Since premiering on Hulu in 2021, Only Murders in the Building has gotten plenty of Emmy nominations, but hasn’t really gotten its due. Even for the 2024 Emmys, which are handed out later in September, the series was snubbed in the Comedy Series Writing category. Which is a small sin, because co-creators Steve Martin and John Hoffman have managed to craft a comedy mystery series in which the laughs are plentiful and the mysteries are plausible and surprising. Pulling off either one of those feats is impressive; nailing them both is indeed Emmy-worthy.
Not that Only Murders is completely lacking for attention, or awards. The show has won four Emmys to date — though only one for an actor, for guest star Nathan Lane in 2022. But every year, the show finds ways to showcase its regular and guest stars more creatively. And this year, for the first time, all three series leads are nominated.
And deservedly so: Martin as former TV detective Charles-Haden Savage, and Martin Short as former Broadway director Oliver Putnam, are both insufferably egotistic and painfully insecure — and sporadically, gleefully hilarious. And Selena Gomez, as mystery podcasting fan Mabel Mora, is as droll and dry as Short’s Oliver is bubbly and over the top.
The new season of Only Murders in the Building takes this unlikely trio to a new setting — but only temporarily. Because of the success of their previous seasons of crime solving, the three podcasting partners are flown to Hollywood, where a movie executive hopes to buy their life rights and make a movie based on their adventures.
The movie exec is played by Molly Shannon, formerly of Saturday Night Live, who throws a glitzy party for the new arrivals. At the party, she tries to wow them by introducing them to the actors cast to play their big-screen counterparts.
Once the movie is greenlit, Charles, Oliver and Mabel head back to their familiar New York apartment complex, where a recent bullet hole found in the window of Charles’ apartment leads them to suspect he may have been targeted for murder. They also suspect the sniper may have aimed from one of the apartments across their courtyard.
Charles studies the behavior of the residents occupying the west tower, then convenes his podcast partners to discuss his suspicions. At this point, Only Murders becomes the comedy equivalent of Rear Window. Like James Stewart in that famous Hitchcock movie, our heroes expect that evil is afoot across the way. But with these three, the way they go about their voyeuristic inquiry highlights their very distinct, and very funny, personalities.
Both of these Season 4 plots — the movie being made and a new murder in the building — make room for a small commuter plane full of guest stars, all of whom come to play, and show us a great time. And almost all the Only Murders actors nominated for Emmys this year, in various supporting categories, are back — including Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Paul Rudd and Meryl Streep. And Jane Lynch, Melissa McCarthy, Scott Bakula and Richard Kind are here, too.
They’re all wonderful. Streep and Rudd, in particular, are doing great work: With their screen time and no-holds-barred performances, they may as well be considered series regulars. The show’s writing is up to their level, and so are the show’s three headliners. When Streep shares intimate or sad or joyous scenes with Short, they all work. This season, there’s a major influx of talent added to Only Murders in the Building — but the new and returning faces don’t outshine the stars. They shine, and play, right along with them.
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