(L to R) Selena Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 5. Photo: Disney/Patrick Harbron.
Launching on Hulu on September 9th with the first three episodes (seven more debut once weekly), ‘Only Murders in the Building’ returns for a fifth season of mysterious death, quirky characters and, this time at least, the intersection of old mob ways with New York’s modern powerbrokers.
Steve Martin in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 5. Photo: Disney/Patrick Harbron.
For the last few years, ‘Only Murders in the Building’ has been a reliable provider of murder mystery mixed with the vaudeville comedy of Steve Martin and Martin Short, plus a side of eye-rolling millennial reactions from Selena Gomez. The combination has worked extremely well, providing confounding cases and lots of laughs.
The question is, however, does the fifth season do enough to differentiate itself from what has gone before, or should we be happy that we’re getting more of the same if it’s still entertaining?
Script and Direction
Renée Zellweger in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 5. Photo: Disney/Patrick Harbron.
There remains a lot to like about ‘Only Murders’ –– the scripts remain witty and the central mystery thorny –– in this case, the death of longtime doorman Lester (Teddy Coluca).
Yet there are some problems with the season this time around –– it’s just not as fresh as it usually feels. The new characters are fine, but compared to previous examples of guest casting, they just don’t have the same amount of zing.
The show’s direction remains on point –– but with the focus on the Arconia once more (even given some new locations discovered), there’s only so much you can do to keep it interesting.
Cast and Performances
Christoph Waltz in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 5. Photo: Disney/Patrick Harbron.
Martin, Short and Gomez are still great in the lead roles; the issue is that much of what they get to do here is a variation on previous work.
Naturally, Martin has some funny physical business, Short gets to be extra in all ways, and Gomez is still the best at a blend of vulnerability and heart, plus her ability to side-eye her older companions.
Of the new faces this year, Logan Lerman makes the most impact as a young billionaire, while the likes of Christoph Waltz and Renée Zellweger don’t get as much to, but have fun with their roles.
Final Thoughts
(L to R) Selena Gomez and Logan Lerman in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 5. Photo: Disney/Patrick Harbron.
‘Only Murders in the Building’ is definitely starting to show its age –– the concept only has so much flexibility in it.
It’s still a very fun show to watch, but its best days may now be behind it.
‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 5 receives 65 out of 100.
Tea Leoni in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 5. Photo: Disney/Patrick Harbron.
What’s the plot of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 5?
After their beloved doorman, Lester (Teddy Coluca), dies under suspicious circumstances, Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short), and Mabel (Selena Gomez) refuse to believe it was an accident. Their investigation plunges them into the shadowy corners of New York and beyond — where the trio uncovers a dangerous web of secrets connecting powerful billionaires, old-school mobsters, and the mysterious residents of the Arconia.
The trio discovers a deeper divide between their storied city they thought they knew and the new New York evolving around them — one where the old mob fights to hold on as newer, even more dangerous players emerge.
Who stars in ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 5?
No, don’t do a double-take: this does not mean they’ll be getting steamy in a remake of the pulpy 1998 thriller that saw Neve Campbell and Denise Richards as sultry students.
Instead, the actors are attached to play Vegas legends Siegfried and Roy, the flamboyant famous performers known for big-scale magic tricks and the inclusion of animals in their shows –– hence the name of the new series, ‘Wild Things.’
(L to R) Roy Horn and Siegfried Fischbacher in ‘Siegfried and Roy – Superstars Of Magic’. Photo: NBC.
Not to sound morbid, but it’s more apt to say who were Siegfried and Roy.
Siegfried Fischbacher (who died in 2021) and Roy Horn (born Uwe Ludwig Horn, who passed in 2020) were German-American entertainers who performed an animal-based magic show together as Siegfried & Roy.
They met in 1959 while both were working on a cruise ship and then began to perform together on ships and in European clubs and theaters.
In 1967, they were invited to begin performing in Las Vegas. Starting in 1990, they headlined a show at hotel and casino The Mirage. Romantic partners as well as professional, they become best known for their flamboyant, Liberace-style costumes and use of white lions and tigers in their acts; Siegfried was the magician, Roy the animal trainer.
