Hulu Review: ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Levels Up in the Best Way for a Revitalized Season 4

There are viewers who will be loyal to a show they like no matter what, but it’s still necessary to add some intrigue and change things up to keep people hooked every season. Only Murders in the Building added some big stars for its third season and received acclaim, but surely there are those who are wondering how long this murder-podcast comedy can keep going before it starts getting stale. Fortunately, season four offers a fresh and formidable answer, keeping its main characters the same but dramatically changing the environment around them, leading to delectable and fascinating results.

As popular podcasts do in real life, catching on means someone is eventually going to want to make a movie. It’s likely that, in reality, those making a podcast would be somewhat more aware than Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) are when they hear that they’ve been approached by Hollywood for their big break. It turns out that there’s already a major concept in mind, with actors hired to portray them – Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, and Eva Longoria, respectively. The studio system’s eagerness to take advantage of this project’s marketability leads to plenty of pressure on the subjects to get on board, but they’re quite distracted, typically focused on what they do most, if not necessarily best: slowly putting the clues together to solve the latest murder in the Arconia.

There’s definitely something that feels different about this season of Only Murders in the Building, and that’s a good thing. Flirting with fame and success doesn’t feel as good as it should for any of these three protagonists, and they’re expertly paired with actors playing fictionalized versions of themselves, each very adept at tapping into specific insecurities. When Oliver meets Galifianakis, he bumbles his last name, which angers the comedian and leads to him loudly expressing how he really didn’t want to play this unsophisticated role. Levy tries to find Charles’ unique vibe in a way that appeases him enough but doesn’t really allow them to connect. And Longoria points out that the writers aged Mabel up since the notion of someone her age hanging out with two much older men just felt creepy, hardly a sentiment that can be received positively.

Whereas having these three actors sending up their own personas might have felt like too much, it’s toned perfectly to match this show. Charles, Oliver, and Mabel continue on their own misadventures together, only occasionally being forced to put on an act that doesn’t feel like their very hands-on, unpolished detective work. There are also plenty of other formidable new members of the cast, including Richard Kind, Kumail Nanjiani, and Desmin Borges as residents of the Arconia and Jin Ha, Catherine Cohen, Siena Werber, and Molly Shannon as members of the filmmaking team, all with their own agendas for what this podcasters’ story will be like on the big screen. Michael Cyril Creighton receives a well-deserved promotion as Howard, while Emmy nominees Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Jane Lynch are put to great use.

Keeping things centered on the core three who have been part of this show since its start is a continually productive recipe, and it does feel that, ribbing aside, there’s less internal bickering. On another show, these characters might be lacking any room to grow, but here, they’ve got plenty to contemplate, especially as they consider signing away their life rights for the movie. Mabel in particular wonders what it is that she does as a profession, and that introspective insight enhances this often dramatic comedy. There’s also more than enough intrigue and suspense, meshed together in typically enticing fashion.

Most of the season three’s episodes run close to forty minutes, affording audiences more time to unpack all of the new character introductions, witty banter, and mystery plot points. That the show continues to stay true to its moniker of only featuring murders related in some way to its protagonists’ residence is impressive, cleverly expanding its storytelling in the process with clues and leads located elsewhere. Four seasons in, this show is just as good as ever, offering reliable entertainment with just the right tinge of thoughtful melancholy.

Season Rating: 9/10

Awards Buzz: Season three netted this show its highest Emmy nominations total yet, indicating that it has no signs of slowing down or losing popularity. Launching year after year at the very beginning of the season hasn’t hurt it so far, so expect another resounding Emmy celebration come next summer.