Regular viewers of Saturday Night Live (SNL) know that SNL sketches like Debbie Downer or The Californians maintain viewership thanks to the crew's consistent improvisation capabilities. Netflix's new crime-solving improv show Murderville allows viewers to get a taste, albeit acquired, of improv in a six-episode season.

Terry Seattle (played by Will Arnett) is a loose cannon homicide detective who just can't seem to keep a partner. Struggling to get over his divorce with the police chief Rhonda Jenkins-Seattle (played by Haneefah Wood), Terry is assigned a new murder case and a new celebrity detective partner each episode. The catch - these celebrities do not have a script to follow and have to improvise their way out of the ordeal. There are obvious and not-so-obvious clues carefully placed throughout the scenes and at the end of each episode, the guest stars have to piece the clues to find the real murderer.

Murderville is the US adaptation of the award-winning British comedy Murder in Successville. Creator Krister Johnson intended to deliver a cross between a comedy reality show and a large-scale prank for the celebrities involved, though the success is debatable. Will Arnett deserves special credit for maintaining the arduous task of keeping a straight face and carrying on with the script even during the most ridiculous moments. The guest stars have to combat the gruelling situation Terry puts them through, with only their improv skills to keep the show's comedy quotient up.

Improvising is a skill few can do masterfully. The first guest star of Murderville, Conan O'Brien, who has many years of comedy under his belt, obviously has more experience at comedy improv than the established, yet relatively inexperienced in comedy, actress Annie Murphy. Scenes tend to quickly devolve if there aren't enough prompts and castmates who know how to read the room. However, there are still some hysterical moments that look as smooth as scripted comedy, such as the unexpected chemistry between Will Arnett and NFL star Marshawn Lynch in the second episode's introduction scene.

It is this chemistry that makes or breaks this show. Guest stars Kumail Nanjiani, Annie Murphy and Sharon Tate were more muted as Terry's partners. Will Arnett had to do most of the work to keep the show a 'comedy', and in most of the episodes, he tries his best to fling random lines at his guests - to which the replies range from hilarious to cringe.

Murderville works because of Arnett's adaptability and whimsy, but it also because of good celebrity casting, which stops the show's generally predictable gags from becoming tedious. Each celebrity reacts to Terry's shenanigans differently so it is a surprise for the viewers each episode. Some of the scenes are funny because of how ridiculous the situations are created to be. There are even scenes where both Arnett and the featured guest star could not contain their laughter - such is the ridiculousness of some improvised scenario.

The episodes follow the same formula: having exactly three suspects each episode, detective Terry getting in the way of the interviews and an undercover scene where Terry gets the guests into trouble. Due to the repetitiveness, there are times the show feels repetitive and tiresome. How much of the show is unscripted? How do they know which questions to ask? In an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, creator Krister Johnson confirmed that the guest stars are only given story points and signposts to work with. These signposts are placed to ensure the guests see the important clues and are actually able to solve the murder.

According to the creator, the show's unscripted components include a lot of scripted moments, but at the heart of it, it is still the guest stars who drive the show forward. They are at the crux of Murderville's improvisation. The rest of the cast has to improvise according to the guests' reaction, and sometimes, the accompanying cast is the best part of a scene.

Murderville is a show that requires minimum to zero brain effort to enjoy. Improv is not everyone's cup of tea and Netflix is testing grounds to welcome new shows that the audiences are not familiar with. While the show is not jam-packed with hysterical jokes and sometimes the awkwardness of bad lines is palpable, the natural zaniness of the guests shines throughout the six episodes released so far.

Yes, this is not a genre-defining or life-altering show that the viewers are going to remember for a long time. But this is still a sweet, short and easy watch to unwind to after a long day.