By 1999, the show had grossed $500 million and they were the highest-paid entertainers in Las Vegas. After 5,750 performances, their career ended in 2003 when Horn was critically injured by a tiger during a performance.
Horn died from COVID-19 and Fischbacher passed from complications pancreatic cancer.
What’s the story of ‘Wild Things’?
(L to R) Tina Fey and Director John Hoffman on the set of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ season 2. Photo: Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu.
Written, showrun and executive produced by John Hoffman (‘Only Murders in the Building’), the eight-episode, hour-long series tells the wild ride relationship tale of two of the greatest showman-magicians in history who, along with their white tigers, are tasked with turning Sin City into a family-friendly destination.
The duo push the concept of illusion versus reality to the extreme, personally and professionally, until tragedy reframes and opens a mystery surrounding their last fateful Las Vegas show.
Law will star as Siegfried and Garfield will star as Roy, and the series is set to go into production this fall.
‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ director and executive producer Matt Shakman. Photo: Apple TV+.
This new show is drawn from Apple Original Podcast ‘Wild Things: Siegfried & Roy,’ which premiered in 2022, and was the first, compelling in-depth podcast series about the most famous, controversial magicians in history, who were widely misunderstood, frequently satirized and feverishly criticized.
The podcast goes behind the velvet curtain to examine the pop culture icons, lionized by a global fan base for more than 40 years, to deconstruct the illusions they created, the empire they constructed, and what really happened on the night that a tiger attack ended their reign.
Documentary filmmaker Steven Leckart, who wrote, narrated, and executive produced the podcast, will also produce the series alongside Tony Leondis, Kathy Ciric and Will Malnati, who conceived the original podcast.
On the big screen, his last couple of acting gigs included ‘Firebrand’ (in which played Henry VIII) and ‘The Order,’ which saw him as a grizzled FBI agent looking to take down white supremacists who have begun robbing banks.
Upcoming, he has Ron Howard’s thriller ‘Eden,’ which follows a group of people fueled by a profound desire for change. In order to turn their back to society they leave everything behind and set their futures on the harsh landscape of the Galapagos.
‘Eden’ will be in theaters on August 22nd.
He’s also worked on ‘Black Rabbit’ opposite Jason Bateman, with the pair playing siblings who clash over a New York hotspot. That’ll arrive via Netflix but has yet to land a date.
Likewise movie ‘The Wizard of the Kremlin,’ focusing on a young Russian filmmaker who becomes an unlikely advisor to Vladimir Putin as he rises to power in post-Soviet Russia, navigating the new era’s complexities and chaos. Law plays Putin.
What else is Andrew Garfield up to?
Andrew Garfield in ‘We Live in Time’. Photo: StudioCanal.
Next up for the actor in terms of release is Luca Guadagnino’s latest, ‘After the Hunt,’ featuring Julia Roberts as a college professor who finds herself at a personal and professional crossroads when a star pupil levels an accusation against one of her colleagues and a dark secret from her own past threatens to come to light.
The movie is due in theaters on October 17th.
In addition to that, Garfield has worked on a new movie adaptation of Edith Blyton’s children’s classic ‘The Magic Faraway Tree,’ about a modern family who relocate to the countryside where the children discover a magical tree with eccentric residents.
That one is awaiting a release date.
When will ‘Wild Things’ land on Apple TV+?
Apple has yet to specify when the new limited series will land on its streaming service.
Kumail Nanjiani in ‘The Big Sick.’ Photo: Amazon Studios.
Preview:
Kumail Nanjiani is the latest addition to ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 4.
The series stars Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez.
Season 4 has just started shooting.
If there’s one thing that ‘Only Murders in the Building’ is known for despite its confounding, twisty murder mysteries, it’s the starry main and guest cast it is always able to attract.
Anchored by a crime-solving trio of amateur sleuth podcasters played by Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez. The three are more normally found solving –– and occasionally being falsely implicated in –– murders at the swanky Arconia apartment building in New York where they all live.
What’s the story of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 4?
(L to R) Charles (Steve Martin), Mabel (Selena Gomez) and Oliver (Martin Short) on Hulu’s ‘Only Murders In The Building’. Photo: Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu.
