Murderville, a Netflix take on BBC3’s Murder in Successville, takes a celebrity guest and drops them into the middle of a comedic take on the procedural crime drama. While being the only person in the room with no clue what’s happening, the guest must navigate the absurd investigation Detective Terry Seattle (Will Arnett) leads them through and attempt to solve the murder at the end of the episode. The first season’s guests ranged from comedy legend Ken Jeung to former running back Marshawn Lynch, and each one served up hilarious performances.
Hopefully, Netflix will offer up a second season of Murderville with even more episodes and celebrity guests for Terry Seattle to train and terrorize. The possibilities for this killer improv show are endless.
Jason Bateman
Jason Bateman is currently known for playing Marty on the crime-drama series Ozark. However, nearly 20 years ago he starred in Arrested Development as Michael Bluth, a member of an unimaginably dysfunctional family that included his brother Gob Bluth, played by Will Arnett. Bateman and Arnett had incredible chemistry which produced some of the show’s most hilarious moments. The two still work together on a podcast called “SmartLess.”
Reuniting this powerful comedic duo would certainly create a memorable episode. And given Bateman’s experience with Arnett’s antics, the two would likely play off of one another as Murderville goes off the rails, driving its hilarious moments to even greater heights.
Zendaya
Zendaya has been everywhere on-screen lately, starring in wildly successful projects including Spider-Man: No Way Home, Euphoria, and Dune. The diversity of her roles has given her plenty of opportunities to showcase the spectrum of her acting abilities. She has navigated deadly-serious confrontations, tearful romantic moments, and delivered deadpan comedic relief.
After improvising pelting Andrew Garfield with bread in Spider-Man: No Way Home, there’s no doubt she could handle whatever Terry Seattle throws at her while also bringing her own humor to the investigation.
Adam Driver
Adam Driver has an impressive filmography that includes Star Wars, Marriage Story, and Silence, and he has even appeared on Broadway. Though he excels at serious roles, he can also be incredibly funny. His appearance alongside Bill Murray as small-town police officers navigating the zombie apocalypse in The Dead Don’t Die displayed his comedic talent well.
But the “Undercover Boss” sketches starring Driver as Kylo Ren feature some of SNL’s funniest moments. Driver could command the scenes in Murderville as confidently as Sharon Stone while adding to the jokes and staying in character.
Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay, best known as Olivia Benson from Law & Order: SVU, may be the single most recognized face from police procedural dramas. Astonishingly, she has over 500 credits in episodes of Law & Order: SVU and its sister series. Since Murderville parodies the genre Hargitay dominates, she is a must-have for appearing on the show.
She might not have a background in comedy, but neither did Sharon Stone or Marshawn Lynch. When one of the finest detectives from police procedurals collides with the chaotic mess that is Terry Seattle, the result will certainly be unforgettable.
Selena Gomez
Actress and singer Selena Gomez has mostly focused on her music and voice acting since her Disney Channel days, but she has also taken strong forays into dark comedy with Only Murders in the Building and The Dead Don’t Die. In the former, she joined two elderly men in her apartment building to investigate a murder, while in the latter she stumbled into a zombie apocalypse with some college friends.
Her experience making light of deadly situations would come in handy on a show like Murderville, where you may find yourself fighting over a human heart or holding a corpse up for a selfie.
Andre Braugher
Andre Braugher is best known for his role as Captain Raymond Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Highly intelligent and organized, Holt stays deadpan for most of the series balancing Andy Sandberg’s Detective Peralta, who is more competent than Terry Seattle, but just as ridiculous.
Braugher delivers some of the most hilarious lines of the series, like lambasting his archrival Madeline Wuntch (Kyra Sedgwick) when he hears of her death, without ever cracking a smile. It would be a blast to see what Terry Seattle throws at Braugher and if he could stay in complete control while giving it back.
Bill Murray
Bill Murray is a comedy legend and seeing him work a case in Murderville would be an incredible television viewing experience. Murray has an incomparable talent for ad-libbing in his movies and his off-the-cuff remarks became some of the funniest lines in Ghostbusters. His penchant for confidently reworking a planned script would render Murderville a playground for Murray to just have fun.
Jack Black
Jack Black is one of the funniest humans to ever walk the planet. Not only does he crush it in comedies like Jumanji and School of Rock, but he is also just objectively funny at all times. Whether he’s dancing in his speedo on TikTok, doing interviews on late-night shows, he is an endless stream of funny. While the guest star generally struggles to hold it together on Murderville, Jack Black is the one who could turn the tables and leave the regular cast fighting their laughter.
Elmo
If you’re not terminally online, Elmo might seem like a strange choice. But ever since a clip resurfaced of him absolutely losing it on Rocco over a cookie, Elmo has enjoyed online fame outside his typical demographic of 2-to-5-year-olds. Although Elmo would seem completely out of place appearing on Murderville, the cast treating him like just another person could be hysterical.
This guest star would produce one of the oddest television moments of all time. And if you don’t think Elmo has the chops for a grown-up program, you should check out “Unhinged Elmo” TikTok.
Aubrey Plaza
Aubrey Plaza’s breakout role in Parks and Rec was as April Ludgate, a snarky intern who wielded a dark and disturbing sense of humor as a shield against people getting too close and situations she didn’t want to deal with.
Plaza seems to have a lot in common with her Parks and Rec character as she frequently derails interviews and throws talk show hosts off by interacting awkwardly, making uncomfortable jokes, and telling odd stories. Plaza would make a great addition to Murderville, but could Terry Seattle handle her presence at his crime scene?