The FX/Hulu murder mystery series Only Murders in the Building will debut its fifth season this week, tackling one more murder in the Arconia. The previous season saw the lead trio, played by Martin Short, Selena Gomez, and Steve Martin, investigate the murder of Jane Lynch’s Sazz Pataki, which put Gomez’s Mabel in life-threatening danger.
The season 4 finale saw the murderer Rex Bailey a.k.a. Marshall P. Pope kidnap Mabel and hold her hostage after she figured out that he stole Sazz’s script and killed her. While she is held at gunpoint by Rex, who details why he killed Sazz, she is ultimately saved by Charles and Oliver, who walk along the ledge and drop by to the West Wing.
Only Murders in the Building’s Season 4 Finale Continued the Show’s Tradition
As the name suggests, Only Murders in the Building follows a trio of residents who are obsessed with true crime podcasts, do one of their own as they solve the murders that occur in their building, the Arconia, in New York. Each season sees the trio, Mabel, Oliver Putnam, and Charles-Haden Savage, solve a murder and record their podcast.
In season 4, the trio investigated the murder of Charles’ former stunt double, Sazz Pataki, played by Jane Lynch, who was shown to be shot through the window at the end of season 3. While the investigation took the trio in various directions, including an amazing cinema verité documentary episode, it ended with someone familiar being the killer.
After proving that Rex Bailey, who posed as the writer of the ‘Only Murders in the Building’ movie adaptation, killed Sazz after stealing the same script, the trio attends Oliver’s wedding to Loretta in the Arconia. As they spend the last few minutes of togetherness in the Arconia, they find the dead body of their doorman, Lester, drowned in the water fountain.
This is in line with the general style of the show, with each season’s finale setting up the central mystery of the next one. The season 4 finale also introduced Bobby Cannavale and Téa Leoni’s Nicky and Sofia Caccimelio, who are associated with the mob. The next season will focus on Lester’s murder.
Martin Short Weighs in on Only Murders in the Building Season 5 Being Its Last
For the past five seasons, Only Murders in the Building has been going strong, dropping a new season each year and raking in the numbers. With a stacked cast, which includes the likes of Meryl Streep, Paul Rudd, Christoph Waltz, Logan Lerman, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and more, the show has been quite popular among murder mystery fans.
However, all things must come to an end, and while there has been no confirmation on whether the show will come back for a sixth season, this seems to be one of the final moments for the series. Martin Short, who plays Oliver Putnam, said that it was a miracle for them to last so long, especially with streamers axing shows (via Variety).
I think that the reality is, you know, when it feels like it’s past its time. I think everyone’s amazed that it’s gone this long. This is a long time in streaming to go five years. ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show’ ended after five years, because one of the reasons was that they were afraid of losing the quality of it. But then, ‘Friends’ went how long, and they were always brilliant.
Short’s statement seems to indicate that the future of the series is entirely in the hands of its creators and not the studio or the numbers. The show has been facing some decline in reception after its second season, and if season 5 is not a comeback, it might be the end of the show.
Do you think season 5 will be the last of Only Murders in the Building? Comment below.
Only Murders in the Building is available to stream on Hulu.
