S4 E8: Lifeboat (Part 1)

Summary

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Only Murders in the Building Official Podcast

S4 E8: "Lifeboat (Part 1)" — Summary & Key Insights

Release Date: October 16, 2024
Host: Michael Cyril Creighton (portraying Howard), with Ryan Tillotson & Maggie Bowles
Featured Guests:

• Writers Kristen Newman & Jake Schnitzel (aka "Schnassel")
• Directors Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini
• Production Designer Patrick Howe
• Cast cameos: Steve Martin

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode takes a deep dive into Season 4, Episode 8 ("Lifeboat") of Only Murders in the Building, exploring its complex character moments, comedic set pieces, long-gestating mysteries, and behind-the-scenes creativity. The hosts unpack the writing decisions, actor improvisations, physical comedy, and production design that make the show's blend of mystery and humor so compelling.

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Episode Recap & Plot Breakdown

[01:07–02:43]

• The Westies' origin is revealed: Dudenoff invited each member into the Arconia’s West Tower, forming a makeshift family.
• The core trio leaves Long Island, meets their Hollywood counterparts, and plots to unmask the Westies with a confessional game of Oh Hell.
• Tension builds as the Westies arrive with a ham on a luggage cart—and then take the trio hostage to tell their side.
• Each Westie had a meaningful connection to Dudenoff; all claim innocence in his death.
• The final Westie, Helga, arrives, suspicious of her fellow Westies.
• Mabel reveals evidence Dudenoff is dead; the Westies finally disclose: Dudenoff died by suicide and asked them to burn his body so they could keep their apartments.
• Mabel decides not to expose the Westies on the podcast.
• Helga brings a new clue: Saz (Jane Lynch’s character) had trouble with a dangerous stuntman, Glenn Stubbins, on "Project Ronkonkoma."

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Key Discussion Points & Behind-the-Scenes Insights

1. Evolving the Story of the Westies

[04:00–06:25]

• Writers described the brainstorming process: the Westies went through wild iterations, including cuddle cults and various murder motives.
• Notable Quote:
  • "What would a person do for rent control? In 2024, and certainly in New York City, the answer is: murder. The answer is all of us would murder for rent-controlled apartments in the Arconia."
    — Jake Schnitzel [05:01]
• Ultimately, the Westies became lovable, seeking community rather than being villains.

2. Comedy of Muted Trios

[07:42–09:45]

• The FaceTime scene between the original and Hollywood trios was a comedic highlight, exploring ego, impersonation, and mutual suspicion.
• Notable Quote:
  • “We are professional investigators, and you are playing us in a movie because of it.”
    — Steve Martin as Charles, [07:55]
  • “Are these dum dums gonna ruin this?”
    — Charles, [08:09]
• Writers enjoyed the meta-commentary and confusion—the scene was a backbone of episode 8’s comedic tone.

3. Iconic "A Few Good Men" Monologue

[10:12–11:31]

• Kumail Nanjiani's delivery of the “A Few Good Men” speech was surprisingly complete and passionate, impressing everyone.
• Notable Quotes:
  • "Kumail Nanjiani showed up... with the whole thing down. He just cold nailed this thing like nine times." — Kristen Newman [10:22]
  • “Maybe better than Jack Nicholson, would you say? More moving in the end?” — Jake Schnitzel [10:59]

4. Production Trickery: The Faux Charles Apartment

[22:43–26:29]

• The “movie set” Charles apartment was a new build to avoid breaking TV magic for future seasons.
• Patrick Howe (production designer) explains not revealing “the real set as the real set” preserves immersion.
• Notable Quote:
  • “We can’t reveal the actual set as the actual set... the suspension of disbelief would be out the window.” — Patrick Howe [23:04]

5. Eugene Levy & Steve Martin’s Physical Comedy

[15:47–18:12]

• Their “omelet bit” evolved on set, shifting from a running gag to a more subtle interplay.
• Eugene’s channeling of Charles’s rage—the surprise silent outburst—was a Dan Fogelman suggestion and a triumph for Steve Martin’s physical comedy.
• Notable Quotes:
  • “You take the world’s greatest physical comedian and give him something where it’s all physicality, no dialogue... So much fun to write and watch.” — Kristen Newman [18:02]

6. The Mystery’s Moral Quandary

[33:20–34:44]

• The hosts and writers debate the ethics of the Westies’ actions—burning a body to preserve cheap rent.
• Notable Quote:
  • “I think that they’re right. Even though probably technically they are breaking the law... But I am with Mabel. I say let them have their rent-controlled apartments.” — Maggie Bowles [34:00]
• Richard Kine’s “charming” performance makes their crime “not a crime.”

7. Running Gags: Hot Locksmiths, Eva Longoria Tools & Tony Danza

[24:36–38:40]

• Helga as a “hot locksmith” was chosen, riffing on the idea of beautiful people in “regular” jobs.
• The “Eva Longoria 19-in-1 multi-tool” is a room joke taken as far as possible for laughs (including an inadvisable nail gun/vibrator combo).
• Tony Danza’s annual "Is it okay to wear white?" party was almost a much larger subplot.

