Selena Gomez says her quirky, confused, and occasionally awkward character in Only Murders in the Building hits closer to home than fans might think.
“I think a lot of places in my life it’s been kind of figuring out what’s right and what’s wrong and it feels natural for me to portray Mabel in that manor of just trying to figure out where she fits in,” Gomez said at the Television Academy’s Televerse festival on Saturday where she opened up about her connection to her character.
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At the the Only Murders in the Building panel, Gomez was joined by costar Steve Martin and showrunner John Hoffman. Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who plays Det. Donna Williams on the show, hosted the Hulu panel and Martin Short joined remotely via video.
“She knows that she has these two characters [Short and Martin] that have her back no matter what,” said Gomez. “It’s just a joy to be able to play. I’ve been confused and weird sometimes, so I can play that. I can also play being awkward around these two guys because it comes quite naturally sometimes.”
Martin praised Gomez’s evolution across the series’ run of the Emmy-winning show. “Selena has become this incredibly peaceful presences that combines the three of us together,” he said.
Gomez received an Emmy nomination in 2024 for Lead Comedy Actress and has also been nominated four times as an executive producer for Outstanding Comedy Series.
While the show is known for its rotating door of A-list guest stars from Meryl Streep to Melissa McCarthy, Gomez revealed one costar who never fails to crack her up.
“Molly Shannon is an absolute improv genius and when they tell her to act drunk, it’s even better. Every single take was bold. I could not keep a straight face to save my life,” said Gomez.
Season 5 will feature the usual impressive roster of guest stars, including Streep, Randolph, Richard Kind, Nathan Lane, Bobby Cannavale, Renée Zellweger, Logan Lerman, Christoph Waltz, Téa Leoni, Keegan-Michael Key, Beanie Feldstein, Dianne Wiest, and Jermaine Fowler. The story sees the crew returning from L.A. to their roots in New York.
Hoffman remained tight-lipped about what’s ahead. However, he did offer a few hints:
“We do something new and keep to the spirit of what the show has always been but push everyone forward and go to new territory. It goes back to New York. It’s back in our building,” said Hoffman. “We pull from the headlines of New York today. That will be a tease, and you will have to figure out what I mean by that.”
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