nice try.
- [27:49]
D
I do know how to Gregorian chant from high school, but it's. I mean, it's a different skill set. It definitely is a different skill set.
- [27:56]
A
Have you ever had to use that Gregorian chant for any.
- [28:00]
D
No. No, I have not. Maybe. Maybe someday. Maybe someday.
- [28:05]
A
Well, what other songs does the Yodel or Simon and Garfield group do, do you think?
- [28:11]
D
I don't know. Like, if we're just doing Simon and Garfield songs, that's one thing. But I also think that there would definitely be, like, you know, a whole genre of music. Like, I feel like he's probably really into, like, 90s. Like, let the River Run would definitely be something. Howard would yodel. What else? Dream a little dream of me that's not 90s, but that would be something. I'm branching away from Simon and Garf yodel. What else would Howard yodel, really? Anything. He was asked to yodel. He would yodel. I'm pretty sure.
- [28:47]
A
Oh, okay. So if I asked you to yodel right now. You can do a bar or two if you like.
- [28:52]
B
No, thanks.
- [28:54]
A
Damn it. I keep trying.
- [28:56]
B
Michael may not have been up for an impromptu yodel session, but he did send Keener a personalized yodel greeting after the interview.
- [29:05]
D
Hello, Keener. It's Michael Cyril Creighton, also known as Howard Morris. I feel bad that I denied you the joy of a yodel. So here's a very basic yodel now. I have it warmed up. Hi, Da Hallelio, Hallelujah. Hi, the A lady. O Hallelu. Hallelu. You're welcome.
- [29:33]
A
I mean, what a guy.
- [29:35]
B
KK how nice do that.
- [29:38]
A
How nice of him and how great. He just did a whole thing for me.
- [29:42]
B
You must have made him feel guilty.
- [29:44]
A
Well, that's my jam. It's what I do. He was amazing, and I loved it so much, it made me smile ear to ear. No, but seriously, honestly, Michael is a gem. He really is. Okay, we've been talking about yodeling for a long time, and we're almost done, but the last question we had was about filming the big ensemble singing scene. Maybe. No surprise here, but it wasn't all shot at once.
- [30:09]
D
Yes, they did them all at different times. Like, I don't. I think they did the lobby stuff before we even did the yodeling stuff. But they had a recording of. I think they had, like, a mock up of my yodel instructor, Dan, doing it. And I think they probably played that for the lobby. And then I don't know when they did the stuff in the passageways. My favorite part in the entire episode is when Ursula starts singing. I think it is so funny. I think it's so brilliant. She's so funny. But, yeah, we didn't do it together. And then when Jonathan and I did it, Jason, we had earwigs so we could hear the tempo of the song. And then we did it together, and then we do it separate. And then we'd do it, you know, just into a microphone. We did it so many different ways. That poor crew had to hear me yodel for like six hours. It was wild. But. But, yeah, it's all separate. But it's so. I think it's kind of very moving. Again, like the sort of community in the building sort of coming together. I love any moment where, like, the whole building comes together in the show.
- [31:26]
B
Two people who probably wouldn't have spent this time together under normal circumstances are Nina Lynn and Lester the doorman. And maybe it's the magic of the moment that gives them the ability to connect in a new way. I'm headed downstairs. Need me to mail those papers? I'm not a robot, but I can still be helpful.
- [31:45]
C
You know what? Maybe I should double check in the light
- [31:50]
A
about that talk of automation. We may need to consider what we'd
- [31:54]
C
lose without the human touch at the door.
- [31:57]
A
Maybe some jobs could shift instead of getting cut.
- [32:01]
B
How does Director of Resident support sound?
