Steven Prusakowski
Congrats to Jane Lynch, who is about have her role of Sazz Pataki on Hulu’s Only Murders In the Building upgraded from recurring character to a main character for the comedy sleuth series’ fourth season. What makes this promotion even more impressive is that Sazz had to die to make it happen. The shocking season-ending cliffhanger looked like the end of the fan favorite character.
Then again, on a series centered around three amateur detectives/ true crime podcast hosts (played by Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez), it only makes sense that Sazz’s murder becomes the next one in the building to solve.
Awards Radar sat down with Lynch to discuss her work on the series and what we can expect going forward as we find out who killed Sazz Patacki. Below are some excerpts from our conversation – you can watch it in its entirety below.
No one could have expected the season three finale. Fans of the series were shocked by the sudden demise of Charles’ stunt woman and friend, but Lynch had a different reaction.
Jane Lynch: (Showrunner) John Hoffman came up to me, I think it was probably the last episode I did, and he said, ‘How do you feel about being dead and being a murder victim?’ And I loved it because when you’re the murder victim, you get to be in flashbacks – and I’m not only in flashbacks, I’ve got some other things too that I don’t want to exactly tell you about because I want you all to be surprised, but it means that I get to do more and I get to go to New York more and hang out with Steve Martin and Marty Short and so it’s Selena Gomez. It’s a good deal for me, so I’m doing about half of the episodes this season. It means probably I won’t be in the season after this, should the show continue, but that’s okay.
What can you expect in the new season? Lynch describes what makes Sazz tick and while doing so teases a new side of Sazz we will meet in season four.
JL: The writer is a good friend of mine, and she’s the one who said, ‘Hey, we’re going to put this character in, do you want to play it?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ So I knew that it would be written very well, so I imagine that it’s. I’m sure it was probably written that way, and, you know, that just kind of guileless, innocent, but at the same time, says kind of mean things, but it comes from a really good place. She has no filter, she’s happy-go-lucky, and it’s in stark contrast to Steve Martin’s Charles, who’s kind of a melancholy guy, and kind of doesn’t have much belief in himself. Where as Sazz has belief in herself in spades, and it turns out, and we’re going to find out more in this season, what good friends they were, and how much they did for each other, and how much Sazz being in the world was a huge comfort to Charles,- and there’s some really touching moments, so I look forward to everybody seeing that, I’m really enjoying playing these scenes.
One of the funniest things about Sazz is her choice of attire… consistently in the fashion of Charles’ on-screen alter ego, Brazzos. Lynch explained why her character dresses this way, even in regular life.
JL: I think that even back in Brazos, I think when she commits to being somebody’s stunt double, and we learn a lot about the stunt double community in this episode, there’s a whole community of stunt doubles, and they all hang out together, and they all go to the same bar, and it’s really funny. But the big thing is you commit to your number one, and your number one is the person who your stunt double for, it’s like a marriage – you know that you take the punches for them, that’s the gig, and sometimes the stunt double gets the appreciation, sometimes they don’t. But Sazz definitely gets appreciation from Charles, so she sees her life in service to him, and it’s a 24-7 thing as far as she’s concerned. That’s why she dresses like him, she will stunt double him in his life if he… I mean, she broke up with a woman for him, she showed up with lines, and did the breaking up for him, and then he does something for me in this episode that’s very touching.
Every season of Only Murders has brought its own flavor to the mix with season three being a showstopper full of musical numbers and bigger than life performances. Even though the series boasts an ever-expanding high caliber cast with names like Paul Rudd, Tina Fey, Meryll Streep and Nathan Lane, to name a few, it still seems like the little show that it could.’
JL: Well, I think what’s great about it, there’s a simplicity to it, and it, it’s called Only Murders in the Buildings, so even though they went to a theater for last season, but it basically takes place in these apartments. You get a strong sense of place and relationship. I think that’s the best television, that familiarity with the characters, their relationships, and the places, you know, like Cheers was about that bar, Friends was about the apartment that coffee shop, and then they go other places, but that’s where you kind of came home, with these characters, and I think that’s what makes television – what keeps you watching episode after episode, is that familiarity with these people, and where they go. But then, the writing can get very complex, the parameters of it are very simple, and then within it, it can go anywhere.
Watch all three seasons of Only Murders In the Building on Hulu with the fourth season coming soon.
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