Showrunner says Only Murders in the Building billionaires were inspired by real-life figures, including longevity advocates

The creator of the Disney+ series Only Murders in the Building says three new billionaire characters in the show’s fifth season were drawn loosely from real-world public figures, including people known for hospitality and life-extension interests.

Showrunner John Hoffman told Entertainment Weekly that the season introduces three mega-wealthy characters played by Renee Zellweger, Christoph Waltz and Logan Lerman, and that each was inspired “in a very loose way” by prominent, litigious public figures. He cautioned the parallels are broad rather than literal, and said the production avoided naming exact models because of the risk of legal action.

Zellweger’s character, Camila White, is described by Hoffman as a Manhattan billionaire and high-society “tastemaker” prominent in the hospitality industry. Hoffman said that lifestyle guru Martha Stewart provided “a tiny bit of inspiration” for the character because Stewart once bought an apartment in the real New York building used as the model for the show’s Arconia, but added that Camila White is “a very different person” in many ways.

Waltz plays a tech magnate named Bash Steeg, whom Hoffman characterized as a “tech genius” with a private interest in extending his own life. Hoffman said the character was written with a “little wink wink” toward several industry pioneers, and that Steeg’s quest for immortality — and a mysterious age — was a central trait. The notes accompanying the series have linked such fictional traits to public figures who have funded or pursued longevity research, naming investors who have supported anti‑aging initiatives and entrepreneurs known for radical biohacking experiments.

Logan Lerman’s role, Jay Pflug, is the scion of a very wealthy family “well-known in New York,” Hoffman said, and he indicated the fictional family is a player in the pharmaceutical industry. That description prompted viewer discussion about real-world parallels online, where some fans have suggested the name echoes large pharmaceutical firms with German roots.

The new season follows the trio of true-crime podcasters-turned-sleuths — Mabel (Selena Gomez), Charles (Steve Martin) and Oliver (Martin Short) — as they investigate the death of their building’s doorman, Lester, whose body was discovered in the courtyard fountain at the Arconia in season four. Hoffman said the billionaire characters are introduced in the season’s first episode and will play significant roles as the central mystery unfolds.

Hoffman acknowledged the potential legal sensitivity of drawing from living public figures, saying, “Unfortunately, any of those billionaires are litigious, so I’m also nervous to hit too close to home.” He also referenced broad trends driving the fictional portrayals: “There are some well-known people who are interested in longevity [of human life]. There’s some well-known people who are interested in design and boutique hotels in Manhattan, and tastemakers that have risen above the fold,” he told Entertainment Weekly.

Fans and viewers quickly began sharing theories online after the interview and the season’s early episodes became available on Disney+ in the U.K. on streaming platforms. Reddit threads and social posts speculated about which billionaires might have informed the characters, suggesting links between the show’s fictional tech founder and public figures associated with longevity research, and noting that Pfizer — a large, historically German-American pharmaceutical company — was founded by immigrants and does not (in modern times) operate as a single-family enterprise.

Health researchers and science writers have tracked increasing investment from private technology founders into longevity and anti-aging projects in recent years. Some entrepreneurs and investors have publicly supported foundations and companies focused on extending healthy human lifespan or developing interventions that target age-related decline. Others have documented highly regularized biohacking regimens intended to influence biomarkers of aging, an approach that has drawn both media attention and scientific scrutiny.

Only Murders in the Building’s blend of comedy, mystery and eccentric characters has routinely used familiar cultural touchstones as inspiration while keeping fictional portrayals distinct from real people. Hoffman reiterated that the season’s wealthy characters were composites rather than direct representations, and that their inclusion serves the storyline exploring wealth, influence and secrecy within the world the series depicts.

The first three episodes of the new season are streaming on Disney+ in the United Kingdom. As viewers and critics parse the fictional portrayals, the show adds to ongoing public conversations about how wealth, technology and medical ambition intersect — particularly when private interest drives funding for research into healthspan and longevity.