Most details of the plot for the fourth season are themselves a mystery right now, though in keeping with the show’s tradition, the main crime was set up at the end of the third season.
In the finale of the last batch of episodes, we’re re-introduced to Sazz (Jane Lynch) the longtime friend and former stunt double of TV actor Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin).
Sazz warns Charles that she has to talk to him privately, and while she’s waiting in his apartment, she is fatally shot by someone who presumably thought they were murdering Charles. Cue the dramatic sting!
As they try to figure out what Sazz was mixed up in, Season 4 will see our heroes headed to Los Angeles.
Here’s what show co-creator and executive producer John Hoffman told Us Weekly about the new season:
“It is something we haven’t done before. So I’m excited about that. The joy of working on the show is rare and I think everyone working on the show knows that’s rare. So the instinct and inclination is that there’s room here — certainly in what we’re looking at and thinking about for season 4 — to explore something new.”
Who are the new guest stars playing in ‘Only Murders in the Building’?
Meryl Streep as Loretta in Hulu’s ‘Only Murders in the Building.’ Photo by: Patrick Harbron/Hulu.
So far, all we know is that the newcomers will be integral to the story for the new season, but beyond that, only Molly Shannon’s character has been revealed: she’s playing a high-powered Los Angeles businesswoman who gets drawn into the mystery.
Alongside the new faces, Meryl Streep will return as actor Loretta Durkin, who formed a love connection with Martin Short’s Oliver Putnam in Season 3.
Has ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 4 started shooting?
Since you ask, yes! The cameras started filming a few days ago, with Steve Martin posting a picture of himself, Short and Gomez relaxing in chairs on set.
When will ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 4 be on screens?
Given that it has only just kicked off filming, we won’t expect the show to return until later in the year at the earliest. If it keeps to previous season premiere dates, it may well launch in August.
(L to R) Selena Gomez as Mabel, Martin Short as Oliver and Steve Martin as Charles in Hulu’s ‘Only Murders in the Building.’ Photo: Patrick Harbron/Hulu.
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Premiering August 8th on Hulu is the third season of the popular series ‘Only Murders in the Building,’ which was co-created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman, and nominated for 12 Emmys including Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series at the upcoming ceremony that is scheduled to take place on January 15th, 2024.
(L to R) Selena Gomez, Shirley MacLaine, Director John Hoffman, Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Amy Schumer on the set of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ season 2. Photo: Barbara Nitke/Hulu.
SOME SPOILERS FOR ‘ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING’ SEASON 1 AND 2 BELOW!
‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 1 and 2 Recap
(L to R) Charles (Steve Martin), Mabel (Selena Gomez) and Oliver (Martin Short) on Hulu’s ‘Only Murders In The Building’. Photo: Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu.
The series follows three amateur sleuths –– actor Charles-Haden Savage (Martin), who spent years on a low-rent police show and still dines out on his minor fame, down-on-his-luck, flamboyant theatre director Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez), a young artist whose life suddenly becomes intertwined with Charles and Oliver’s when a former friend and fellow resident of grand New York apartment building the Arconia is found murdered.
The three also bond over their shared love of a true crime podcast called ‘All is not OK in Oklahoma’, and quickly decide to launch their own as they dig into the truth behind Tim’s death. As they work their way through the suspects (including the variety of quirky occupants of the building), they learn that the real killer is Jan (Amy Ryan), a musician who Charles has been dating.
Season 1 ends with cranky building head chief Bunny Folger (Jayne Houdyshell) dead in Mabel’s apartment, with Mabel framed for her murder. The second season is dedicated to Charles, Oliver and Mabel figuring out what really happened with Bunny, and how a mysterious painting factors in.
It also features more from Cinda Canning (Tina Fey), the driven, arrogant creator of ‘All Is Not OK in Oklahoma’ as she seeks to find a compelling follow-up to her hit series. Our heroes initially think that Cinda, and then artist Alice Banks (Cara Delevingne), whom Mabel briefly dated, might be the killer, but it is revealed to be Cinda’s overworked assistant Poppy White (Adina Version), who was actually the not-so-dead subject matter of ‘All is not OK’ and yearns to have a podcast of her own.