8. Meta, Wordplay, and Writers’ Room Dynamics

[30:50–32:18]

• Jake (“Schnassel”) admits to being the source of most wordplay and many ham radio plot points.
• Writers’ room is full of “agenda items” and running bits—some make it, some are kindly deleted.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• "What would a person do for rent control? In 2024... the answer is murder." — Jake Schnitzel, [05:01]
• "Are these dum dums gonna ruin this?" — Steve Martin as Charles, [08:09]
• "He [Kumail] just cold nailed this thing like nine times." — Kristen Newman, [10:22]
• "It's pretty amazing to be in the room and just see all these great actors... he performed the whole thing." — Steve Martin, [12:55]
• “You take the world’s greatest physical comedian and give him something where it’s all physicality, no dialogue.” — Kristen Newman, [18:02]
• “We just pick some tires and we end up with a hot locksmith.” — Jake Schnitzel, [29:16]
• "You don't want to vibrate your nail in the wall is what I'm talking about." — Jake Schnitzel, re: Eva Longoria tool, [36:37]
• "I am with Mabel. I say let them have their rent-controlled apartments." — Maggie Bowles, [34:00]

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Major Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:07] — Plot recap of S4E8: The Lifeboat origins, the forced confession, and the reveal of the “dead” Dudenoff
• [03:37] — Writers discuss shaping the Westies’ story
• [07:42] — Hollywood trio vs. real trio FaceTime scene
• [10:12] — Behind Kumail Nanjiani’s “A Few Good Men” bit
• [15:47] — Omelet scene origins & Steve/Eugene’s physical comedy
• [22:43] — Recreating Charles’s apartment as a set
• [28:23] — The reveal and evolution of Helga, the hot locksmith
• [33:20] — Debating the Westies’ “crime” and morality
• [36:12] — Eva Longoria’s fictional 19-in-1 multitool
• [38:59] — Tease for next episode and closing notes

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Character & Comedy Highlights

• The chemistry between the real and Hollywood trios continues to provide meta and slapstick laughs.
• Kumail Nanjiani’s “A Few Good Men” delivery impressed the entire crew.
• Eugene Levy explored a different, angrier version of himself—and Steve Martin excelled in silent, physical comedy.
• The “hot locksmith” Helga role got built primarily out of the writers’ obsession with attractive people in ordinary jobs.
• The Eva Longoria 19-in-1 multitool is a room joke run gloriously amok.
• Many running gags and humorous lines originated in the writers’ willingness to riff and experiment.

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Production Notes & Challenges

• Shooting schedules were difficult with big ensemble scenes; clever staging and post-production made everything blend seamlessly for viewers ([14:00–14:40]).
• The construction of a “fake” Charles apartment reflects a commitment to narrative immersion and future plot flexibility.
• Writers routinely think in terms of both comedy and character morality, ensuring the show’s blend of tone remains sharp and surprisingly deep.

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Conclusion

This episode of the podcast revealed the inside story of S4E8’s blend of comedy, elaborate set-pieces, and emotional twists. It showcased the fun, chaos, and collaborative creativity of Only Murders in the Building—from the writers’ initial wild ideas to the final heartfelt, hilarious scenes. The biggest takeaways: in the Arconia, community is everything, comedy can be found in the details, and sometimes, the show's real magic happens when the cast and crew play together and let inspiration strike.

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Transcript

[Maggie Bowles]

Straw Hut Media JCassel comes with a

[Jake Schnitzel]

lot of wordplay, a lot of little like little quips like that. If you see that in the show, something like that, that's usually a Schnassel.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Hello, welcome back to the Only Murders in the Building podcast. I'm Ryan Tillotson.

[Maggie Bowles]

I'm Maggie Bowles. And we are looking behind the scenes in mining for clues as we meet the cast and creators of the Hulu original series Only Murders in the Building.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Today we're talking all about season four, episode eight, Lifeboat. We'll talk to writers Kristen Newman and Jake Schnezel, directors Sherry Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. And we'll hear from production designer Patrick Howe.

[Maggie Bowles]

We'll hear about how Eugene Levy and Steve Martin worked out their omelet bit, the origins of the EVA Longoria 19 in one multi tool, and the many

[Ryan Tillotson]

iterations of the Westies, including the final Westie Helga.

[Maggie Bowles]

But first, a quick recap.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Episode 8 Lifeboat it starts with the

[Maggie Bowles]

origin of the Westies. Dudenoff is explaining the movie Lifeboat and we learn that he brought in each of the Westies to the west tower of the Arconia.

[Ryan Tillotson]

The trio leaves Long island and heads back to the city. They decide to meet the Hollywood trio on set to make a plan for getting the Westies to admit to killing Dudenoff and says on set.

[Maggie Bowles]

They come up with a plan, invite them to a big star studded game of oh Hell and get them to confess. Charles is suppressing his anger. Oliver is planning his wedding.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Back at Oliver's apartment, the Westies arrive with a huge hamon on a luggage cart. But as soon as they get in, Rudy pulls a knife and Anna takes their phones. They want to tell their side of the story.

[Maggie Bowles]

We start with the Sauce family. They befriended Dudenov after delivering food from the restaurant to his apartment. And the super low rent helped them launch their sauce business.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Rudy took Dudenov's film class and blew him away with the monologue from A Few Good Men. Dudenoff helped him survive as an aspiring actor.

[Maggie Bowles]

Vince took Dudenov's class after he became a widow so he wouldn't be too lonely and he bonded with Dudenov. Soon they were all a family, but they insist Dudenov moved to Portugal and left them with their cheap rent. They didn't kill him.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Then there's a ding dong, a sexy surprise. Helga, the final Westie arrives. We learn her story with Dudenova and she says that after he supposedly left, the Westies started acting weird. She thinks they killed him and Mabel

[Maggie Bowles]

has The shoulder joint from the incinerator to prove that he is dead and not in Portugal. Finally, the Westies tell them the truth. After finding out he was dying, Dudenoff decided to kill himself and asked the Westies to burn his body and tell everyone he moved to Portugal so that they could stay in their apartments. There's a video explaining it to Helga because he didn't want to hurt her.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Ultimately, Mabel decides to let the Westies be and not include their story in the podcast.

[Maggie Bowles]

Then Helga comes back and she tells the trio that she knew Szasz and that Szasz was having problems with another stuntman, her protege Glenn Stubbins.

[Jake Schnitzel]

She talked about a stuntman on a movie called Project Ronkonkoma. She said he was her protege, but that he had messed up pretty badly and he was harassing her. She said, he's dangerous and he's gonna be the death of me.

