Simone Ashley has joined the season six cast of Only Murders In The Building in a recurring guest star role, giving the Hulu mystery comedy a fresh face as production continues in the UK. Disney confirmed the casting, which also adds Jennifer Saunders, Sean Teale, Amar Chadha-Patel, Rhea Norwood, Matthew Beard and Sharon Horgan to the ensemble.
The timing makes the news land now because season six is the show’s first overseas production, and filming is underway in the UK. For a series built around the familiar world of Charles, Oliver and Mabel, the move marks a clear shift in scale, even before any plot details are made public.
Ashley’s addition is the latest sign that the show is leaning into a broader cast for its next chapter. Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez and Michael Cyril Creighton are all returning, while the series again comes from co-creators and writers Martin and John Hoffman. The season six executive producing team also includes Hoffman, Martin, Short, Gomez, Dan Fogelman, Jess Rosenthal, Ben Smith, Jennifer Crittenden and Gabrielle Allan.
That larger roster fits a series that has made a habit of stacking guest stars. Season five featured Meryl Streep, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Richard Kind, Nathan Lane, Bobby Cannavale, Renée Zellweger, Logan Lerman, Christoph Waltz, Téa Leoni, Keegan-Michael Key, Beanie Feldstein, Dianne Wiest and Jermaine Fowler. Joy Randolph has also been pictured in social media posts from set, a reminder that some familiar names are still circling the production.
What the new season is actually about remains hidden. The storyline is being kept under wraps even though the casting list and UK filming location are confirmed, leaving Ashley’s character unrevealed for now. That silence is notable because season five ended by sending the show far beyond its usual New York footprint, with Cinda Canning’s newest true-crime podcast recounting a London royal scandal before Cinda herself was revealed as fatally attacked in connection with it.
For now, the cast list is the story: Ashley is in, the show is in the UK, and Only Murders In The Building is taking its first trip overseas without yet saying why.
