Our Favorite Gang of Sleuths Face Their Most Personal Case Yet in Season 4 of ‘Only Murders in the Building’

Alci Rengifo

Season four of “Only Murders in the Building” has reunited us with the crime-solving podcasters of Hulu’s whodunnit comedy series. You know the drill involving fresh, murderous intrigue that always crops up at the exclusive Arconia in New York’s Upper West Side. In a lesser series, the gimmick would get stale but few shows have a trio like Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short) and Mabel (Selena Gomez). They are the life of this title. Their presence is even more essential in season four, where the plot is probably the weakest offering yet, though far from bad. 

You may recall last season ended with Charles’ friend and stunt double, Sazz (Jane Lynch), being shot by a mysterious attacker in Charles’ apartment. We return to the Arconia with the gang unaware of what has happened. Oliver is busy having a meltdown because investors have pulled out of his latest stage production. There is also some big news out of California. Paramount wants to make a film based on the podcasters’ exploits. They fly out to Los Angeles to meet a beaming producer (Molly Shannon) who introduces them to their screen interpretations. Eugene Levy is playing Charles, Zach Galifianakis is Oliver and Eva Langoria is, of course, Mabel. When Charles realizes Sazz is missing, the three fly back to New York to discover shocking, deadly evidence in the “Brazzos” star’s apartment. Adding to the disturbing details, it seems Charles was the real target.

This season of “Only Murders in the Building” enlarges certain aspects of its format while keeping what always works. For the first time we really get a peek inside the rival building next to the Arconia, where a colorful set of neighbors are potential suspects in Sazz’s death. Kumail Nanjiani plays an oddball who keeps his apartment decorated in a Christmas theme all year long. Richard Kind shows up as one of his typically pitiful personas, this time wearing an eye patch because of pink eye, but who has a perfect vantage point to Charles’ window. There are more celebrity cameos and small roles, none too overcooked to get distracting. This is a series that knows how to give Meryl Streep just enough space (her character is still around, though more in the background as Oliver’s now busy girlfriend). Eva Langoria is charmingly wacky as the actor shadowing Mabel. She is constantly, casually coming close to ruining suspect interviews or apartment snooping.

A unique feature in the writing of “Only Murders in the Building” is that for all its winning comedy, every season still finds an emotional center. This time around, Charles becomes the focus. Sazz’s fate makes him ponder time, friendships and the meaning of his celebrity status. Steve Martin’s performance is the best out of the lot because he is funny while evoking the fear of a man realizing someone hates him enough to try and commit murder. He teams wonderfully with Eugene Levy in memorable scenes where they go sleuthing, then shines in Charles’ lonelier moments. Sazz keeps appearing as a kind of specter, narrating her life as a stunt double, admiring Charles for being a near-soulmate, yet forcing him to reassess his past. Martin Short is the one who gets left with the much lighter material, mostly whining about having to get up early, or seething with jealous rage at Instagram pics of Loretta (Streep) with a buffed guy’s arm around her. 

Underneath the surface, the real theme of this series has always been loneliness. Despite Charles and Oliver’s big age gap with Mabel, they click because each was seeking purpose and a “home” when they met. That sense of camaraderie keeps this show immensely pleasurable, even if we wonder how many more people in this gang’s orbit can keep dying every season, in the same building. The writing is sharp, at times becoming effectively self-aware. When the trio visit a bar looking for information, they don’t know quite how to answer when accused of using Sazz’s death for their podcast. It hits home because the victim was so close to Charles. 

Plenty of room is left for satire about the entertainment industry as well. Molly Shannon’s eternally grinning producer is a great stereotype, beaming about all the IP a studio can buy. Paramount also expects Charles, Oliver and Mabel to simply sign away their life rights on a whim. Maybe it is a case of the writers looking to familiar tricks to keep the comedy flowing, yet it works. While so many shows are meeting quick ends, “Only Murders in the Building” keeps itself steady by sticking to its essence. It still knows how to make us laugh with the more gruesome details, like finding Sazz reduced to ashes in the Arconia’s lower corners or spraying luminol on a kitchen floor. We love it because the leads never lose their charm, ensuring that the cases feel fresh. Mabel is full of millennial melancholy, Oliver still can’t figure out an iPad and Charles will never let go of the past. These details with this cast can make any case “Only Murders in the Building” spins believable. 

“Only Murders in the Building” season four begins streaming Aug. 27 with new episodes premiering Tuesdays on Hulu.