With MURDERVILLE, Netflix has created an entirely new genre of entertainment

And I love it.

The trailblazing Netflix series has birthed a genre of entertainment that I’ve never seen before, combining everything we love about Law & Order, Impractical Jokers, and talk shows.

Murderville follows Sr. Detective Terry Seattle (Will Arnett) as he solves a series of unrelated murders. In each episode, Terry is assigned a new murder to solve along with a ‘new partner trainee’ who is played by a celebrity guest host going by his/her real name. All the show’s cast know the plot and are given a script, except for the celebrity guest who must follow Terry’s hilarious instructions and improvise dialogue to play the part of detective trainee. At the conclusion of the 30 minute episode, the celebrity guest must guess which of the suspects is the murderer and explain his/her reasoning before the truth is revealed. Some guests solve the murder (Kumail Nanjiani), while others fall for the clue traps (Sharon Stone).

The show has similar appeal to other crime shows because of its dramatic and mysterious plots, combined with stunning production value. It feels like we’re watching a high-budget crime drama, but Murderville is more relatable than shows like Law & Order for two reasons. First, there is a character in the show that, like the viewer, has no existing context and may make mistakes in following the story. Second, the mysteries are much easier to solve. If Law & Order murders are a level 10 in complexity and predictability, Murderville slots in at level 4. The average viewer can follow along and often select the right suspect based on obvious clues during suspect interrogations (sometimes I take notes to stay organized). These factors, I think, greatly improve viewer engagement.

Murderville entertains us with an impressive balance of script and improvisation. Will Arnett is masterful in his ability to stay in character and true to the plot while bringing out the humor of the situation. Viewers get to envision themselves in the guest’s shoes, a normal person dropped into the middle of a crime show, and imagine how they would react in the uncomfortable yet charming situation. The guests often break into laughter when Terry cracks a joke or a ‘dead’ body begins to smile. Personally, I love the rare moments when a guest’s unexpected joke comes close to breaking Terry. We revel in watching the guests enjoy the show as much as we enjoy the show ourselves.

Lastly, we get to enjoy the novelty of seeing our favorite celebrities in strange and funny environments. We get to see Sharon Stone try a german accent, Ken Jeong snoop around an office, and Marshawn Lynch pretend to be a mirror. Similar to seeing these celebrities on Colbert’s couch, it’s refreshing to see them in a more human state.

I hope this is the first of many of these types of shows. If I had to mint a name for this category, it would be “unscripted guest shows” but for now I bet we’ll just call them “Murdervilles.”