In an age of media heavily impacted by a pandemic and strikes, it’s truly something to see a TV series that has regularly premiered a new season every year exclusively during a period of industry decline. Now returning for its fifth season, Only Murders in the Building has taken a newer form of technology and made it the basis for a continually intriguing and entertaining mystery comedy series that attracts top-tier talent for season-long arcs that feel perfectly metered and suited for them. After a best-yet season four, season five doesn’t disappoint, which is no small feat.
The death and apparent murder of the Arconia’s seasoned doorman Lester (Teddy Coluca) weighs heavily on Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) as they develop the latest season of their podcast, which leads them to a mobster’s wife (Téa Leoni) and three high-powered business operators (Christoph Waltz, Renée Zellweger, and Logan Lerman). The fate of the Arconia also hangs in the balance as new plans for the building suggest that this trio may need to think about where else their futures may take them, and if they need an exit strategy that involves going it alone.
As with past seasons, the deceased gets a major spotlight that far outweighs the size of their previous appearances. Lester has always been a figure on the show but never felt as significant as he now does after his death. Flashback episodes that reveal the history of the Arconia feel especially nostalgic, positively evoking this show’s more dramatic tendencies that distinguish it from other crime comedies. There’s something touching and heartbreaking about getting to know this man who knew everything about everyone only after he’s gone and can’t be appropriately thanked and appreciated. As always, that commitment to character and to not saying goodbye even after a character has been killed off is this show’s secret weapon.
While season four arguably boasted the most high-profile cast of guest stars (excluding Meryl Streep, who first appeared in season three), this season doesn’t hold back and delivers some very welcome and fun turns from familiar faces. Waltz and Zellweger are both two-time Oscar winners while Lerman has been steadily working since his start as a child actor, and these roles seem entirely suited for each of them, allowing them to flex comedic confidence that comes off as both impressive and unnerving. Bobby Cannavale, Dianne Wiest, Keegan Michael-Key, and Beanie Feldstein also pop up throughout the season to offer memorable interactions with the core cast.
This show’s title suggests it simply wouldn’t be the same without the Arconia, but it’s so much about its characters that a location change, as experienced in season four, would merely shift the framing. Season five does lean heavily on its setting, with Jermaine Fowler taking on a substantive role as Lester’s replacement, forced now to work with a robot butler who irritates most residents but finds a devoted friend in Howard (Michael Cyril Creighton). The Arconia does feel like a real place with a personality all its own, consistently offering support to these characters in search of purpose and answers they’re somehow convinced they’ll eventually find. Against all odds, this show remains as vibrant and clever as ever five seasons in, carefully and reliably balancing amusing plot points with much more serious criminal arcs.
Season Rating: 8/10