- [32:06]
C
Yeah, it is a moment of mutual humanization, I think, for those two characters, the way that they spend time together in the Blackout. And maybe she took Lester for granted a little bit before she had a chance to meet him on more equal footing, like in that moment. And, you know, her nefarious plans for the building are a little undefined. She had some goals for it. Maybe she would like to staff it fully with robots. That might be somewhere in her head. But I think, like everybody in the Blackout episode, like, she. Yeah, she values the person that she's with just a little bit more after they get sort of, like, stuck together in this way. That's not a very deep thing to say, but, I mean, I think she's an incredible character. I would. I personally would like to see more about her journey as the new board president.
- [32:59]
B
And it even seemed like she was having second thoughts about that redesign of the building, putting that glass bubble on top of it.
- [33:07]
C
Yeah, I mean, if anyone is going to convince her not to make a multi million dollar investment in real estate, it's Lester.
- [33:20]
B
Fatherhood seems to be a big theme throughout the season. And even Marv, he has issues about being a parent and relationship with his daughter. And towards the end when he, he basically rescues Lucy, that's like a big moment for him.
- [33:35]
C
Yeah, exactly. He restores Lucy basically to, to her pseudo family. In other words, Mabel, Charles and Oliver. And, and yeah, he has a little, I mean, it's a little bit like he engineers it, but he has a moment of real heroism. And you can picture like him looking for, spending his whole life looking for ways to like, live up to his daughters. There's, you know, hopes for him.
- [33:57]
A
Here's showrunner and co creator John Hoffman.
- [34:00]
F
And Marv is certainly an extension of the super fans, but a, a real perspective, hopefully a deepening perspective that takes him beyond superfan. And we know Ms. Marv by the end of it and he's cares about his daughter and he, he, he's driven in ways that, you know, are a little deeper and a little more relatable than we might have expected, hopefully.
- [34:24]
A
And what a relief to know that although Marv is uncomfortable with women in position of power, he's not the killer.
- [34:30]
B
But that's not the biggest reveal of the episode.
- [34:33]
A
No way. The biggest has to be Glitter Guy.
- [34:35]
B
Yes, listeners, we're finally getting to it
- [34:37]
A
after a quick break.
- [34:45]
B
You know, I saw that little viral video of yours. What's stopping me from locking you up today, huh?
- [34:54]
A
I was wondering the same thing. But why are you here other than interrogating teenage girls?
- [35:01]
B
That's just one part of the job I happen to like.
- [35:03]
D
So, Chris, here we go. Do you know the Pickle?
- [35:04]
B
I do not.
- [35:05]
D
They have the best disco fries in two of them.
- [35:07]
B
I'm sorry.
- [35:07]
D
I'm sorry.
- [35:11]
B
I got a new tattoo. What are you looking at? Coke? Yeah. Drink your milk, weirdo.
- [35:21]
A
And Kreps turns his head and we see pink glitter behind his ear.
- [35:25]
B
It makes sense that he's Glitter Guy. A police officer might work security part time.
- [35:29]
A
And there was the text from the phone number in an earlier episode that said, I'm the only one on the force who thinks you're too dumb to pull this off.
- [35:37]
B
And he's got the right build, but
- [35:39]
A
maybe it's a coincidence. You know, listen, I'm. I still look at red herrings even though they're far fetched. Maybe, I don't know, it could be glitter from something else.
- [35:47]
B
But why would Kreps be doing this?
- [35:48]
A
And kk, did he give any clues earlier on in the season to make us suspicious of him?
- [35:53]
F
There are elements of surprise that we have to do here that will reveal themselves and make more sense as we
- [36:01]
B
go along here is co creator and showrunner John Hoffman.
- [36:05]
F
But there are. Should be surprised there. And. And I think a compounding of problems that this new revelation might create. But then also questions and I think that last conversation between Mabel and Kreps in that lobby of the Arconia where she's wondering why aren't you arresting me right now after that viral video that you saw and what exactly is going on with you? And so there's dual sides to it. So she's. She's wondering why he's not acting in this moment if what she knows now is true and how to get to what's really going on. Is the great investigative mind that Mabel Mora has that will hopefully kick into action in a new way in the next two episodes.
