The funniest and most unlikely trio of amateur sleuths return in Season 5 of Only Murders In The Building, the much-loved, award-winning crime-cum-comedy show. After four great seasons in which stars like Meryl Streep, Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Eva Longoria, Shirley Maclaine and others appeared, the first three episodes of the series that are on JioHotstar (new episodes will drop every Tuesday), seem to be more violent than humorous.
Set in a classy New York apartment building, the Arconia, the show teams Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), Oliver Putnam (Martin Short), and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez), who, after a murder in their building in the first season, started a podcast that became popular. The building is populated by a bunch of oddballs, including the former TV star Charles still basking in lost glory and failed theatre director, Oliver.
The last season ended with the body of the Arconia’s old doorman, Lester (Teddy Coluca)– found dead after Oliver’s wedding to Loretta (Streep). In the leftover food, a cut finger is discovered, which drives the three friends into a tizzy. Then they are approached by a mob wife, Sophia Caccimelio (Tea Leoni), to find her missing husband Nick (Bobby Cannavale). Charles turns her down saying that they only solve murders in their own building. But the missing finger does lead them to ‘Godfather House’ where they meet a bunch of rambunctious Italian men, who want to start a podcast because mob work is no longer lucrative.
The missing gangster turns up dead in a laundry, and in a really grisly episode, the three perform an autopsy on him and then dump him back in the laundry, with the corpse keeping up a running commentary. In earlier episodes the sleuthing trio has found hidden passages in the Arconia; in this season, Charles and Mabel find a glittering secret gambling den under the building, and in the third episode, three billionaires played by Renée Zellweger, Christoph Waltz and Logan Lerman are introduced. The mystery of the finger is solved, before three are thrown into a storm of strange goings on.
Even with some hiccups, Only Murders in the Building Season 5 is a delightful continuation of the series’ winning blend of mystery, humor, engaging characters and also genuine emotions. Like when in an earlier episode, Charles’s stunt double and friend, Saz, died, viewers felt his loss too. Oliver’s attempts to revive his career are also tragicomic. More than the mysteries to be solved, the show is about the power of friendship, that keeps these three lonely people bound together. Which is why the show is as heartwarming as it is enjoyable, and has a loyal fan following, waiting for the next season, the new episode.
Only Murders in the Building Season 5
Created by John Hoffman, Steve Martin
Cast: Martin Short, Steve Martin, Selena Gomez
On JioHotstar