[Steve Martin]

What's Project Ronkonkoma?

[Jake Schnitzel]

Check IMDb. That's a website.

[Steve Martin]

I know what imd. My agent says he's going to get me on it.

[Maggie Bowles]

Here we go.

[Steve Martin]

Project Ronkonkoma. Who's the stunt person? Is it someone we can talk to?

[Jake Schnitzel]

Not exactly.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Kristen and Jake stepped out of the season five writers room to talk to us about co writing Season 4, Episode 8.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Hopefully they are going to be quiet enough that you won't hear season five secrets coming through.

[Maggie Bowles]

I hope we do.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Yeah, we want the secrets.

[Jake Schnitzel]

We don't have a lot of the secrets yet, so it's pretty sick.

[Kristen Newman]

If you have any ideas for us, please write.

[Maggie Bowles]

So, Kristen, you got to sort of introduce everybody to the Westies. And now in episode 408, Jake, you and Kristen kind of get to expand their stories. Can you tell us about that process together individually and then like in the room?

[Jake Schnitzel]

Yeah. It was figuring out who the Westies were and what their plan was was a long and some might even say tortured round. Lots of different things happened. At one point, there was a cuddle cult, as opposed to a sex cult. There was just. It was a cult of people who cuddled. Do not the leader. There was various versions of him being murdered and who murdered him and why they murdered him. Vince was a cult leader for a bit there.

[Kristen Newman]

Vince became the cult because he was cuddling with Dudenoff at the moment Dudenoff died, which made him King Cuddle.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Yeah. If you could be there for the release. If you were cuddling during a release, then he was like the Dalai Lama is passed on to, like a baby. When there was like Anyway, that was. This was our summer, maybe our fall. It was our fall last year. But then we settled into a spot that was really like. Came from the core question, what would a person do for rent control? And in 2024, and certainly in New York City, the answer is murder. The answer is all of us would murder for rent controlled apartments in the Arconia. I think that's true. And so it became very easy once we kind of realized that everybody was too lovable over there to ever actually murder anybody.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Yeah.

[Jake Schnitzel]

But once we came to Dudenoff as a kindly caretaker who gave everybody community and gave them a place to be. Because in 2024, in New York City, you can't make it without someone helping you. There isn't a way to do it by yourself. As Mabel said, they don't exist. When you could, you know, buy an apartment for a bag of beans. Like, that's not how it is anymore.

[Kristen Newman]

Absolutely. And I think these. These Westies are. I mean, they're lonely people who are in this building who have no community. And much like the trio, they find each other and they form their own little family. So what would you do to protect that family and keep each other together?

[Maggie Bowles]

Yeah.

[Ryan Tillotson]

And now, luckily for Mabel, she's making, you know, big money. She can. I don't know how big those life right checks are, but it seems like pretty large. So now she's good.

[Jake Schnitzel]

It was more than a five. It was life right checks.

[Maggie Bowles]

Definitely more than five.

[Jake Schnitzel]

What was. We have to. We spend a lot of time in the room wondering what kind of debt she's carrying in order to have those shoes and bags. Like that is not a small amount. As far as we know. She's never had a job in her life. But she has great sweaters. And these are costly. That much cashmere?

[Ryan Tillotson]

That's a great question. I hadn't really thought of that. Do you guys talk to Dana Covarrubius, the costume designer, about the cost, about her cost of those.

[Jake Schnitzel]

We all gave up a very long time ago wanting anything like that. Kind of even circled the word grit to be in only murders in the building. There is a. There is a love of beauty that kind of surpasses all other things. Like what every pillow in every apartment costs is more than definitely $200 a month that they're paying for.

[Kristen Newman]

And Selma had good taste and a supply of sweaters that never runs out.

[Jake Schnitzel]

That's right.

[Maggie Bowles]

Yeah. So in episode eight, the trio is leaving the house in Long Island. They're heading back to the city. And we get this really great FaceTime moment between the real trio and the Hollywood trio.

[Steve Martin]

We are professional investigators, and you are

[Kristen Newman]

playing us in a movie because of it.

[Steve Martin]

We are fine on our own. Hey, can we just mute you for a second? If you're muting us, we're muting you. Okay, good. Muting each other. Are these dum dums gonna ruin this?

[Jake Schnitzel]

You didn't mute us.

[Steve Martin]

Sorry about that. Muting. Now, what happened?

[Patrick Howe]

I muted.

[Jake Schnitzel]

No, we could still hear you.

[Steve Martin]

Tell you what, let's just not mute

[Kristen Newman]

the FaceTime was so Kristen's baby. And, like, it was this comedic set piece that just was, you know, as this episode took so many iterations, as they all do. This is like this. This lone star of this episode. We're doing this because this is so funny, them muting.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Not being able to mute each other just felt really important to me. And to hear them all talking about each other and how both sides thought the other side was. Was dum dums. And getting to watch the two trios come together in this episode to solve the murder was really what we wanted to do. And we, you know, we gave the actors their big win at the end of episode seven, and they kind of got finally some cred for figuring something out. That really was where we all started with the season, which was. Let's just take some of those unanswered questions that, as writers, we very consciously chose to leave unanswered back in season one, when we were all, like, in the middle of lockdown. We're like, let's just leave a couple on purpose because we're good craftsmen and craftswomen, and we'll just wait until season four to tie these together like great artists. And so after those four years of careful planning, we finally. We finally rewarded the audience for really investing in us as artists.

[Maggie Bowles]

Yeah.

[Jake Schnitzel]

With our carefully planned answers to those holes that were never holes in the script. You guys, they were carefully planned moments.

[Kristen Newman]

Matter of fact, this episode was written at the same time as Winnie get it poisoned. It was always.

[Steve Martin]

That's right.

