Only Murders in the Building is a mystery dramedy series on Hulu. Aging actor Charles (Steve Martin), failed Broadway producer Oliver (Martin Short), and young artist Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) are brought together by their love of true crime podcasts. When there’s a murder in the building, they are inspired to solve the crime and create their own podcast.
Season 1 already planted the hint of bi things to come when we learn that Charles’ stunt double, a woman named Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch), ran off with his girlfriend 20 years ago. Even though Charles still holds a grudge, the two see each other every year, and Sazz meets Charles’s new squeeze, Jan (Amy Ryan), at one of these reunions. After Jan tries to murder Charles and is arrested, Charles sends Sazz to break up with Jan for him. Jan is initially angry at this cowardly approach, but is eventually turned on by Sazz’s reading of the breakup script.
It isn’t until Season 2 that a more concrete bi storyline happens. Season 1 ends with Mabel dating her childhood friend Oscar (Aaron Dominguez), but we learn in the beginning of Season 2 that their relationship has fizzled out and Mabel is single again. As they solve their next murder, Mabel crosses paths with artist and gallery owner Alice (Cara Delevingne). Alice encourages Mabel to work out some of her aggression by smashing a statue, and the two end the scene with a kiss.
Season 4 reveals that Detective Williams (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) may have a wife and child, but she is not immune to the charms of men, calling Zach Galifianakis a “scrumptious, fuckable, baklava.” She also spends some time drooling over former Olympic swimmer Jack Jonk.
Season 4 also confirms that Jan and Sazz have been dating. Jan breaks out of prison, using parkour skills she learned from Sazz, to hunt down and kill Sazz’s murderer.
Finally, Season 5 teases another bi main character. Charles-Haden Savage is a washed-up actor who seems romantically doomed. The tales of his ex-girlfriends tend towards the tragic, and his girlfriend in Season 1 attempted to murder him. At a memorial service, the mayor asks Charles if he’s gay. Charles immediately answers “only a little.”
In the same episode, we learn that Charles finally gets the courage to date again and is swiping on an app for sexy seniors called Last Gasp. He has also marked himself as “bi-curious”, although he claims he thought it said, “bi-coastal”.
Bi-coastal/bi-curious. It’s an honest enough mistake. Of course, all of this also happened in an episode that aired on September 23rd, Bi Visibility Day. Does this make Charles canonically bi? Probably not. But we will definitely be watching for more clues in Season 6.