Watch ‘Murderville Review’: Marshawn Lynch, Sharon Stone, Conan Solve Crimes

Every episode of “Murderville” is essentially like a murder mystery dinner party, except there’s only one person actually playing. Based on the BBC3 series “Murder in Successville,” the new Netflix comedy throws celebrity guests headlong into solving cases alongside loose cannon detective Terry Seattle, played by Will Arnett. Everyone besides the new “trainee” — including Haneefah Wood as Terry’s boss slash ex-wife and Lilan Bowden as the precinct’s forensics expert — is following a punny script that gently prods them toward the real identity of the murderer. With only 30 minutes to get through all the clues, three different suspects, and at least one undercover mission, “Murderville” doesn’t exactly try too hard to stump its guests, let alone its audience. Every suspect is extremely happy to chat about how much they hated the victim while surrounded by clues so obviously damning they might as well have glowing arrows pointing at them. So while the mysteries are silly enough to keep the celebrities entertained on set, it’s up to how well the celebrities adapt to each increasingly ridiculous scenario to keep their viewers engaged, too.

Take the first episode of “Murderville,” which has Conan O’Brien solving the grisly murder of a magician’s assistant. The jokes are basic and the killer’s identity is obvious the second they appear onscreen, but O’Brien’s dry, skeptical interjections and chemistry with Arnett nonetheless keep the episode afloat. Sharon Stone also gets mileage out of playing the wry, no nonsense counterpoint to Arnett’s wild card, and even gets in a few solid jokes of her own. (Stone, trying to pick up a piece of evidence: “Ugh, this is stickier than my last divorce.”) Kumail Nanjiani and Annie Murphy are game, but mostly just follow Arnett’s lead; in the climactic finale, Ken Jeong barely makes it through a single scene without dissolving into disbelieving laughter. It’s not shocking that some of the comedic actors are better than others at improv’ing their way through the mysteries, but it’s still a bit surprising at how many of them stick so closely to the “yes, and” ethos that they mostly just act as Arnett’s sidekick rather than putting their own spin on things.

The major exception to this rule, and therefore the unequivocal highlight of the six-episode season, is former NFL star Marshawn Lynch. The second he walks into Terry’s office, Lynch brings something different, confident, and genuinely hilarious to the table. While everyone else tries to give a relatively straight answer to Terry’s opening “why do you want to be a homicide detective?” question, for example, Lynch gives a good-natured shrug. “Shit, I don’t know,” he says, before stealing the scene entirely by asking if he can change his name to “Detective Bagabitch.” (When Arnett asks if “Bagabitch” is Russian, Lynch barely blinks before saying it’s “Oak[land] native.”) Throughout the entire episode, Lynch’s endearing willingness to not just embrace the bonkers brief he’s been given, but be completely himself, make his episode the show’s most engaging by a mile. It truly doesn’t matter whether or not Lynch solves the murder when he makes it this fun to watch him try.

“Murderville” premieres Thursday, February 3 on Netflix.