“Only Murders in the Building” Tackles Changing World by Staying the Same | TV/Streaming

Murder at the Arconia has become as seasonal as changing leaves and Pumpkin Spice Lattes, an annual comfort food as kids go back to school and the temperatures drop. The undeniably talented writers’ room on this Hulu hit understands the assignment, rarely straying much at all from a proven formula of high-powered guest stars and twisting mysteries. Since the successful launch of this clever blend of old-fashioned humor and podcast culture in 2021, celebrities have lined up to appear alongside Emmy nominees Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez. Whether murderer, victim, or suspect, everyone wants to be on “Only Murders in the Building” for a reason: it’s fun. It’s a clever show buoyed by the ridiculous timing of its legendary leads, two men who can make nearly any punchline sing.

If you’re of the camp that “OMITB” has worn out its welcome, the fifth season won’t dissuade you from that stance. In fact, it’s the first time that I felt like maybe it’s time to solve the final case. However, that sense of something growing stale is overtaken enough by the pure joy of spending time with Martin, Short, and Gomez. Call it a simple one. It’s that time of year.

The fifth season opens with the trio, once again, at carefully constructed crossroads. Oliver (Martin Short) has the most upheaval, planning to move in with his wife, Loretta (Meryl Streep), possibly even somewhere other than the Arconia. Mabel (Selena Gomez) no longer lives there but is around enough to make it seem like she does, even as she wonders if her favorite place is moving on. Charles (Steve Martin) seeks something to spark his final chapter, even joining dating apps to find a new partner.

Into this chaos drops the mystery of the murder that ended last season, when kindly doorman Lester (Teddy Coluca) ended up bloody in the courtyard fountain. Ruled an accident, the OMITB podcast hosts suspect otherwise after they find something upsetting in one of the leftover shrimp cocktails from Oliver’s wedding. Of course, that incident intersects with another guest star who started their arc at the end of season four in Sofia Caccimelio (Tea Leoni), who asks the gang to look for her missing husband, a local tough guy (Bobby Cannavale). How are the missing mobster and murdered doorman connected?

The season starts relatively slowly—even doing an extensive flashback episode on night one—but really takes off when a trio of billionaires enter the fray, played by Logan Lerman, Renée Zellweger, and Christoph Waltz. The double Oscar winner is clearly doing a bit of a riff on Mr. Musk, playing a foreign tech guru who can spy on every aspect of your life. The season’s social commentary comes through loud and clear in these AI-loving, overpowered characters, as well as an arc involving Lester being replaced by a robot named LESTR.

Like a lot of themes over the five seasons, the tech aspect of this year feels a little shallow, but it’s interesting to consider most in the context of two comedians who have been working together for over four decades. As they do wonderfully timed jokes that could be called “dad” against a backdrop of tech surveillance and talking robots, the best beats of the season obtain a meta commentary. In an era of A.I., will we even have comedians like Martin Short and Steve Martin?

Sadly, like last season, this year gets overcrowded quickly. I’ve only mentioned half the guest stars. Beanie Feldstein isn’t believable as an old friend of Mabel’s who is now a world-famous pop star, a character who exists purely to spark Mabel’s lack of self-confidence. (I will say this is one of Gomez’s best seasons, her timing sharper than ever. Da’Vine Joy Randolph is also an unsurprising MVP candidate.) Keegan-Michael Key is always great, but underutilized in the episodes sent to press. Ditto Jermaine Fowler as the new doorman, forced to compete with a robot for his job. Finally, there’s the wonderful Dianne Wiest as Lester’s widow, also pushed out by the crowd until more than halfway through the season. But there’s something magical about watching Oscar-winning legends Wiest and Streep bouncing off each other.

All of these people are great comic performers, and the truth is that’s often enough with “Only Murders in the Building.” Again, it’s comfort food, something that goes down easily through a blend of breakneck plotting—there’s a new twist every episode—and remarkable starpower. Could it be better? Sure. But sometimes, good enough will do.

Nine episodes screened for review. It returns to Hulu today, September 9^th.