Only Murders in the Building season 4 review: a thrilling return

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Things are more personal than ever in Only Murders in the Building season 4. After spending 10 episodes indulging in all of its most theatrical and romantic impulses, the Hulu series wrapped up its third season exactly how it did its first two. That is to say that it capped off Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel’s (Selena Gomez) latest murder investigation with the death of yet another supporting character in their shared New York City apartment building, The Arconia. The latest unlucky victim in question just so happened to be Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch), Charles’ longtime stunt double, who found herself on the receiving end of a sniper bullet that may or may not have been meant for Martin’s egotistical former TV star and left her bleeding out on his kitchen floor.

It was an ending that, at first, didn’t seem all that different from the surprise last-minute deaths of Only Murders in the Building‘s first and second seasons. Unlike the surprise demises of Bunny Folger (Jayne Houdyshell) and Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd), though, Sazz is a character with a well-established history and connection to one of the show’s lead characters. As Only Murders in the Building‘s stellar season 4 premiere quickly reveals, that makes Sazz’s death more immediately impactful than any of the show’s previous killings. It’s an inciting incident that effectively sets the stage for a more emotionally loaded and dramatically complex investigation than any that have come before it, and it also gives Only Murders in the Building an excuse to go to even darker and more heightened places this time around.

The discovery of Sazz’s murder, which is expertly paced and executed by writers John Hoffman and Joshua Allen Griffith, coincides early in Only Murders in the Building‘s fourth season with an unexpected opportunity. In a bit of brutal, economic humor, the season’s premiere does away with the Broadway plot of the show’s third, and all so that Oliver, Mabel, and Charles are free to travel to Los Angeles and begin consulting on a new feature film adaptation of their podcast. Drawn to Hollywood by the movie’s steamroller of a producer, Bev (an impeccably cast Molly Shannon), Oliver, Mabel, and Charles soon come face to face with their three intended big-screen counterparts: Zach Galifianakis, Eva Longoria, and Eugene Levy, all of whom are tasked with playing heightened, oblivious versions of their real-life selves. It isn’t long before the three actors have demanded to shadow Only Murders in the Building‘s core trio and help them with their ongoing investigation.

These interactions produce a number of gut-bustingly funny moments, including an awkward bit of infiltration on the parts of Levy and Martin’s equally unprepared characters that leads to a laugh-out-loud bit of physical comedy and a bonding montage between Oliver and his A-list companion that Short and Galifianakis both seem to clearly savor. These moments additionally force Mabel, Oliver, and Charles to further reflect on not only the ways they see themselves but also how they come across to others. This shared identity crisis affects Only Murders‘ leads in different ways: Mabel suddenly takes on a more active role in her life again; Oliver’s growing insecurities lead to him doubting the strength of his still-fresh relationship with Loretta (a returning Meryl Streep); and Charles begins to question whether he took too much from Sazz without ever giving enough back in return.

Outside of a few playful observations about the relationship between an actor and their stunt double, Only Murders‘ writers, directors, and performers don’t put too fine a point on any of its leads’ respective journeys this season. The series trusts in the strength of its actors and the well-drawn nature of their characters by letting their actions speak for themselves. That confidence allows Only Murders‘ fourth season to emerge as one of the show’s funniest, most moving, and tonally dynamic collection of episodes to date. The Hulu comedy’s murder-mystery formula may be familiar by this point, but it constantly finds new ways to test and have fun with its characters.

In addition to its new cast of Hollywood power players, Only Murders in the Building‘s fourth season also introduces the quirky residents of the Arconia’s West Tower, which include a Christmas-obsessed fitness influencer (Kumail Nanjiani) and an awkward recluse with a constant case of pink eye (Richard Kind). Other cameos are best left unspoiled, but as is always the case with the Hulu series, some of Only Murders‘ newest characters prove to be more compelling than others. Certain running gags similarly outstay their welcome, while others emerge as endless sources of worthwhile comedy. Altogether, they prove that the series’ greatest weakness remains its inability to narrow all of its many, often wacky ideas down to just its very best. One formally experimental late-season installment, for instance, seems initially to be an exciting shift in style and rhythm before ultimately turning out to be little more than a weightless stylistic exercise.

That’s not to say that Only Murders in the Building season 4 doesn’t fix some of its predecessors’ issues. After throwing a revolving door of boring, one-note love interests at her across its first three seasons, the series finally gives Gomez’s Mabel the chance to operate free of the burden of overwrought, undercooked romantic tension this year. Gomez’s performance, consequently, feels more present, energetic, and comfortable than it ever has before, and she doesn’t waste any of the opportunities that the season gives her to actually, fully bounce off Short and Martin’s antics. By tying Charles’ personal struggles directly to its newest mystery and cutting the unnecessary romantic baggage that previously dragged Mabel down, Only Murders is able to deliver a considerably leaner season than it has its past two years. Its newest episodes, consequently, feel both lighter on their feet and also packed with more genuinely impactful twists.

Whether Only Murders in the Building‘s new season is its best or sharpest can’t be determined solely by the seven episodes that were provided early to critics. But there are instances in which it feels like the show’s funniest season to date, and certainly its most thrilling. Never before has the series felt quite this propulsive. Its fourth season moves at a speed that seems designed to give its characters — particularly Martin’s Charles — whiplash, but the sensations it provides its audience aren’t ever jarring or unpleasant. On the contrary, it’s difficult to determine what is more impressive about Only Murders in the Building season 4. Is it that it proves that this already unlikely series is still capable of being as likable as ever? Or that it reveals that there even more shades of humor, drama, and tension still to be explored within its cozy, oddly dangerous world? Either way, Only Murders in the Building‘s latest return trip to the Arconia is well worth checking in for.

The Only Murders in the Building season 4 premiere is streaming now on Hulu. New episodes premiere weekly on Tuesdays. Digital Trends was given early access to the season’s first seven installments.