Chevy Chase Would Be Great On 'Only Murders In The Building'

By Andrew Sanford | TV | September 27, 2023 |

By Andrew Sanford | TV | September 27, 2023 |

I grew up laughing at Chevy Chase. My family and I would watch Christmas Vacation every Christmas and reenact his big monologue. Three Amigos and Funny Farm were both mainstays in our home. My brothers and I even rented the Chevy Chase/Jonathan Taylor Thomas vehicle Man of the House more than once! I grew up praising Chase’s comedic talents. So, naturally, it was a real bummer to find out how much of an insufferable prick he was.

It didn’t take too long for me to learn this lesson, but I think I avoided it for as long as I could. I would hear rumblings and backstage gossip. There were stories about why he left SNL so quickly. The usual stuff. I brushed it aside. I entered my teens and twenties, just assuming he stopped working as much because he was getting older, and that’s what happens in Hollywood sometimes. Then, Chase left Community, a show I wasn’t even watching (at the time), and confirmation of his shittiness was unavoidable.

Again, there was a bit of “he said/she said.” Stories about Chase’s behavior (that I’d heard) were coming from Dan Harmon, and from my recollection, he didn’t sound great in those either. I think part of me tried to absolve Chase in my head. Maybe it was Harmon and Chase, two talented yet difficult people, failing to get along. Then, Donald Glover changed my mind entirely.

In 2018, Glover did an interview with The New Yorker, where he detailed instances of racism from Chase on the set of Community. It is petty, nasty, jaw-dropping stuff. It also lined up, unfortunately, with Chase’s Community character Pierce Hawthorn (as did several of Harmon’s complaints). After Glover’s interview, I put Chase out of my mind.

I would continue to watch Chase’s cohorts. Like Three Amigos, Only Murders in the Building has become a fixture in my current household. My wife and I love it, though we haven’t seen season three’s penultimate episode yet, so no spoilers in the comments. Seeing Martin Short and Steve Martin working so well together after all these years is a delight. Still, something has always felt odd about it, and it didn’t get articulated for me until just recently.

This week, Chevy Chase appeared on WTF with Marc Maron. I couldn’t have downloaded a podcast episode fast enough. “Surely,” I thought, “Marc will get to the bottom of Chase’s long-known attitude problem.” In a way, Maron did just that. In the early days of the podcast, I believe Marc would have employed the “Punch the Bully” tactic. Ask tough, challenging questions and keep pushing until the guest breaks. Instead, a now 60 (Happy Birthday, Marc) Maron let the bully be.

Chase is insufferable in the interview. He can be mean or nasty, but my major quarrel is with his need to make shitty, hacky, rude jokes. Marc lets him. He’s a professional. Still, it’s clear within minutes why Chase doesn’t work much anymore. Working with someone on a film or television set means you’re around them for days, or even months, for 12-14 hours a day. Yes, actors have trailers to go to, but it’s still a lot of time to be around someone you don’t like.

In his interview, Chase rarely felt sincere. When he did, it was kind of heartbreaking. At one point, Only Murders In The Building is brought up. It stars two of the Three Amigos. When asked about it, Chevy makes it clear that he would love to be involved. It’s sad because he seemingly doesn’t understand that he is what’s standing in the way of that happening. Years of being difficult to work with have kept him from doing what he loves with the people he loves.

It’s also sad because Chase would be great on the show. Not only is he naturally funny, but he’d fit right in as a wacky tenant of the Arconia. Daniel Oreskes was fantastic, but Chase would have been a perfect fit as Marvc, an elderly, enthusiastic, and awkward fan of the in-show podcast. He could play a cranky version of himself! The possibilities are endless.

Still, it will never happen. I wouldn’t want to presume the show’s reasoning for not having Chase make an appearance. Maybe it’s a scheduling issue? Still, with the comedian being a New York resident, the real reason seems pretty apparent. Hollywood is notorious for propping up difficult people, but Chase seems to have taken things too far (re: racism, though that hasn’t always been a dealbreaker either). He would be great on Only Murders In The Building, but thanks to him, that’ll never happen.