Great interaction, quick gags and many prominent guest stars: That is the recipe for success of the streaming series “Only Murders in the Building”. Season four of the charming crime comedy is now starting.
The murders in the elegant “Aconia” skyscraper on New York’s Upper West Side just don’t stop: “Only Murders in the Building” is coming back with season four. The mix of comedy and crime series not only appeals to streaming viewers (in Germany on Disney+), but also continues to attract many Hollywood celebrities.
Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd were already part of the ensemble in the previous season, and the new season (from August 27th) will see Eva Longoria (“Desperate Housewives”), Zach Galifianakis (“Hangover”) and Eugene Levy (“Schitt’s Creek”) join the cast. The three actors play themselves: As actors, they take on the roles of the three presenters in a Hollywood film adaptation of the podcast that is at the center of the plot.
Who shot the stuntwoman?
As a reminder for all amateur detectives: “Only Murders in the Building” focuses on former TV detective Charles Haden-Savage (Steve Martin), chronically unsuccessful Broadway director Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) and young artist Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez). Three neighbors who live in the same luxury apartment building in New York and believe it was murder after the death of another resident. They decide to start a true crime podcast and find the real culprit. They quickly become the targets of the perpetrators and investigators themselves.
Revelations, twists and precise gags alternate quickly. The idea has already been extended twice with new seasons. The charming mixture of crime plot and showbiz satire has always been able to rely on masterful actors who clearly harmonize with one another – the timing and chemistry between them is just right here.
Season three also ended with a death. This time it was Sazz (Jane Lynch, “Glee”), who worked as Charles’ stunt double in the sedate crime series he starred in. In the last episode, viewers saw her being shot and writing something on the ground with her blood. It is unclear what exactly she wanted to say, or whether the perpetrators may have been after the original Charles but caught the double.
Answers to these questions are now sought in ten episodes published weekly. The show also jumps from the east coast to Los Angeles at times, as Charles, Oliver and Mabel are to accompany the film adaptation of their podcast success there.
“Only Murders in the Building” has always worked cleverly with such nested film-within-a-film mechanisms, and this is no different here. The success of season four is also due to the fact that little has been changed to the basic recipe: the humor remains sharp, fast and full of allusions. An example: When Putnam first meets Galifianakis, who is playing himself and is supposed to embody him in the film adaptation of the podcast, he bursts out: “Are you the boy from ‘Home Alone’? What have they done to you?” It would be hard to greet one of Hollywood’s biggest comedy stars in a more ignorant way.
It’s quite likely that the new season will not only increase the fame of the characters in the show in Hollywood. In real life, “Only Murders” is also well-received and has been loved by critics for years. The show has won four Primetime Emmys so far, and the series has been nominated 21 times for this year’s awards ceremony on September 15th.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
