8 Highlights From Season 4 of ‘Only Murders in the Building’

Only Murders in the Building was one of those surprise shows that I hadn’t anticipated being a favorite, but enough people whose opinions I trusted were raving about and the combination of Selena Gomez with Steve Martin and Martin Short was sort of too unexpected not to look into. It quickly became a big hit in our house and with the fourth season wrapping up and a fifth season already greenlit, it’s the perfect time to look at the season’s highlights.

Warning: This article contains potential spoilers for the first four seasons of Only Murders in the Building.

The Arconia

This season promised to venture outside of the beloved apartment building that has the unfortunate tendency to be the site of numerous murders, but I’m glad that we didn’t completely leave it behind. The Arconia has always been a character in its own right with secrets aplenty, from the secret passages in season two to the Westies of this season. While the Westies may have been an eclectic collection of scene-stealing oddballs, the truth about them quickly felt like it would be less sinister and more red herring. The reveal that they were breaking rules by subletting their rent-controlled apartments as the last wish of Dudenoff, who had cast them as his beloved found family, was just another one of the building’s quirks. I think one of my favorite moments was our trio deciding to help keep that secret by not revealing it on their podcast, with my next favorite being when they provided a distraction to help save Mable.

Jane Lynch as Sazz

The saddest part of the season is perhaps that Sazz being the victim means that we won’t get any more of Jane Lynch appearing as Sazz, but at least her final act is going to be her greatest yet. Sazz was brilliant from revealing plot holes in the first season that led our trio to the Westies as suspects to actually being the writer behind the screenplay. Sazz was a star shining so bright she was doomed to burn out. The discovery that her killer was a frustrated screenwriter whom she had mentored as a stunt double was a hard kick in the teeth, especially when he tried to steal her screenplay. (We should have known that’s why he struggled so hard with the rewrites.) There’s an extra level of cleverness to the trio looking into Sazz, though. While other seasons reminded us that behind every sensational true crime story are real people who are horrifically impacted by the events, Sazz reminds us that stunt doubles have a physically hard job and the industry and fans are often unconcerned about the toll the job takes on them. 

The Hollywood Trio

Seeing who Hollywood might pick to play our beloved characters was a fun sort of adventure. Eva Longoria had her moments of trying to steamroll Mabel into letting her turn Mable into something she wasn’t, and it was interesting to see how those two played against each other. I loved Eugene Levy as the fictional Charles and how he kept thinking Charles was cooler and more confident than he actually was. Zach Galifianakis kind of grew on me. His usual stoner comedy-type movie is not my thing, but watching this annoying dance with Oliver was actually really delightful. I love the advice he gives Oliver on picking where he wants his wedding to be, and Oliver thinking he was “the kid from Home Alone” had me in hysterics. The meta moment where the trio watches them and realizes that the earlier versions of themselves had no idea that the murders would only keep stacking up was perfect.

 The Guest Star List

The guest star list is only getting better and better over time, and it’s always fun to see who shows up next. With the Westies including Richard Kind and Kumail Nanjiani to the Hollywood cast, there have been some great moments. Melissa McCarthy surprised me as Charles’s sister, as I’m so used to her being in movies that aren’t really my thing. I was also delighted at the return of Paul Rudd, this time playing the stunt double of his previous character. (He’s now the first actor to be killed twice in this show.) We were all glad to see Meryl Streep return as Loretta, of course. The whole Ron Howard gag as well as the payoff later when he actually did fondly remember Oliver was a season-stealing moment as well.

Mabel Takes Charge of Her Life

Mabel’s been in this in-between state of things, but she’s also slowly been taking control of her life again. She starts with squatting amongst the Westies, but she also gains a savviness about her future and what she can do for herself if she does sell her life rights. 

Oliver and Loretta

These two are a lot of fun together, and I am happy we get a chance to see their story return. As much as Oliver often flubs things up, he really does care about her. I love how his impending marriage creates a scene where we see how much his friendship means to Charles, and it really underscores why Martin and Short have done so many projects together over the years. It also led to one of their best friendship scenes as they went up on the ledge to save Mabel. I don’t think Oliver would have done it on his own, but Charles couldn’t have done it without him. Back to our lovebirds, it was so sweet to see their wedding including appearances from both of their sons (and Howard escorting Winnie). Oliver being given away by Mabel and Charles was perfect, and I love that Loretta realizes how much they mean to him.

Howard As a Regular

Michael Cyril Creighton was an absolute gift to fans, and while he and the trio seemed to dislike each other so much at first, I love where they are now. While I may have called it that his choice to bring a working dog around was going to reveal said dog was a cadaver dog that would react in Charles’s apartment, it also felt just so Howard at the same time. Don’t ever let this man be one of the victims or I think the fans will riot.

The Big Reveal for Next Season

I promised my teenager that I would acknowledge that he called it on Lester being the next victim. It does make a lot of sense because he had a very long history with the Arconia, so he’s had lots of opportunities to get wrapped up in some sort of intrigue. Add in that a missing mobster’s wife has approached them about her husband with vague comments about how the Arconia is certainly involved, and I already know we have something special to look forward to next season.