- [37:05]
A
Kreps is looking very guilty right now. But is there some possible innocent reason for the glitter and the injury that would make him a red herring?
- [37:12]
B
Maybe he has some weird glitter fetish or maybe he opened up a card that had glitter in it.
- [37:19]
A
Those are very popular now. I hope those go away. No, we have to kick it. We always have to look outside the box. I mean, we just have to. Because that's what you want to do. Even if it's. I mean, or a less weird explanation might. He has a young daughter he was working on an art project with. I don't, you know, listen.
- [37:34]
B
And, and maybe he really did get a tattoo. It's coming.
- [37:37]
F
These are the right questions.
- [37:39]
E
And I think that's part of the charm of the show.
- [37:43]
B
Here's Ali Stroker again. She plays superfan Paulette and hosts the Hulu after show. One killer question.
- [37:49]
E
Part of the charm of the show is that like, you are sucked into all of these side stories and these red herrings and you're just like, oh my God. It totally could be that. It's just like one of those really good mystery books that you can't put down. You want to read the next chapter. You need to know what happens. And I just think the writing on the show is so smart and so creative and so good.
- [38:14]
A
Superstar writers, superstar cast.
- [38:17]
B
Totally.
- [38:18]
E
It's kind of like a masterclass. Like you can watch every moment on set, whether we're filming or not, and learn something. I mean, these are masters. These are legends of our time. And to watch them work and how they relate to each other, I mean, the dynamic between Martin Short and Steve Martin is like something that is. It's like, it's like iconic for our generation.
- [38:49]
A
Right.
- [38:49]
E
You know, and, and, and so to be around that and to be able to watch them interact and then work together. Working with Selena Gomez, who's just like this superstar. Superstar. And then, of course, all of the other characters and guest artists. What's so amazing is that it feels like we've sort of been able to get New York's finest right between McLane and Jane Lynch. It's just like, gosh, these, like, Jane Howdy show. Like, these are New York legends.
- [39:30]
A
Okay, back to glitter guy. Here's writer Madeline George.
- [39:34]
C
First of all, we like it if people's jaws are on the floor at the end of the episode. That's always fantastic. So we like to hold off on a big reveal until the end and give people something that they can really look forward to coming back for. And I don't know, personally, I feel like the character of Detective Kreps, he's just been cruising for a bruise, and we just want to punch that guy in the mouth. And so now to know that, in fact, there's much, much more to him than we have known up till now feels to me tantalizing. It's like, right now, let's get into it.
- [40:11]
B
Take him down a peg.
- [40:13]
C
Yeah, let's find out what the hell is going on with this guy.
- [40:16]
B
And I also realized Howard's paramour,
- [40:22]
C
he
- [40:23]
B
sneezed in this episode, which apparently was from Howard's cats. But I've been keeping an eye out for people sneezing since the person in the catacombs chasing after Lucy sneezed. So I am keeping my eye on that.
- [40:37]
C
Good. Well, that's great. If there's nothing else that we can do for America, we can make people notice. Sneezes MORE assiduously so keener.
- [40:47]
B
And I usually like to ask towards the end of an interview if anyone would have a clue for us, something we can kind of think about and mull over. Do you have something you'd like to share?
- [41:00]
C
I don't know. I don't know.
- [41:02]
B
I've taken Nina Lynn off my list of suspects.
- [41:06]
C
I think that's fair. Like, after you see a sweet scene like that, you know that we're not, like, we're not gunning for her. I mean, I guess this is the question. It's like the clue is like, you know, how many people can fit in a Tyvek suit?
- [41:19]
B
Oh, that is a good one.
- [41:22]
D
Do I have any clues for you? That's a horrifying question, because I feel like I get in so much trouble for saying anything.
- [41:31]
A
It could be something that already happened that, you know, people glossed over.
- [41:35]
D
Oh, there's a million things that have already happened that people glossed over. I don't think anybody is. I don't think anybody knows exactly what happened. No one is guessing exactly what happened yet.
