Review by C.J. Bunce
Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, which had a surprisingly fun first season, followed by a funny and only slightly less crisp second, just didn’t stick its landing for this year’s third season. But while this year’s all-new mystery-themed series Poker Face landed as a dud, thanks in large part to the unstoppable chemistry of stars Martin Short, Steve Martin, and Selena Gomez, Only Murders in the Building continues to give its thin, podcast-based idea just enough fuel to bring us back next year. The problem this season? The sharp writing of previous seasons got lost in a convoluted plot that forgot its leads are the show, and not even appearances by Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd, and Matthew Broderick could save it.
The frequent failing of TV writers whose setting is New York City is leaning so far into being about New York-specific foibles, quirks, and anecdotes that it ostracizes viewers that don’t “heart NYC”. Broadway stories have been done and done again. Stories about entertainment industry insiders have been run into the ground. This wasn’t a problem for the first two seasons. Yes, Martin Short’s character Oliver is famous for his Broadway failings. Yes, Steve Martin’s character Charles is a has-been actor. But the writing and snappy dialogue stressed that their pasts didn’t define who they were, and they didn’t need to. Selena Gomez’s Mabel brought a more youthful (though not all that young) view that rounded out a show about an unlikely trio solving a murder. That’s why the first season shined.
Even the second season’s whodunnit felt like a literal dice roll, with the writers seeming like even they didn’t know whodunnit until the end. The third season was simply a bad dice roll, with the most uninteresting suspects revealed as the killers in the finale. Meanwhile any viewer could see the drudgery of hoops the writers were jumping through trying to be clever, weaving a new Broadway play’s story path as an analogue to the “real-life” mystery.
Although the first seasons were more murder parody than mystery, the production seemed more earnest in its efforts to entertain. This season not only did the mystery take a backseat to obscure Broadway throwbacks and oddities, but the podcast as the series’ hook was practically non-existent, left to be shoe-horned into the farce the plot became. If we wanted to see Broadway we could go buy a ticket.
Paul Rudd’s charm couldn’t break through a poorly written character that made him look like a local community theater player. Who would think the same could ever be said for the actor’s actor, Meryl Streep? And why did Matthew Broderick appear as himself? Wouldn’t first and second season staple Nathan Lane have made more sense as a centerpiece this season? Red herrings like Charles’ new girlfriend played by Andrea Martin just came and went, like nobody had any real plan.
In the final analysis, Only Murders in the Building was apparently a one-season wonder. The only thing that will bring us back for the fourth season is the last minute peril of that fantastic brilliance of casting that is Jane Lynch as Steve Martin’s stunt double. She’s the top supporting actor on the series, and her character steals every scene. As for the main cast? That’s Martin Short, doing the best work of his career. He even fit inside the weird construct of this season, emerging as the lead among the trio of series stars. Yes, some of the zingers and quips in the trio’s banter were as good as previous seasons, but they just got lost among everything else.
The actors look like they are having fun. It’s just not enough if the viewers aren’t, too. But keep trying. There’s not much as good as Only Murders in the Building on Hulu to justify the subscription. We need a good laugh. At least it’s not as bad as the second season of mystery series Crime and the fifth season of Unforgotten. And please bring back Zoe Colletti as Charles’ daughter Lucy.
Three seasons of Only Murders on the Building are streaming now on Hulu.
