No matter if you like hot weather or not (I do not), summertime tends to be a good happy-maker. The aesthetic of the sun shining through the windows and everything feeling the slightest bit more colorful is a nice mood lifter on a good day. When we’re having a good day, we often like to watch TV that matches our mood. Personally, I’m a big fan of funny, lighthearted shows like Parks and Recreation, The Office, or New Girl, but many of these often fall into the sitcom category. They’re more episodic and have less of an overarching plot that doesn’t require you to pay attention to much outside of each episode. Even though I love these shows, I also enjoy when a show wants the viewer to be a bit more invested and connect the dots. 2021 gave me just what I wanted in Only Murders in the Building!
Only Murders in the Building is, as the name would suggest, about a murder in a building. Now a murder mystery might not sound like your typical happy-maker compared to something like a cute contemporary book you can read on the beach, but this show keeps the tone fairly light almost the whole way through. While it is about investigating a murder, the main focus of the story is about comedy, character dynamics, and the actual mystery aspect keeps the audience engaged week to week. It uses bright colors, zany characters, and funny dialogue to keep from taking itself too seriously. All of these features allow the show to develop past the dark premise of murder to something brighter and more quirky. Whether you tuned in to this show every week when it was airing or want to binge it now after it’s all come out, it makes for a great summer watch. Let’s hope season 2 is as great as the first one!