[Maggie Bowles]

Yeah. It's so that all checks out. To me, that sounds. That sounds perfectly possible.

[Ryan Tillotson]

It's so smart to think that far in advance.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Yeah, No, I know. We are very smart.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Camille does this. A Few Good Men speech in this episode was on set for that.

[Jake Schnitzel]

He can really get into that.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Please do.

[Kristen Newman]

I mean, I don't know what else to say other than it's Kumail Nanjiani showed up on set that day. We had in the script, you know, the first two or three Lines of the speech. And then it was, you know, cut off. He came in and said, I got the whole thing down. And Neil just. Just cold nailed this thing like nine times. It was. It was incredible. He's so funny and he's. And he then actually impactful, the way he was delivering parts of that speech and just. It was so prepared.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Maybe better than Jack Nicholson, would you say? More moving in the end?

[Kristen Newman]

I think that's even a doubt.

[Maggie Bowles]

Yeah.

[Steve Martin]

My existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down, in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand. Stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to. Did you order the Code Red? I did the job. Did you order the Code Red? You're goddamn right I did. Oh, that was wonderful.

[Kristen Newman]

But, yeah, one of the coolest things I've ever seen on set was a. I mean, a guy like Kumail Lanjiani, who's just like a comic God, just showing up that prepared, just nailing something that's above and beyond what was being asked.

[Maggie Bowles]

It was so cool with those abs. Right? Really.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Like, you know, we weren't sure. You know, he's, you know, had to get very built up for. For superhero movies. But we're like, we don't know. Like, I certainly wouldn't keep working out after the superhero movie was done shooting.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Totally.

[Jake Schnitzel]

We're like, is the naughty list on the abs gonna play? And you know what? He did the work. He did that work for our. And we all flip our hat.

[Maggie Bowles]

Yeah. Kumail Nanjani does the work. That's what we know. Oh.

[Sherry Springer Berman]

Oh, Kumail, smile. Oh, my God. That was so funny.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Here is Sherry Springer Berman and Bob Pulcini, who directed the episode.

[Steve Martin]

It was shocking because, you know, it wasn't in the script. So it wasn't.

[Maggie Bowles]

Not that much of it, right?

[Steve Martin]

No, I mean, it was kind of like he starts it and they're like, no, please.

[Maggie Bowles]

Yeah.

[Steve Martin]

And he had the whole thing memorized

[Sherry Springer Berman]

and he would, like, do it and then turn.

[Steve Martin]

We had plenty of different options of where to put. I haven't. Again, I haven't seen the final cut. So do they still do the dissolves?

[Ryan Tillotson]

Yes, I think he does quite a lot.

[Steve Martin]

I was like, we had so many options of where to put. I mean, he gave us the entire speech. He performed the whole thing, and it was I love it. It's pretty amazing to be in the room and just see all these great actors. Just.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Yeah, he had to do it.

[Sherry Springer Berman]

So because of scheduling, we shot their side. We had to shoot both sides of the room at different times. But all the Westies came back for the, you know, Arconia people to watch, to act off of their performance. So basically, he had to deliver it again. For Steve and Marty and Eugene, it was just his hysterical. And he did it with as much passion and gusto. And, you know, I feel like if you called him right now, he would give you the mop club.

[Maggie Bowles]

I would hope. I hope it's his new party trick.

[Sherry Springer Berman]

You know, if you bump into him on the street, he will give you the mop. And he's great. He's so brilliant. It's so lovely. And they all were amazing.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Oh, gosh.

[Maggie Bowles]

That was another sort of like, similarly, you have everybody kind of in a small space again. Right.

[Steve Martin]

This episode's pretty packed.

[Sherry Springer Berman]

Episode eight was.

[Steve Martin]

Then we did a little thing with Paul Rudd for another. I mean, we had, like.

[Sherry Springer Berman]

But episode eight was particularly hard with schedules, and we had all the people, like, everybody at the same time, so we had to shoot pieces at different times. It was. It was not. Not an easy puzzle to solve, but I think we did it. But it was hard.

[Ryan Tillotson]

You did. I mean, I had no idea. It felt like everyone was there. So you pulled it off for sure.

[Maggie Bowles]

The movie magic.

[Steve Martin]

It's really interesting to watch it. And it looks so effortless, and sometimes you're just like, wow, it really looks effortless when there was so much effort. But that's a good thing.

[Ryan Tillotson]

That's a good thing.

[Maggie Bowles]

Yeah. That's the goal.

[Sherry Springer Berman]

I mean, it was really fun when we had. It was, like I said, it reminded me of the movie Clue, which I really like, when we had, like, everybody in the drawing room together and each person was telling their story. And that's like an old movie that I kind of love. Griffin Dunn, also.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Yeah.

[Sherry Springer Berman]

What a wonderful. What an honor it was to work with him, and what a wonderful performance. So, yeah, I think it was just really fun having. Having that kind of clue set piece.

[Steve Martin]

Oh, hell mo. We brought snacks.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Can't play cards without jamon.

[Kristen Newman]

I never thought that I was gonna be present for a Jamon getting wheeled in on a laundry cart. That was just not something I thought I'd see in my lifetime.

[Maggie Bowles]

Back to Jake Schnoezzle and Kristin Newman, the writers of the episode, getting to

[Jake Schnitzel]

watch Steve and Eugene work out the omelet bit backstage Too. Which was written differently in terms of comedy, in terms of the physical comedy of it all. But watching the two of them, like, find the physicality of it, you know, it's an amazing thing to watch. We shot seven and eight in conjunction. And so there were days of sitting on set with all of these people and Meryl and Melissa McCarthy and Molly Shannon. They're all there, all for days. And we flew ourselves to New York City and we sat right there in the middle of it because it's just not something you're gonna miss. It was miraculous to watch it all happen.

