John Robert Hoffman on the TV Series, Only Murders in the Building

The wonder of having a series snap together

Welcome back to Origin Stories. I had the chance to interview actor, writer, and producer John Hoffman about co-creating and showrunning the hit television show “Only Murders in the Building,” which is now in its fifth season on Hulu.

Hoffman addresses writing lines for comedic greats like Martin Short and Steve Martin, his writing schedule (start early!) and how he deals with studio notes.

I wanted to talk to John partly because my older kid shares a name with Hoffman’s most famous creation – and mostly because I’ve long admired the tone of Only Murders in the Building, and the way it can bounce between levity and real emotional incisiveness.

John describes the wonder of having a series snap together: “For me, it’s like an internal turn of the dial that says, ‘OK, I understand it all now. I understand how the whole thing holds together thematically and emotionally and how it can be funny and all of that. I can see it.’ And once it clicks in that way, then everything’s fun. Getting there is the work.”

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Thanks,

Matt