Only Murders in the Building season four | Show review
One of the surprise smash hits for Disney+ has been Only Murders in the Building, starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez. It has introduced a new generation to Martin and Short while showing Gomez, best known for her music, is an acting talent as well. The trio play podcasters Charles Hayden Savage, Oliver Putnam and Mabel Mora, who seem to constantly find themselves face-to-face with murders, as the title suggests, in their apartment complex. The third season ended on a cliffhanger with the apparent death of Charles’s long-term stunt double Sazz (Jane Lynch).
The season picks up in the immediate aftermath of the celebrations at the end of the third season, with our crew whisked off to LA and movie buzz surrounding their podcast. With the action predominantly set in New York, this is a refreshing change of scene and allows the team to poke fun at the moviemaking business, with Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis and Eva Longoria making cameo appearances as themselves, the actors set to play the trio. Meryl Streep also reprises her role as Oliver’s love interest Loretta.
The show clearly knows what makes it work and its target audience; safe to say the chemistry of our three leads, which is the heart of the series, is firmly intact. There are a number of new additions, including Richard Kind and Kumail Nanjiani, with Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph returning as Detective Williams, who prevent proceedings from feeling formulaic, and there’s a burgeoning sense of intrigue about its core mystery – the rotating cast and Hollywood subplot keep it from ever feeling overly like a pastiche. It is refreshing to see Lynch given more of an expanded role as Sazz, given her scene-stealing turns in other comedies like The Marvelous Mrs Maisel: until now Sazz has been quite one note and more of a peripheral character. Lynch and Steve Martin also share a fine rapport that drives the narrative this season.
Only Murders In The Building might lack the freshness that made it such an exciting watch when it debuted in 2021 – but it has built a stellar ensemble and found ways to keep its murders and twists engaging for audiences to attempt to work out at home. The central trio continue to be a delight to watch with their quirky mannerisms and interplay and show no signs of growing stale.
Christopher Connor
Only Murders in the Building season four is released on Disney+ on 27th August 2024.
Watch the trailer for Only Murders in the Building season four here:
