Comedian Catherine Cohen Says ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Has the ‘Best Vibes’
Catherine Cohen has already appeared on “Girls5eva,” “What We Do in the Shadows,” “Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens,” “Broad City,” and “Search Party,” but it turns out no other show can really top the “good vibes” from Hulu’s beloved Emmy winner “Only Murders in the Building.”
Cohen stars in Season 4 of the whodunit series that centers on neighbors-turned-podcasters Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) as they solve the pile-up of murder cases that seem to follow them everywhere…including during a bicoastal stint as their podcast is adapted into a film.
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While Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, and Eva Longoria star as versions of themselves cast in the film adaptation of the podcast, Cohen and Siena Werber play a directing duo helming the movie. “Pachinko” alum Jin Ha is the screenwriter, with Molly Shannon as the producer setting the whole thing in motion.
The “Scream 3”-esque meta storyline kicks off right away with the Season 4 premiere episode, titled “Once Upon a Time in the West,” starring Cohen. And it’s not just “Only Murders in the Building” fans that should get used to the actress: Cohen is just about everywhere this year, from 2024 Tribeca film “The French Italian” to her upcoming comedy special “Come for Me,” streaming on Veeps October 17.
This stand-up comedy starlet is still only getting started.
After beginning with UCB and improv classes, Cohen got to channel her “theater kid days” with her “Only Murders in the Building” role. While she didn’t have any particular IRL directors in mind when playing an A24-esque auteur in the series, Cohen did tap into emulating her past theater teachers and “cool artsy girls I’ve admired.”
“Shooting that show is a total dream come true,” Cohen told IndieWire of being surrounded by comedy icons in the Hulu series. “Every person in the cast is such a legend. I was obviously shaking to my core, nervous to meet everyone, but everyone was so nice and welcoming. Everyone’s like a mega star and they take the time to welcome you and make you feel like you’re part of the fam. It was also just so fun to be there and watch the legends do their thing. I feel like I learned a lot being on set in terms of acting. Plus creator John Hoffman is the nicest person alive. He just sets the tone on set and I feel like that makes a huge difference. It was just the best vibes.”
And Cohen even got to improvise on set.
“The scripts are so funny that we mostly stick to the script, especially because there’s so much happening in each scene with so many plot points,” she said. “But we definitely got to improvise a little bit here and there.”
And while there’s no word yet if Cohen will continue her stint on “Only Murders in the Building,” the series was renewed for Season 5.
In the meantime, Cohen is preparing to debut her comedy special “Come for Me,” which was filmed at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City. The one-hour special is her follow-up to the hit 2022 Netflix comedy special “The Twist…? She’s Gorgeous,” which included material that won Cohen the coveted title of Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival in 2019.
“Come for Me” is directed by Kevin Garcia, with Cohen executive producing alongside Benji and Joel Madden.
Along with her songs, jokes, and improv, the special will highlight Cohen’s signature aesthetic style, co-created by her fashion designer friend Kelsey Randall who creates custom looks for the star.
“I always want to feel sparkly and fun and sexy onstage,” Cohen said, “and I’m basically just kind of always constantly online shopping and looking for things that will be a fit. And then I just, I mean, my suitcase for the [U.S. and European] tour is so funny. I open it up. It’s all sequins and feathers, falling out.”
And Cohen’s onstage presence draws an inherent familiarity with her real-life best friend and fellow actress/comedian Megan Stalter.
“We met when she did my show at Club Cumming when she was still living in Chicago in like 2018 or 2019 and we just like fell in love,” Cohen said of Stalter, whose breakout role in “Hacks” has made her a Gen Z and millennial fan favorite. “Everything she makes is just completely singular and brilliant.”
So will Cohen and Stalter collaborate on a project sometime soon, perhaps even with Cohen doing a cameo for Lena Dunham’s Netflix series “Too Much” with Stalter as the lead?
“Oh my God. I hope so,” Cohen said. “Let’s manifest that for Season 2.”
Until then, Cohen has more than a few projects in the works, including a role in “Sirens” alongside Julianne Moore and Milly Alcock, as well as her weekly residency at Alan Cumming’s comedy spot, Club Cumming.
“I got to interview [Alan] at the 92nd Street Y about [‘The Traitors’] and I was like, ‘We need to do a season with all comedians,'” Cohen said.
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