It’s usually around the fourth season that most great television shows start to decline in quality.
But, in my humble opinion, Season 4 of Only Murders in the Building is the strongest season since its inaugural one.
To be clear, I think Seasons 2 and 3 of OMITB were fantastic; just not as good as Season 1.
But Season 4 is seriously giving Season 1 a run for its money…
Picking up right where it left off, the OMITB trio – Charles Hayden-Savage, Oliver Putnam and Mabel Mora, played by Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez respectively – are still celebrating at the Death Rattle Dazzle after-party.
And for quite a while, they are oblivious to the latest murder in the building – Sazz’s.
However, once the gang do realise poor Sazz, played by Jane Lynch, has bitten the dust, another investigation (and podcast season) quickly ensues.
During Season 4, we’re introduced to a slew of new characters including Molly Shannon’s hilariously intense Bev Melon, Kumail Nanjiani’s wonderful yet weirdly obsessed with Christmas Rudy Thurber and Richard Kind’s endearing but odd Stink Eye Joe.
Not to mention, in typical OMITB fashion, Eugene Levy, Eva Longoria and Zach Galifianakis turn up playing exaggerated versions of themselves à la Sting, Amy Schumer and Matthew Broderick.
Eva especially is a real highlight this season. She makes many a self-effacing joke, timed to comedic perfection…
I literally spat out a sip of wine because I laughed too hard at the way she delivered a Desperate Housewives reference.
Aside from the stellar cast (which includes a few surprising cameos from some serious A-Listers; prepare yourself), the murder at the centre of this season is incredibly compelling.
Was Sazz or Charles – or both – the target? And no matter who the target actually was, watching Charles, Oliver and Mabel try and unravel the motive behind it is enthralling to say the least.
If you don’t believe me, I had access to the first seven episodes of this season early and promised myself I’d watch one a night over the space of a week. Instead, I stayed up until 2am (on a weeknight!) because I simply had to watch them all and find out as much about the storyline as I could…
Aside from the plot, the humour is once again spot on in Season 4 – from Steve and Martin’s hilarious slapstick jokes to Selena’s witty, sarcastic quips.
Of course, there are poignant moments too and I think Steve really shows off his rarely used but phenomenal ‘serious’ acting skills this season.
Oh, and it was nice to have a small change of scenery; the majority of the first episode is set in LA rather than New York and a later episode sees the trio flee The Arconia altogether…
Speaking of the trio, just like in previous seasons of OMITB, the chemistry between them is off the charts.
You can really tell that Steve, Martin and Selena are genuine friends off-screen and it adds to the show’s overall wholesomeness.
As much as it pains me to do so, I do have a few critiques.
For starters, there’s not enough Meryl Streep.
I think her Season 3 performance as Loretta Durkin was the Oscar-winner’s best to date, so I was sad to only see her in a handful of episodes in Season 4.
Plus, I’m confused as to why Mabel’s love interests are repeatedly written out of Only Murders in the Building with zero explanation. Where are Oscar, Alice and Tobert?
I don’t need Mabel in a relationship with any of them (or at all) but just a casual statement like, “Yeah, I didn’t want to do long distance with Tobert once he moved to LA” would satisfy my curiosity.
Otherwise, I might start wondering if Mabel is secretly murdering her ex-lovers… in the building… What a twist that would be in a future season! Hmmm, maybe I should get in touch with the Only Murders in the Building writers.
I digress.
Ultimately (and aside from the litany of reasons I’ve listed above), a wonderful throwback late in this season is what really clinches it as the best since Season 1.
It drew my attention to a long forgotten plot hole and hinted that by the end of Season 4 it’ll be tied up nicely…
I’m yet to see the last three episodes of Season 4 (it’s actually killing me) so I’m hoping it all pays off!
If I had to give Only Murders in the Building Season 4 a rating, I’d give it 4.5 out of 5 stars and would recommend it to anyone and everyone.
Stream Only Murders in the Building Season 4 from August 27 on Disney Plus from $13.99/mth.
