Only Murders in the Building Season 4 Review: The Trio Takes on Hollywood

Only Murders in the Building Season 4 takes the show’s beloved trio out of the Arconia and into the world of Hollywood, where their hit true-crime podcast is being adapted into a movie. The fish-out-of-water premise gives Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez fresh material to play with, and while the season does not quite match the tight mystery plotting of Season 1, it is consistently funny, surprisingly touching, and packed with guest stars who are clearly having the time of their lives.

How We Reviewed: This assessment reflects viewing all available episodes before publishing and comparison with the show’s prior seasons and genre benchmarks. Ratings reflect full-season viewing, critical analysis, and production quality assessment. Brands featured did not pay for or influence their inclusion.

The Hollywood Setting

The inciting incident is the murder of Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch), Charles’s longtime stunt double, whose death at the end of Season 3 sends the trio to Los Angeles to investigate while simultaneously consulting on the film adaptation of their podcast. The Hollywood setting allows the show to satirize the entertainment industry with affectionate precision — the ego-driven directors, the sycophantic producers, the actors who do too much “research” for their roles.

Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, and Eva Longoria play the actors cast as Charles, Oliver, and Mabel in the movie-within-the-show, and their interactions with their real-life counterparts produce the season’s biggest laughs. Levy’s understated take on Charles-playing-Charles is a particular joy, and his chemistry with Martin feels genuinely warm.

The Mystery

The central whodunit is engaging if not the series’s best. The pool of suspects includes various Hollywood figures with connections to both Sazz and the Arconia, and the investigation takes the trio through sound stages, wrap parties, and the kind of exclusive Los Angeles spaces that provide excellent backdrops for comic set pieces.

The mystery functions best as a vehicle for character development. Charles confronts his fading relevance in an industry that has moved on. Oliver grapples with the gap between his artistic ambitions and commercial reality. Mabel begins to chart a path beyond the podcast, questioning whether her identity has become too intertwined with investigating death. These character threads give the season emotional weight that the mystery alone would not provide.

The Ensemble

Martin Short continues to be the show’s comic engine. His Oliver Putnam is a character of boundless optimism and equally boundless delusion, and Short plays both with a precision that makes even throwaway lines land. His performance in a mid-season episode involving a Hollywood party is a masterclass in physical comedy.

Selena Gomez’s Mabel has grown significantly across four seasons. She brings a grounded intelligence to the role that anchors the show’s more outlandish moments, and her dramatic scenes this season — particularly around questions of identity and purpose — are her best work in the series.

Steve Martin plays Charles with the deadpan mastery he has honed over decades. The character’s insecurities about aging and irrelevance feel personal in the best way, and Martin mines them for both comedy and genuine pathos.

Guest Stars

Season 4 is loaded with guest appearances — Melissa McCarthy, Kumail Nanjiani, and Richard Kind among them — and the show deploys them with skill. Unlike some guest-star-heavy shows where famous faces feel like distractions, OMITB integrates its visitors into the story in ways that serve both comedy and plot.

Verdict

Only Murders in the Building Season 4 is a delightful continuation of one of television’s most charming shows. The Hollywood setting provides fresh energy, the core trio remains irresistible, and the show’s blend of comedy, mystery, and heart continues to distinguish it from everything else on streaming. It is comfort viewing of the highest order.

Rating: 8/10

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