The latest season of Only Murders In The Building has already assembled an enviable collection of guest stars for its sixth season’s British invasion, and now it has added another cultural institution to its roster. Only Murders In The Building follows three neighbors and unlikely friends, who bond over a shared interest in true-crime podcasts. Former television star Charles-Haden Savage, Broadway producer Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) and younger true-crime obsessive Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) uncover a murder in their New York apartment building, and begin investigating the crime while documenting their findings in a podcast. From here on, the trio have uncovered several more murders, and their investigations regularly have a habit of becoming considerably more dangerous than they initially expected. The series has always had a knack for attracting a high caliber of guest stars. Previous seasons have brought together comedy icons such as Tina Fey and Paul Rudd into the world of the show, alongside Oscar-winning Hollywood royalty like Meryl Streep. After five seasons set around the trio’s home of the Arconia in New York, Season 6 will see the characters heading to London following the events of Season 5, marking the first time the characters have ventured outside of New York. This change in scenery also brings an eclectic collection of British talent along for the ride.

But perhaps the most curious theme in this season’s casting is the show’s sudden fondness for Doctor Who alumni. Back in June, it was announced that David Tennant and Jodie Whittaker would both appear in Season 6. Tennant is best known for playing the iconic 10th and 14th Doctors, while Whittaker played the 13th Doctor. The season will also feature Doctor Who guest stars Derek Jacobi and Nicola Coughlan, as well as Jim Broadbent, who has a slightly more tenuous connection to the franchise: he played one of several incarnations of the Doctor in Stephen Moffat’s Comic Relief parody, The Curse of the Fatal Death. Now, Peter Capaldi, the 12th iteration of The Doctor, star of The Thick Of It, and the answer to the quiz question, “which Doctor Who actor also won an Academy Award?” has also joined the series. (Capaldi won an Oscar in 1995 for his short film, Franz Kafka’s It’s A Wonderful Life, which he wrote and directed.)

There is no information on who Capaldi will be playing, but with production ongoing in London, there are plenty of questions surrounding how all these familiar British faces will fit into the latest mystery. The protagonists may have left the Arconia behind, but it seems they’ve brought their knack for surrounding themselves with suspiciously familiar faces with them. The release date is yet to be announced, but given the series’ track record, barring the unforeseen, it should return this year. It remains to be seen whether any of the Doctors will share the screen, or if we will get any references to Jelly Babies, phone boxes, sonic screwdrivers or long scarves.

Release Date

August 31, 2021

Network

Hulu

Showrunner

John Hoffman

Directors

Jamie Babbit, John Hoffman, Cherien Dabis, Chris Koch, Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman, Adam Shankman, Don Scardino, Jesse Peretz, Jessica Yu, Jude Weng, Chris Teague

Writers

Ben Smith, Matteo Borghese, Rob Turbovsky, Kristin Newman, Madeleine George, J. J. Philbin, Ben Philippe, Kirker Butler, Jake Schnesel, Peter Swanson, Stephen Markley, Rachel Burger, Kenny Schwartz, Rick Wiener, Valentina Garza, Elaine Ko, Tess Morris, Kim Rosenstock, Sas Goldberg, Thembi Banks