- [41:50]
A
KK we know what time it is.
- [41:53]
B
Yes. It's time for the whodunit summit.
- [41:56]
A
Whodunit summit. Okay, so go ahead.
- [41:59]
B
Well, first of all, this is where Keener and I write down who we think the murderer is, based on what we've seen so far. So up until episode eight, date, we've written down our suspect, put it on a piece of paper, and put it in a sealed envelope until right now. Keena, do you want to start with you?
- [42:16]
A
Yes. You open mine first, please. Here we go.
- [42:21]
D
Okay.
- [42:22]
B
And you said. And you said Alice, the art gallery owner?
- [42:29]
A
Yes, Alice. How dare she. Okay, let me tell you really fast. I don't even know. I don't even think it's her, to be honest with you. But she needs to get her comeuppance. She. She was horrible. She DM'd somebody who was very vulnerable. Mabel. Right. For her own good. For her own. I'm sick of this. I'm sick of people doing that. I'm telling you right now. And that's what she did to Mabel. Poor.
- [42:52]
C
She.
- [42:52]
A
She made it. She made the one bloody Mabel. She made it happen. She's used her. She did all these things, made her break things, made her do this. Then she. She made her relive it by going into it, making her apartment. Look again. It was just too. Too much for me. KK Don't.
- [43:07]
B
She took that photo where Bunny died on Mabel's floor. So.
- [43:10]
A
That's odd. It's horrible. She's a user. Goodbye. Good riddance. Tata.
- [43:17]
B
All right, Are you ready for mine?
- [43:18]
A
Yes, go ahead.
- [43:20]
B
Okay, open it up.
- [43:21]
A
Here it goes. Oh, Detective Kreps.
- [43:28]
B
Yes. Now, I'll be honest with you. Throughout the. Throughout the whole episode, I thought the murderer was Marv the superfan, because his group kind of wasn't buying his other theories. We already know that he knows the catacombs, and he knows that Lucy is home alone. So that was my. You know, through the whole episode. But then at the very end, when Detective Kreps has the glitter on his neck, I mean, right? I don't know how you get out of that.
- [43:54]
A
I don't know.
- [43:54]
B
And then Detective Kreps is determined. Is my suspect, but I don't know why he would kill Bunny.
- [43:59]
A
But I'll tell you. And he had a. His shoulder was bruised or something.
- [44:03]
B
Happened because Howard bumped into his shoulder.
- [44:06]
A
Yeah, yours is better than mine. But I'll tell you, Alice. Alice doesn't live here anymore. Goodbye. Goodbye.
- [44:27]
B
Thanks for listening to season two, episode eight of Only Murders in the Pod. Our inbox is open again, so please send over your thoughts and theories to only murderousrawhutmedia.com and if you're enjoying the show, please leave us a rating and a review. It really helps people find the show.
- [44:44]
A
Only Murderers in the Pod is a production of Straw Hut Media, hosted by Elizabeth Keener, me and Kevin Lan me produced by Ryan Tillots and Maggie Bowles. Associate producer is Stephen Markley. Original music by Kyle Merritt and Only Murders theme music by Siddhartha Khosla. Big, big thanks to John Hoffman, as usual, Xavier Salas, Luisa Moltini and the entire Hulu team. KK it's time to read some fan mail.
- [45:22]
B
Fan mail?
- [45:23]
A
Yeah. Okay, people, give us their ideas, their clues, their perceptions.
- [45:29]
B
Theories.
- [45:30]
A
Theories. All of it. So this one is from Sarah B. Hi. Re watching some episodes in season two, I started to see some connections between Alice and Marv. When he and the fan club were sitting in the diner talking to Charles, Mabel and Oliver. Marv mentioned that he knew about the secret passageways in the Arconia because he does mold removal in that scene. There's a respirator on the table and Marv is wearing a full body blue protective suit. In the scene when Alice is on the phone with Mabel, when Alice is at the studio with a leaky roof, Alice is wearing a similar full body protective suit but tied at her waist. And Alice knows about the passageways because she was with her dad on a job in the building as a kid. Just a thought. That's a great thought, Sarah B. Thank you. Isn't it right? I had to read that one.