What is the plot of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 3?
(L to R) Paul Rudd as Ben in season 3 of ‘Only Murders in the Building.’ Photo by: Patrick Harbron/Hulu.
At the end of Season 2, we jump a year forward, to the opening night of Oliver’s new play, ‘Death Rattle’. Its leading man, the annoying, smug Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd), who clearly has no love for Charles, also starring in the production, collapses dead on stage.
It’s revealed later in the initial episode that Ben is not actually dead but had a medical condition, and he promises to be a changed man, ready to make amends for his bad behavior during the play’s initial stages. He doesn’t get long to do that, though, as he’s pushed into an elevator shaft at the Arconia, landing on the car containing Charles, Oliver and Mabel. And so, another murder mystery is set in motion. Season 3 will also feature Oscar-winner Meryl Streep as Loretta Durkin, a struggling actress and Oliver’s love interest, who plays a small role in his Broadway show.
Meryl Streep as Loretta in Hulu’s ‘Only Murders in the Building.’ Photo by: Patrick Harbron/Hulu.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with director, executive producer and series co-creator John Hoffman about his Emmy nominated work on season 2 of ‘Only Murders in the Building,’ creating the series with Steve Martin, setting up the mysteries, lessons he’s learned between seasons, improvisation on set, the lead actors’ chemistry, the show’s attraction to big name guest stars, and a little tease of season 3.
(L to R) Tina Fey and Director John Hoffman on the set of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ season 2. Photo: Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interview.
Moviefone: To begin with, congratulations on the show’s 12 Emmy nominations for season 2. How does it feel to get so much Emmy love?
John Hoffman: I’m feeling very good, honored, relieved, all of the above. It’s been quite a ride with this show and the fact that for season two, dropping a year after our first season aired, to be recognized in this group of incredible shows, it’s rare air. So I am thrilled.
MF: Season 3 begins on August 8th, are you excited for fans to see the next chapter?
JH: I’m very excited for people to see what’s coming. We’ve got a good back half too. I promise you.
Steve Martin as Charles in season 3 of ‘Only Murders in the Building.’ Photo: Patrick Harbron/Hulu.
MF: Can you talk about creating the series with Steve Martin? Was it always designed to be a comedic murder mystery?
JH: It began from the plucky mind of Steve Martin, and it was very much his notion. He’s a real fan and has a real interest in the world of crime and mystery, unfolding and getting underneath it and watching the reveals that happen around a case. So he’s a fan of that work. Then on top of it, he is a comedic genius. So that person held it all and very sweetly along with Dan Fogelman and Jess Rosenthal’s introduction, brought me into the fold of that. I was looking at it in a way of, once Steve said, “I would love Marty to be in this with me,” then I was hoping we could do something that felt like classic meets modern. You’ve got these two classic comedians with this very modern young woman in New York where that constantly feels like a theme and then it let the comedic and the mystery unfold in a fresh way. I think we got very fortunate and we worked really hard, but the goal is always to make it look as effortless as possible but behind the scenes it’s quite a challenge to pull this sucker off.
MF: The end of the first season sets up the mystery for season 2. How much of the second season’s mystery was set in place when you introduced it at the end of the first season?
JH: Great question. They’re very tied in. As you’ve seen from the beginning of season three, we take a bit of a leap away, but those first and second seasons are more tied in than maybe evident from the beginning of season two, for sure. Going to the very notion that by episodes 9 and 10, you’re realizing, “Oh my God, the central person responsible ultimately in season 2 was present and was the actual person involved in the podcast and in the case of the podcast that first drew our trio together in episode one of season 1. So, that developed along the way, but it was also kind of in the back of my mind, at least as far as those ties that could happen that felt very exciting. But it was very challenging to thread that and not give it away and not let it be revealed. So that all was very exciting to do, but very in its own classic mystery way, a dance of mini balls in the air with character arcs and the personal relationship of this trio and the discoveries that have to happen. The comedic premises, you then have to create all in the while keeping a thrust of this mystery story that everyone’s hooked into.
(L to R) Selena Gomez, Martin Short and Steve Martin in Hulu’s ‘Only Murders In The Building’ season 2. Photo: Patrick Harbron/Hulu.
