Review by C.J. Bunce
Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, which had a surprisingly fun first season, followed by a funny and less crisp second, fell apart for the third season with the writers apparently not sure where to go next. But it was the writers leaning into what worked in the first seasons that proved to be the solution, to lift up the series for its fourth season, along with providing a murder victim viewers had grown to love. Stars Martin Short, Steve Martin, and Selena Gomez returned to sell and deliver a strong season of hijinks and guest characters. It was good enough that it felt like a solid series-ending plot.
So why not stop while they’re ahead?
It might make you go back and re-watch the first seasons to see if the writing was why the show worked or it was the cast. The older viewers are there for their beloved senior comedians–Short and Martin as Oliver and Charles–giving us more of their modern twist on Abbott and Costello, Laurel and Hardy. The younger audience wants to see Gomez’s Mabel figure out her life (she still hasn’t quite done that, has she?). Charles seems relegated to being a lonely fellow, as Oliver gets, at least for now, something good with Meryl Streep’s Loretta. In any other story, Mabel and Charles, but for their age, would end up together. That’s not where this is going. So what is next?
The series is still an indulgent project that so far had its drama at a superficial level, yet deeper drama worked this season because that beloved victim was Jane Lynch’s stuntwoman Sazz Pataki. Thankfully the actor returned to play the part as a spirit-like character throughout the season. She really is the backbone of the show (but we can’t forget Michael Cyril Creighton’s Howard and pig pal Hammy Faye Bakker (played by Sprinkles). To a lesser extent Paul Rudd was back, too, but he’s now sort of the South Park “Kenny” of the series. Will he return to be killed off again next year? As the Magic 8 Ball says, “Signs point to yes.”
The biggest stunt casting for this season–in a series that really is entirely stunt casting–was bringing in director and former actor Ron Howard. It wasn’t enough–fans of Howard as an actor on The Andy Griffith Show, Happy Days, and American Graffiti would have loved to see him more involved–but here he was playing himself as that serious director auteur persona (not without some humor). But it was a nice addition.
The murder plot and mystery? Thin. The killer was ultimately not very interesting. Molly Shannon as the Red Bull and beef jerky-drinking producer of the movie-within-the-series about the podcast run by the star trio? That was one of the better features, along with… more stunt casting: Zach Galifianakis as Galifianakis, the actor playing Oliver, Eva Longoria as Longoria, the actor playing Mabel, and long-time Short and Martin fellow comic actor Eugene Levy as Charles. And even more stunt casting: Richard Kind and Kumail Nanjiani were part of a red herring group of tenants, plus Melissa McCarthy had some fun as Charles’ sister, Griffin Dunne played a professor, and Catherine Cohen and Siena Werber made a good odd couple as the Brothers Sisters (yet another red herring). They even left room for more Amy Ryan as Charles’ murderous, sometimes-imprisoned, former girlfriend.
Consistent with the loaded cast, each episode featured these actors one at a time, getting their big showcase scene, like a script for a play, or an audition tape for bigger and better roles. This was what made Meryl Streep’s character boring last season, but her character was nicely fleshed out this time around.
Is there enough for Only Murders in the Building to keep going? Even if the stories are thin, what else is like this? What else showcases this level of talent on the small screen? Ghosts and Night Court deliver bigger and better laughs, but why not continue a show on par with Parks and Recreation and Community as long as the actors are willing to show up?
The big win has been Jane Lynch. Next season she’s gone for good. Or is she? Martin Short continues doing the best work of his career. We can’t get enough of him, and this is the closest Steve Martin has played to the comedy that made him famous in decades. The actors look like they are having fun. It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough. We need a good laugh. This provides 30 minutes of it for 10 weeks per year. That’s all that matters.
All four seasons of Only Murders on the Building are streaming now on Hulu.