[Ryan Tillotson]

I would do the same thing. Absolutely. Well, I'm so curious what changed differently in the omelette scene. I also just. It made Steve Martin's got quick hands. He grabbed that omelette.

[Maggie Bowles]

Yeah, he did.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Yeah. It was gonna be a whole thing where Eugene was gonna be very cocky about. I don't think I need to practice flipping this omelet. And then he was going to keep practicing throughout the conversation and keep dropping it on the ground. And then there was this actress who played Nad who he would drop the omelette and she would wordlessly skitter in and pick up the omelette and put it back in his pan and then her away. And then they would keep talking about emotional things that he would miss again. And she would skitter in and pick it up and put it in, move it away. But anyway, they simplified the scene into sort of what it. What it became. But fun to watch them all do that.

[Maggie Bowles]

So fun. Well, so later on when they're back at the Arconia and Eugene Levy sort of like channels Charles's rage. Can we talk about that a little bit too? Because I feel like we were sort of building towards that moment for a lot of the episode.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Yeah, that was like Dan Fogelman going, what's the surprising way that his rage comes out? And what if it's silent? And Steve, of course, nailed it and ran with that and was fantastic at it. But also getting to see Eugene Levy get mad, which you don't get to very often either. You know, I think that he was excited to play a version of himself, which is a very different person than the character that he often plays. You know, more kind of bumbling and sweet.

[Kristen Newman]

I think it was nice for Steve to. I mean, you take. He's the world's greatest physical comedian and to give him something where it's all physicality, no dialogue.

[Steve Martin]

It was.

[Kristen Newman]

It was so much fun to write and watch.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Uh huh.

[Steve Martin]

Yes. Interesting.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Is this how I find out He's a mime.

[Maggie Bowles]

No, no, no.

[Steve Martin]

We can't hear him. But I'm so tuned into his character, I can feel his words. He's saying, these people killed. Says, I am steamed and put out to some degree.

[Kristen Newman]

Oh, the hell with this.

[Steve Martin]

Give me that. Helga.

[Maggie Bowles]

You love her.

[Jake Schnitzel]

For me, the greatest joy of this show, like, one of the greatest joys in the show is writing a physical bit for Steve Martin into a script. And then when he does it in real life, he. You know, or maybe you get a note and he's added onto it, like, to have him take a physical bit that you write and then, like, say yes. And it, like. I'm like, that just happened. I just did that. That just happened. That was amazing.

[Maggie Bowles]

Yeah. That's really special riffing on your bit. I love it.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Yeah, Boy, boy.

[Ryan Tillotson]

In this episode, we learned that Zach Galifianakis really loves weddings.

[Maggie Bowles]

Wedding is the most important part of a marriage. Right.

[Ryan Tillotson]

He gets married quarterly.

[Jake Schnitzel]

That's what people always. That's a truth. Right. The marriage is the easy part. It's the wedding really matters.

[Steve Martin]

Right?

[Maggie Bowles]

Yeah. We've been married, what, like eight times at this point?

[Ryan Tillotson]

Yeah.

[Maggie Bowles]

Yeah.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Where did that come from?

[Jake Schnitzel]

Well, I find renewals of vows to be ridiculous for so much. Like my agenda that Spain is better than Portugal that I've been able to get out there on Earth. I do believe that grand renewals of vowels, like I think Seal and Heidi Klum famously showed, are perhaps not as effective at keeping a marriage together as they would have hoped when they, once a year did, like, a half a million dollar, I think renewal of vows that hundreds of people had to go to every year. Can you imagine if they were your friends? Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

[Ryan Tillotson]

That is ridiculous.

[Jake Schnitzel]

We just kind of loved that for Zach, and I think he is very happily married and familied. And so that was kind of a nice bit of him anyway, that he is this, like, very kind of in love, happily done guy. And I think he leaned so much into being kind of a grumpy, asshole version of Zach Galifianakis in this show. I think it was nice to give him this, like, big, romantic.

[Steve Martin]

Santia, we get married this weekend.

[Maggie Bowles]

I am.

[Steve Martin]

Please don't tell me you're gonna do it at a courthouse. Weddings demand Spectacle, music, speeches, AK47 shot right up in the air. Zack, I didn't realize you were a fellow romantic. Weddings are the most important part of a marriage. My wife and I get married quarterly. The venue sets the tone for your life together. When we want playfulness, we get married at the beach.

[Ryan Tillotson]

If we've been fighting, then is at

[Steve Martin]

the site of an important armistice. Yalta, Potsdam, Camp David. We needed a lot of those.

[Kristen Newman]

Yeah. And I think Oliver, I mean, obviously, he's so big, he's so extra that, I mean, to give Zach this point of view that's even bigger towards weddings. He wants to do things grander than Oliver just to land in this very sweet place of, you know what? I just want to get married in the Arconia, because that feels like home. But maybe I'll take you up in the hot air balloons another time.

[Maggie Bowles]

And that ends up being quite romantic. And I love when Zach gives him a kiss and says, my little bologna loaf or something like that.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Yeah.

[Steve Martin]

Yeah.

[Jake Schnitzel]

He really went for that kiss, too. Yeah, he went for a. There is no one more game than Zach elephant ax. He really. He also was a great yes hander.

[Ryan Tillotson]

I love that.

[Steve Martin]

But Loretta and I shall marry here in the Arconia.

[Ryan Tillotson]

This is where we fell in love.

[Steve Martin]

And I want a marriage where we fall in love every day for the rest of our very long lives. You adorable bologna loaf. You beautiful, bitchy bologna loaf.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Do you know what a bologna loaf is?

[Maggie Bowles]

After the break, Charles's Hollywood apartment and the reveal of the final Westie.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Welcome back. In this episode, we see Charles's living room as a set, complete with a

[Maggie Bowles]

Brazos poster with Eugene Levy instead of Charles Hayden Savage.