MF: As a director and executive producer, what were the biggest lessons you learned between seasons working on this show?
JH: How valuable everyone else is. I have to say that in this moment too, as I speak to you as a producer of this marvelous experience and show, that I am in great solidarity and recognizing every minute of the value of the collaboration between actors and writers specifically that make everything about this show and make me stand in full solidarity with fairness for all of them right now in this very challenging moment in our business. But that is really it. To be the person who has to answer all the questions along the way for story, for actors, for everyone else, is very comforting oddly for me. I like being that person. But you have to be very careful with everything. But then to be able to feel the luxury of opening up to brilliant artists around you who have much better ideas than you do, and to be able to say, “Oh, wait a minute. Stop the train. We’re going here because of this fantastic idea.” There’s nothing like it. This show is just a magnet for talent. So, who’s coming in next door? Everyone feels this urgency behind the scenes to step it up for this incredible collection of actors that are on the show. But it’s also the great opportunity to work with people who make everything better.
MF: Obviously, the first season was a huge success. What were the big challenges going into season two to repeat that success?
JH: That sits in your head in a way that I wasn’t as much expecting or thinking about because I get very deep down in a story that I would like to tell. So I try and push aside everything else that way, but there’s no way for it not to emanate through. Certainly within our writer’s room, it was one of those moments of like, “Wait, they’re saying what over there? Who said what? Who wrote what?” That does inform, it can’t help it. It is part of the collaboration with the audience we have too. When you’re doing a mystery, you want to feel what they’re thinking a little bit and maybe undercut that, swerve away from it or lean right into it. So, that’s very nice to have that inclusivity for both audience and creators on this one.
(L to R) Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez in Hulu’s ‘Only Murders In The Building’ season 2. Photo: Patrick Harbron/Hulu.
MF: Steve Martin and Martin Short are comedy legends, but what is surprising about the series is how organically Selena Gomez fits with their chemistry. Was that a pleasant surprise for you and is there room for improvisation on set? Do they come in with their own ideas, or stick to the scripts?
JH: All three of them, I want to leave them completely unbridled to say and do whatever they want to say. Yet, I’ve recognized also that they have great comfort in these wonderful scripts that our writers work very hard on. There’s great trust and generosity from them. As I say, there’s great comfort too in knowing and recognizing the good fortune of having two geniuses and a very specific modern young woman, is that you hear their voices very distinctly and the way in which they can play is built into these characters that they are perfect for, comedically and dramatically. The fact that they’re so facile, it can go so many different ways, and gives us great leeway to really hone scenes, episodes and seasons that favor what they do best. So when they are with the material, they really stick to it in a larger way. I think they would say the same thing. More than that, it’s just about elevating all of it in the way that only they can do.
MF: Finally, the show has become a magnet for very famous performers who want to guest star, Meryl Streep appears in season 3, for example. Season 2 featured Shirley MacLaine, Cara Delevingne, Tina Fey, Andrea Martin, and Paul Rudd, some of who carry over to season 3. Has there been an effort to get the biggest names possible to guest star, or has that just happened organically?
JH: Yes. The simple answer is yes. To have Shirley MacLaine in the middle of a pandemic come out of her home in New Mexico to say, “I want to come play in the landscape of New York City with this great cast of characters,” was an honor to everyone. The minute she stepped on set, the whole temperature changed. She just was absolutely brilliant. You realize the air you’re in, but also it makes you step up to live up to these people. Cara was fantastic and a friend of Selena’s for a long time and was so sharp, witty, intuitive and also a lovely person. She fit perfectly into the world, and that went on and on. Andrea Martin is a comedic genius as well, and knows Marty and knows Steve and seamlessly fits in as well. So, it’s about being strong with what the show is and hoping that people recognize the tone and how they might work in it, and then watching them just create magic is incredible. Then that leaps off into the opportunities that come from a season 3 cast, which is, I don’t know, the greatest of any half hour comedy in history? I’m going to put it up there. I’m not going to lie, I can’t believe it.
(L to R) Director John Hoffman and Shirley MacLaine on the set of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ season 2. Photo: Barbara Nitke/Hulu.
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