One of my favourite comedy shows from the past few years is “Only Murders In The Building”, which tells the story of a murder in the Arconia building in New York City, resulting in three strangers who share an obsession with true crime and suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one.

In each season, we’ve seen the trio, Charles, Oliver & Mabel, tackling a different murder investigation as part of their podcast, with each season becoming more and more wilder, with plenty of guest stars, and the fourth season is no different, as we the show features many well-known names like Meryl Streep, Zach Galifianakis, Eugene Levy, Eva Longoria, Richard Kind, Jane Lynch, Melissa McCarthy, and Kumail Nanjiani.

In season four of “Only Murders in the Building,” Charles, Oliver & Mabel wrestle with the shocking events at the end of season three surrounding Charles’ stunt double & friend Sazz Pataki. Questioning whether Sazz or Charles was the intended victim, our trio’s investigation leads them all the way to Los Angeles, where a Hollywood studio is readying a film about the Only Murders podcast. As our amateur sleuths race back to New York, they embark on an even more epic journey – traversing their building’s courtyard to delve into the twisted lives of the Arconia’s West Tower residents.

In the first episode, Charles, Oliver and Mabel are whisked to Los Angeles,  as Paramount wants to turn their popular podcast into a movie.  We get to see the trio deal with this situation very differently, as both Charles and Oliver are used to working in showbiz, while Mabel struggles with the idea, since she’s not happy with how the film would portray her, reflecting how she feels like a failure.

It was rather refreshing to see this first episode allow the characters to be a little more free and upbeat, since they aren’t investigating a murder and having a bit of fun.  Throughout the episode, we get little clues about the murder, which, again, I really enjoyed since they don’t actually know there has been a death yet.

Once again, Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez are just fantastic together; it’s so weird how this dynamic works, especially as the idea of Mabel being friends with these two old guys seems weird (and maybe seen as a little bit creepy!).

There are plenty of funny moments in this episode since it often feels more like a drama, with a sprinkling of comedy thrown in, mainly from Martin Short!  With a lack of comedies, it’s great to see this show clicking with audiences, since it’s rare that this gets a fourth season nowadays.

Overall:  Season four kicks off in high spirits, and for fans of the show, it’s gonna feel like slipping back into your favourite shoes, as it’s still just comforting and certainly a highlight of the week for Hulu/Disney+ subscribers.  It was a delightful episode, and I can’t wait to see where the story heads off.   The introduction of the Hollywood angle makes it feel a little different from the previous seasons, much like last year’s season, which introduced a Broadway musical element, but it also makes it feel much further away from that more grounded first season, since it’s literally a who’s who of guest stars since the show’s become such a success.

Rating – 4 Out Of 5

The first three seasons of “Only Murders In The Building” are available to stream now on Hulu and Hulu On Disney+ in the United States and on Disney+ around the world.  The fourth season premieres on Tuesday 27th August 2024, with a new episode being released each week.

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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