Good Neighbor Podcast: Pittsburgh
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Good Neighbor Podcast: Pittsburgh
E112: Solving & Sleuthing Over a Three Course Dinner: Catch a Cold Case Killer with Ryan Murtha
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What makes Ryan Murtha with The Dinner Detective True Crime Murder Mystery Dinner Show a good neighbor?
Hungry for a night out that actually pulls you into the story? We sit down with producer and marketing director Ryan Murtha from The Dinner Detective to unpack how a modern true crime mystery turns dinner into a social game where every guest could be the culprit-and the hero who solves it.
Ryan takes us behind the scenes of a format that trades cheesy accents for realism and energy. Actors blend into the crowd, detectives stir the room, and interrogation forms guide you from appetizer to reveal. With scripts inspired by the tone of cold cases and the pacing of great comedies, the show invites you to test theories with your tablemates, collect clues, and compete for top sleuth bragging rights, return tickets, and merch. The twist starts early with a pre-show clue delivered after you buy tickets, seeding speculation long before you arrive.
We also dig into what it takes to scale delight across 110+ cities while keeping each performance fresh. Ryan’s path from actor to producer shapes how the team casts, directs, and rotates four stories to reward repeat visits. On the growth side, we explore a smart mix of Meta and Google ads, YouTube, and local event syndication to meet people where they plan their nights- plus the powerful word of mouth that follows a crowd-pleasing reveal. Along the way, Ryan shares why a three-hour, screen-free escape matters right now and how laughter, mystery, and a shared meal create connection that lingers past dessert.
If you love true crime podcasts but want to step into the action, this conversation maps the perfect night out: immersive, funny, and just suspicious enough to keep your heart racing. Listen, pick your table wisely, and decide who you’d accuse first. Enjoyed the show? Follow, rate, and share with a friend who always spots the twist before the credits.
To learn more about The Dinner Detective True Crime Murder Mystery Dinner Show go to:
https://www.thedinnerdetective.com/
The Dinner Detective True Crime Murder Mystery Dinner Show
Welcome And Guest Intro
SPEAKER_00This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Lila Carter.
What Makes The Show Different
SPEAKER_01Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a good night out? One might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Ryan Mertha, with the Dinner Detective True Crime Murder Mystery Dinner Show. Ryan, how's it going today?
SPEAKER_02It is going well. Happy to be here and to uh tell everybody about our unique uh and very special night out that you could probably have with us.
SPEAKER_01Excellent. Yeah, so we're excited to learn all about you and your business. This is certainly a unique offering here. So please tell us more about your company.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so the Dinner Detective is a true crime murder mystery dinner show. And what is unique about our show is uh it is a modern day murder mystery, right? You go out and you you see your standard murder mystery shows, and you you have actors in the audience and they're dressed in costumes with accents, and you just you're there and you're observing and you're interacting in a way. What sets us apart is one we're modern-day setting, it's based off of true uh crimes, cold cases. And uh you may be sitting beside an actor and not know it because they are dressed just like you. So it really adds this unique aspect to you as a guest where everybody in the room is suspicious, everybody's wearing a name tag, and you can't trust anybody. Uh, throughout the evening, we are interacting with the entire room. We stand up guests who are uh identified as prime suspects, and then you work with our detectives to solve that case at the end of the night and win a grand prize.
SPEAKER_01Oh, very cool. What is like an example of one of the grant grand prizes?
Prizes And Rotating Scripts
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so uh the top sleuth, uh some of our locations give a uh a gift certificate to come back to another show, uh, shot glasses, and just a lot of different merch that just can can say, hey, I was a winner. Look at all the cool stuff I got. And then you have that opportunity to come back to see another show on us. Uh, our scripts, we have four that are currently in rotation. Um, so you have the opportunity to see a different story and solve that one as well.
Ryan’s Journey From Actor To Producer
SPEAKER_01This is so cool. How did you get into this space as a producer and marketing director?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so I am I actually worked my way from an actor all the way up to where I am now. I started in 2015 in San Diego and I did it in Boston as I traveled around with the military. And um last two about two years ago, I came on part-time and then quickly uh grew into producer, a marketing director, and creative director. Uh it's been so fun as I've traveled and seen it done in different locations that it's just uh it's it's it's a perk to be able to do something that you love to do creating, entertaining. Um just bringing people together on a night and then beyond the night.
Myths, Format, And Audience Experience
SPEAKER_01That's such a neat night out as far as you know, something that's kind of off the beaten path, you know, not going to dinner or um, you know, just a movie or something that would be typical. It's like an experiential um event. And so um, are there any maybe myths or misconceptions as you think about typical dinner shows um and how they might be run that you'd like to discuss today?