- [46:19]
B
And maybe Alice is not British after all, which is something we discussed.
- [46:22]
A
Oh, man. She's lies upon lies and trying to help her through things. It's just ridiculous.
- [46:27]
B
So, Keena, my pick for this week is from Jennifer in New York and I picked hers because it was a little different. Because she doesn't have a suspect, per se. But she has a great idea for next season that I wanted to read to you.
- [46:40]
A
You.
- [46:41]
B
So she wants to float this out into the universe. A musical episode next season. She's thinking perhaps a Yodel shop quartet. Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, Nathan Lane Divine, Joy Randolph and Jane Howdeschal.
- [46:57]
A
I just want to say that's five.
- [46:58]
B
I know. I think it would be a Yodel shop quintet.
- [47:01]
A
Quintet. So we'll just fix that for her.
- [47:04]
B
She said she doesn't even care if it's an Oliver Putnam production and she'd want to watch it just based on the cast alone. I think that's a fantastic idea, and I also want to help put that into the universe as well.
- [47:15]
A
We are putting it out there. Okay, so let's read some of the names we couldn't get to, but go ahead.
- [47:20]
B
Yeah. We have Robert V, Laura F. From Brazil, Elizabetta and Lucas from France, Candy and Thomas from Virginia, Anna B.
- [47:29]
A
From Miami, Allie W. Ken, Lisa J.
- [47:33]
B
From Vegas, Jeff from West Virginia, Chloe, Brendan, Tom, Akira. We got a lot of good ideas this week from People.
- [47:43]
A
I mean, so many. Thank you. Yeah, thanks, everyone. We really appreciate it.
- [47:47]
B
Keep them coming.
- [47:48]
D
Yeah, I think generally all the time. I'm always like. Like, all the time. Every time I open my mouth, a little bit nervous to talk to someone. So there's no acting happening whatsoever. Yeah, no, it was.
- [48:02]
B
I. It was.
- [48:04]
D
I have had that feeling several times. I do. I am a nervous person in general,
- [48:09]
B
but Jennifer might be gone, but her music lives on. We'll put a link to her how to Yodel video in the show notes in case you want to start your own yodel shop quartet.
- [48:21]
A
Okay.
- [48:22]
C
Kay.
- [48:22]
A
You know what? We could double up. Two of me, A two of you, and then that's it.
- [48:26]
B
Or.
- [48:26]
A
No, no, we'll pull up. We'll pull Ryan and Maggie in, our producers. Well, like all four of us. All right, guys, get ready for that one.
- [48:33]
B
It should go really well.
- [48:35]
C
We just got the final two episodes this morning.
- [48:37]
A
Oh, I know. I know. I haven't. I know. But I can't look at anything until
- [48:41]
B
I'm told I can't look at anything. But I'm gonna watch them tonight.
- [48:46]
D
Oh, my God. Can you email me? Can you email me?
- [48:51]
A
Wait, do you. I mean, do you know. But you just haven't seen. Is that basically what it is? You just. Is that.
- [48:57]
D
No, I've seen. I've seen. I've seen them. I got a sneak peek of the.
- [49:02]
B
But they're.
- [49:02]
D
I mean, it's just exciting to see what. How people are going to. I don't know. It's just exciting.
- [49:09]
C
I think we pictured Howard being very comfortable both organizing an archive of books and protecting them from the general public, which is. The librarian's secret wish is to keep everybody off their grubby mitts, off of the books in the library.
- [49:26]
B
He's on the board, too, right?
- [49:34]
C
He's a man of many talents and also a man of many unexplored valences. I think that we would love to get Howard to do every possible different kind of thing that he's capable of in the show.