[Ryan Tillotson]

We had assumed the production team would just take advantage of the real set, but production designer Patrick Howe set us straight.

[Patrick Howe]

Well, I don't know if it's a surprise or not, but we created a second Charles living room. Wow. You know, it was definitely conceived. Like, of course, you'll just be using the real thing, but it was. This is another, like, deep dive into with a lot of the creatives, producers with John, they all went through of, like, round and round about this, but I was trying to. It was difficult to articulate, but I was trying to spearhead. Like, we can't reveal the actual set as the actual set. It's just like, we have a future, you know, it. It's gonna make a difference for season five. Like, if you now took a, you know, whatever, overhead whatchamacallit, camera that can fly around and showed, like, the studio from the grid and showed all the set, you know, with just. It would. The suspension of disbelief for everybody where, you know, it would just all be out the window, literally. So I didn't want to. I wanted to convey the movie set, but by showing as little as possible of the real stage.

[Maggie Bowles]

Well, you convinced me. Although the first edition touching the second edition. Yeah.

[Steve Martin]

How could my character live here? The album's not alphabetized. Oh, nice, nice. A first edition touching a second edition. Yeah. Brilliant. That's really good.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Because we thought that they would just. That that whole Charles's movie apartment would be the same place, the same.

[Jake Schnitzel]

So did we.

[Maggie Bowles]

This, again, is Kristen Newman and Jake Schnitzel, the writers of the episode for six months.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Ryan, that was the Dre. Oh, Ryan. Yeah, I know. We couldn't believe there was a desire to, like, not ruin the kind of magic, you know, and break the fourth wall completely by showing our underwear, you know, which is that, like, these apartments are on sets, you know, and so, you know, John Hoffman, in the end, was like, let's protect the baby a little bit. But we did have a lot of, like, you know, that Oliver and Zach scene that happens, like, happened at first. Like, we wrote it as Oliver just sitting, like, on the ground in the middle of his completely empty apartment. You know, the walls are done. Everything's done, but it's just stripped and, like, just like, wandering around this place that is exactly his except empty and, like, people being able to walk through, you know, doors that don't go anywhere, and getting to, you know, getting to play in those spaces was part of it, and then it went away, and that was sad for us, but I think probably good for the TV show.

[Ryan Tillotson]

When you write these things, like, where, you know, you have to do a fake Charles apartment or something like that, are you imagining it being the. The set because of cost reasons or what is it? That is what you're thinking.

[Kristen Newman]

Yeah. You never want to have to build something new. But, you know, we had slight tweaks on it that we imagined. Like, we used the set, except instead of the poster that says, fresh, hot vegetables in the corner, it says mean cold meat. Just like. Just like a bizarro twist. Thought it was a little. Just a couple things that changed out.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Interesting.

[Maggie Bowles]

Gotcha. Yeah, we did notice that. We did notice that picture. Yes, listeners, did you notice the little bizarro tweaks to Charles's movie apartment? Directors Sheri and Bob explain.

[Sherry Springer Berman]

We didn't want to, like, destroy the movie magic of the real set.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Yeah.

[Sherry Springer Berman]

So it sort of honors the set, but it's different enough that it's not exactly the same. But also, the real set is, like, very enclosed. We wanted to be able to pull out and see that you're on a soundstage, which you couldn't do with the real set.

[Steve Martin]

Yeah.

[Ryan Tillotson]

I love seeing Eugene and Steve together like this. The scene with the omelette is particularly great. And also like, you know, in an earlier episode, I don't know if you saw with the Eyepatch also.

[Maggie Bowles]

Oh, so good.

[Ryan Tillotson]

These moments of those two together are just. They make me very happy.

[Maggie Bowles]

Yeah, I love them together.

[Steve Martin]

That was wonderful to watch those two kind of. It's when he kind of like starts edging the omelet like that just kinds of happens when you put those two.

[Sherry Springer Berman]

Yeah. That wasn't written.

[Steve Martin]

That was literally do this. You know, you just see kind of these things evolve and it's. That's. That's kind of the magic. Sometimes when you. When you have two people like that who take it and then make magic

[Ryan Tillotson]

with it, you know, is like, how do you create that? Like that freedom? Like, I mean, it sounds like with schedules and all this stuff is that hard thing to do.

[Steve Martin]

Well, it is hard, but, you know, these people are. They're just kind of comedy geniuses. Right?

[Maggie Bowles]

So they.

[Steve Martin]

They have a radar for when something can be better. And if it kind of happens in the moment and they make it better, you know, it just. Everybody. You can tell on set, if everybody's laughing, it's working.

[Sherry Springer Berman]

And I mean, I think that John really creates a very, like, loving, warm and open environment, a very accepting environment. So I don't feel anxious. I don't think the actors feel anxious. I think everybody feels like they can just play and have fun. And that really sort of sets the tone.

[Maggie Bowles]

Yeah.

[Ryan Tillotson]

I love that.

[Maggie Bowles]

We've been teased the reveal of the final Westie Helga by John Hoffman. I think earlier it was the blonde with the pig and the weird accent. We did not know who Helga was. In fact, we had some bad theories.

[Ryan Tillotson]

We sure did.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Well, we too didn't know who Helga was for quite some time. We thought we were going to meet her in that shack at the end of four with a gun. That was going to happen. That's not what happened.

[Kristen Newman]

She almost got kidnapped.

[Jake Schnitzel]

She was Mrs. Dudenoff for a while.

[Kristen Newman]

Then she was one in the same with Anna Soft's daughter.

[Steve Martin]

Huh.

[Jake Schnitzel]

They were the same person for a bit. Was she? She was getting her back corrected at. At the concussions.

[Kristen Newman]

Yeah.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Chiropractor for a while. Yeah. You guys, this is. This is what we do. We just pick some tires and we end up with a hot locksmith.