Pre-Show Clues And Community
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so a lot of times people expect them to be kind of hokey and jokey and all of that. And our our show is a good mix of comedy and the macabre, right? That the dark and grittiness. It leans more on the comedy, right? But what's special is hey, you show up to this event, right? This experience, and you check in, you you get you go to your table, you're enjoying uh your appetizer or your salad, and you're reviewing your interrogation form, and then you're interacting with guests, right? And and you're getting to meet new people. Um, maybe they're one of our actors, or maybe you make a new friend, right? And then throughout the evening, um, things aren't just handed out to you. You'll work with the detectives, you'll discover clues, um, but at the end of the day, it's just it's just so unique and fun because here you are having multiple courses, you're having an interactive night of comedy, and then you're also using your brain because you're solving these mysteries. And if you're somebody who loves true crime podcasts or the shows, this is that opportunity where you don't get to just listen, you get to solve it. Um, and we really lean into that. And what's also special about our show is it's not just the night of. Uh, part of what we have started up is we do what's called a pre-show clue. So when you buy your ticket, you will get a clue ahead of time. It's kind of a teaser and Easter egg that ties into that story. So it builds beyond just the night, and then you're sitting there and you're talking with your friends, your spouses, your partners, whoever, and you're like, what does this mean? I don't know. And then you show up and then you connect all those dots um in the moment with other people.
Scaling, Marketing, And Word Of Mouth
SPEAKER_01That's so fun. Have you guys ever thought about maybe doing a podcast like for the dinner detective?
SPEAKER_02We have. Uh, we have definitely uh been putting our minds to figuring out how to do that. Um we do have our own YouTube channel and all that kind of stuff, and so we're we're working on how we can do that. We're a small team uh that works with over 110 locations across the United States. So our uh our time can be a little thin, but we are actively working on how we can uh bring a podcast to light with the Dinner Detective.
SPEAKER_01Very cool. Yeah. So who are your target customers across all these locations and how are you attracting them to the business right now?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so we um what's unique about our uh our our model is we're really everybody uh who's interested, right? Our our key demographic is generally uh the key demo for everybody, right? So 30 plus. Um we have uh a lot of people that are um older, but we have a lot of millennials, Gen X, and we're also starting to get um a lot of zoomers, right? Uh, because they're wanting to get away from just the screen. And so the way we're trying to engage everybody is through various marketing channels, whether that's through Meta, through uh Google ads. We also uh work very tightly with a uh uh event company called Event Vesta, and they're just able to populate to your local calendars, through your Google profile. There's all these different things to hit different people because you have some people who are only on Facebook, you have people on Instagram only, YouTube. So we kind of just cast a wide net and then find our guests that way. And then a big way also is word of mouth. We have a lot of people that will come to see a show and then they'll come back in a few months with family or friends because they just had so much fun that they come back. So we do a lot of word of mouth as well.
Ryan’s Life Outside The Stage
SPEAKER_01Very good. So outside of cold case research and acting, what are some things that you do for fun, Ryan?
SPEAKER_02Uh I love um I love to uh run. I have a almost four-year-old, so I put her in the stroller with our two-year-old uh Husky Mix. I love to go for long runs. That helps clear the mind, keeps the creative flow going. And um, I also love to cook. Um, I've I've loved to cook for a long time now, and that's just another way to uh be creative, but then also try new things and uh feed the family.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so you probably love the acting piece of this dinner show as much as you love the foodie part of it, don't you?
Purpose, Joy, And A Three-Hour Escape
SPEAKER_02Oh, absolutely. Uh having been doing this for over a decade and opening up new shops and and new shows in different parts of the country, having the opportunity to try uh different foods is uh is a lot of fun. Um and it's and it's also just it's fun to entertain people, right? In in a world right now where there's a lot of uh uncertainty and and chaos, giving people the opportunity for three hours to relax, have fun, enjoy a good meal, um, and and potentially just win to come back. It it really feels good as as a as a as a person to help others.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it sounds like a good time. Well, Ryan, please tell our listeners one thing that they should remember about the dinner detective true crime, murder, mystery dinner show.
SPEAKER_02Well, I would just say, hey, if if you're looking for a unique night out that is different, that is all inclusive, check out the dinner detective. Uh, because it's not just your opportunity to listen. You get to solve it over a delicious multi-course meal. And uh we hope to see you out at the next crime scene. And just remember to uh don't trust anybody you see wearing a name tag.
SPEAKER_01So, how can our listeners learn more about the dinner detective?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you can uh learn more about the dinner detective at thedinninner detective.com. You can also go to our YouTube channel, the dinner detective.com.com at the dinner detective. Same with Instagram. We're very easy to find on all your socials. We post frequently, whether that's general, like hey, jokes, uh riddles, um, or you even get to see some of the winners. So we'd love to see you there.
SPEAKER_01It's time for every socialite to come out of the woodwork and go and check out the dinner detective here. Ryan, we really appreciate you being on our show today. We wish you and your business the very best moving forward.
SPEAKER_02Thank you so much. It was a pleasure being here.
Closing And Local CTA
SPEAKER_00Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnppittsburg.com. That's gnppittsburgh.com or call four one two five six one nine nine five six.