[Maggie Bowles]

I see.

[Jake Schnitzel]

I'm also very fascinated by very hot people who have jobs that you don't have to be hot. For, like, just like a very hot person working at a cvs. And you're like, you don't have to

[Maggie Bowles]

do this, especially in a city like New York or Los Angeles. You know what I mean? Like, I get it. A hot person in, you know, Utah somewhere.

[Jake Schnitzel]

But you can just have a. Like, have a face and still be a lawyer or a plumber or whatever. Like, but like, not in these cities where you can make so much money off of your hot face. So that was also part of my agenda, items that I wanted really to be talked about as a society.

[Ryan Tillotson]

So you knew she was going to be hot. That is like, what you did know.

[Jake Schnitzel]

I think when you start talking about Scandinavian people, that's like, been the way

[Kristen Newman]

they're tall, they're beautiful. And, you know, we. I get to start every morning working this job with Kristen walking in and letting us know, guys, I had a roofer come over today, and you would not believe this face.

[Jake Schnitzel]

It's fascinating, right? Because, like, you can make so much money in the city, even as a bartender. Like, you don't have to be a model or an actor. You can aspire to that but still make so much. So people just, like, make a minimum wage when, When. When a hotness can. Can bring something else. I'm just so interested in them.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Yeah, that's. Well, so, I mean, Rudy really monopolized on his hotness with the Christmas videos he did.

[Maggie Bowles]

He knew what he had and he worked with it.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Yeah, but it's so tiresome, right? So when you meet somebody who's like, I know I'm hot, but that's not what I'm gonna. That's not how I'm gonna pay the bills.

[Kristen Newman]

My passion is locks, not looks.

[Ryan Tillotson]

That's right. I love.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Jake comes up with a lot of wordplay, a lot of little, like, little quips like that. If you see that in the show, something like that, that's usually a schnassel.

[Kristen Newman]

Usually we have good people like Kristen who are kind enough to delete those

[Jake Schnitzel]

before they get to the screen. Also, Jake is really our ham radio guy. That his secret Santa gift from another one of the writers was a ham radio.

[Kristen Newman]

Yeah, Well, I kind of get into the research on whatever we're talking about for the day, so I'm sure I'm on 19 government watch list.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Wait, so you. You have one and you just kind of jump in and you just.

[Kristen Newman]

I can't jump in. I can't jump in. That's illegal. I could get. You have to be licensed.

[Jake Schnitzel]

See, this is the Kind of stuff that he comes into the room with and we're riveted.

[Kristen Newman]

It's like, that's amazing, Jake. I don't know how we're gonna put that in the show, but I'm happy, you know.

[Jake Schnitzel]

License. We learned there's call signs. There's a lot of chatter about weather and kind of prepping. There are a lot of preppers.

[Maggie Bowles]

It's most preppers, I would think. Yeah.

[Ryan Tillotson]

So you can have one, but you can't communicate with people on it unless you have a license.

[Kristen Newman]

Right now I can listen, but I can't myself take up space on the airwaves. But that's to get a license, but. Which I kind of would like to do. But I also feel like my wife would leave me if I ignored our one year old daughters so that I could study for my ham radio test.

[Jake Schnitzel]

But just listening is creepy.

[Sherry Springer Berman]

Right?

[Jake Schnitzel]

Like, and not participating. That's lurking.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Mags would be on board for that.

[Maggie Bowles]

I'm a lurker through and through, so that is actually probably my. The way that I would want to experience a ham radio.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Well, there you have it. Yeah. This entire storyline happened because Saz said in season.

[Kristen Newman]

In season three, episode five, there had

[Jake Schnitzel]

been some chatter on the ham radio and John Hoffman's like, well, that has to be most of the season. And so that's what happened.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Interesting. Yeah. We heard from Reddit that someone was expecting to see Jon Hamm, which I think would be great.

[Jake Schnitzel]

I did. Did that get on television or Jon Hamm in the pants? I did write that moment into episode so that we did have a Jon Hamm mention.

[Steve Martin]

Also, did you know Loretta's co star is Internet famous for something called a Jon Hamm? And the pan situation.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Oh, I know. Went deep down that rabbit hole. One rainy afternoon.

[Ryan Tillotson]

We got to talk about the kind of. The big reveal in this episode.

[Maggie Bowles]

Oh, yes, we should.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Dudenov kills himself.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Kills himself.

[Maggie Bowles]

Yeah. We learn what happened to Dudenov and that the Westies are not murderous, but good people.

[Jake Schnitzel]

So what did you guys think? Did you think that in the end it was still problematic that they burned their neighbor?

[Steve Martin]

Or were you?

[Maggie Bowles]

This is a moral quandary.

[Jake Schnitzel]

In terms of moral quandaries. He asked them to. This was his dying wish. They got their places. Were they criminals, is my question to you?

[Maggie Bowles]

I think that this is why they'll probably never choose me for jury duty. Because I think that they're right. Even though probably technically they are breaking the law. You know, but. But I am with Mabel. I say let them have their Rent controlled apartments, you know, and this is what Dudenoff wanted. So even though it's not technically legal, I believe it is the morally right just thing to do.

[Ryan Tillotson]

I agree. Yeah, I agree.

[Jake Schnitzel]

So people were incinerated.

[Kristen Newman]

Don't break up this family. Especially when it's. When you're as charming as Richard Kine. It can't be a crime.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Just.

[Maggie Bowles]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Tillotson]

I mean, obviously it was very hard for them. It's not what they wanted to do. But he's already. He'd already taken it so far.

[Steve Martin]

So, you know, when I'm gone, this building, they're gonna swoop in and, you know, tear our cast apart. But I have a workaround and. And it's that you will all keep me alive. Well, I mean, actually no. Because I've just taken a hell of a lot of pills. Professor, I want you tonight to put my body in the incinerator. Yes, yes. There's not a. And then I want you to cash

[Ryan Tillotson]

my Social Security checks and I want

[Steve Martin]

you to tell everybody I just moved to Portugal.

[Jake Schnitzel]

So now do you feel like the west tower is done and we're now just back onto movieland? We did. You know, the season certainly plays with. Is it somebody from the movie? Is it somebody from the West Tower where all the different things happened. Like the shooting at the photo shoot. This was all kind of carefully chosen about in terms of this. The circuitous route. So like, how will these things tie together? You guys, this West Tower.

[Ryan Tillotson]

We've got questions.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Bodies and a movie. How could this possibly happen?

[Maggie Bowles]

I am not sure. I'm still parsing it out.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Yeah, I don't suspect the Westies really anymore, but.

[Maggie Bowles]

No, but he's still suspicious of Helga. He said that today?

[Ryan Tillotson]

Yeah. It just feels weird. I don't know.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Like it's a weird action suspicion. Oh, one thing. Talk ever about the ILA Longoria 19 in one tool. That was something that was important to us.

[Maggie Bowles]

Please talk about that.

[Ryan Tillotson]

I would love to know, does this tool exist at all?

[Jake Schnitzel]

No. But shouldn't it? I mean, my only concern obviously is that there is both a nail gun and a vibrator function. And so that is a terrifying thing to think about getting wrong. You don't want to vibrate your nail in the wall is what I'm talking about.

[Maggie Bowles]

That's obviously. Yeah.

[Kristen Newman]

Each their own.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Uh huh.

[Kristen Newman]

That's true.

[Jake Schnitzel]

There is. You know, there's always gold on the edit room floor because these episodes are often very long the first time that you cut them together. And then things have to be trimmed down. And a lot of. A lot, A lot, a lot, a lot. A lot of different Eva Longoria businesses that she had, like Eva Longoria branded things were cut. Even though, as you can see, there's very many of them still remaining still. Yeah, there was sort of a poppy field in Afghanistan. I mean, there was a lot of Eva Longoria tentacles making money in lots of different ways. And so, yeah, her 19 and 1 tool made us happy.

[Kristen Newman]

Yeah. I think originally this entire script, it was 30 pages of EVA Longoria's businesses and Tony Danza's time to wear white pants extravaganza.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Also, there was a whole version of episode eight that was much, much heavier on Tony Danza and his Is it okay to wear white party.

[Maggie Bowles]

It was already a lot of Tony Danzas.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Is that what you mean, Maggie, or did you think to yourself, myself, why isn't there more Tony Danza?

[Kristen Newman]

Shouldn't there be Danza?

[Maggie Bowles]

I think that was my second thought, actually. Okay. First thought was another Tony Danza. And then I was like, wait a minute, there's not enough.

[Kristen Newman]

I think we called Tony hamza for about 10 minutes.

[Jake Schnitzel]

The sauce. The who's the Sauce? Basically, once we came upon who's the Sauce? Which I can't remember that it was Jake, but I was going to guess that it was.

[Kristen Newman]

No, that was J.J. philbin.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Oh, J.J. filbin. Once we get to who's the Sauce, we're like, we just, like. We don't know anything else about the episode, but we do know it's going to have to come back to who's the Sauce? In some way. That was really our guiding light.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Did you ask Tony to come on the show? Because that would have been great.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Not yet, but you know what I mean. We're working on season five.

[Maggie Bowles]

Yeah, definitely. That's it for today. Thank you so much for listening.

[Ryan Tillotson]

We'll be back in a couple days to talk about the lifeboat of it all with John Hoffman and the final member of the Sauce family, Desmond Borges, who plays Alfonso.

[Maggie Bowles]

Please send your thoughts and theories to [e-mail] Take a minute to subscribe, rate the show, follow us and leave us a review if you enjoy listening.

[Ryan Tillotson]

Only Murders in the Building podcast is a production of Straw Hat Media, hosted and produced by Ryan Tillotson and Maggie Bowles. Associate producer is Stephen Markley, original music by Kyle Merritt, and only Murders in the Building theme music by Siddhartha Khosla. Assistant editor is Daniel Ferreira. Production assistant is Carolyn Mendoza.

[Maggie Bowles]

Thanks to Kristen Newman, Jake Schnazel, Robert Bolcini, Sherry Springer Berman, and Patrick Howe for talking with us this week.

[Ryan Tillotson]

And a big, big thanks, as always, to John Hoffman and the entire Hulu team.

[Maggie Bowles]

See you soon.

[Ryan Tillotson]

By. No, we don't have a pig. That would have been really on brand.

[Maggie Bowles]

I just like. The picture of Heidi Klum dressed as a worm for Halloween is burned in my memory. I think about it, like, frequently. I don't know if you've ever seen it, but it's really alarming.

[Ryan Tillotson]

It's really alarming. Yeah, it's worth it.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Is it a sexy worm?

[Ryan Tillotson]

No. No, it's not sexy. Yeah, look it up. Google it. Yeah.

[Jake Schnitzel]

I appreciate when hot girls don't do sexy Halloween costumes.

[Maggie Bowles]

Yeah. She is the epitome of that.

[Kristen Newman]

What?

[Ryan Tillotson]

Oh.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Oh, wow. That is fabric.

[Kristen Newman]

Wait, I don't understand why you don't think this is a sexy worm.

[Maggie Bowles]

Would you still love me if I was a worm? I think it's the origin. Right.

[Jake Schnitzel]

Really has a squishiness to it. Kind of a. Like it's very tantile. Yeah, yeah.

[Ryan Tillotson]

It is like a chercint. Yeah.

[Maggie Bowles]

Yeah. It's really. It's really horrifying. Anyways, so I'll cut this whole thing out. No one will know how smart I am.