After ending the second season on another murderous cliffhanger, Only Murders In The Building shows no sign of losing its charm three seasons in.
★★★★☆
Its most recent third season is more stellar than its predecessor, benefitting from a more straightforward and less knotty mystery. The theatrical backdrop of Oliver’s (Martin Short) new play-turned-musical and excellent guest stars like Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd confirm it. With a fourth season of the show recently announced, it seems like the Arconia’s body count is showing no sign of slowing down anytime soon.
We ended the second season of Only Murders In The Building on the opening night of Oliver’s new play ‘Death Rattle’, with star Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd) collapsing on stage, seemingly dead. Season three quickly picks up where season two left off, with Ben collapsing on stage. Though in typical shock-worthy OMITB fashion, he isn’t actually dead. No, Ben returns alive for the show’s opening night party at Oliver’s apartment, only to then be pushed down an elevator shaft at the Arconia (the titular building itself). Almost landing on Charles (Steve Martin), Mabel (Selena Gomez) and Oliver, Ben’s death in their infamous apartment building gives them the opportunity to investigate this murder. Each season has followed a similar framework, revolving around a murder mystery in their apartment building which they go on to solve, all whilst documenting their progress via a podcast. After all, the characters met through their shared love of true crime podcasts.
Whilst the main trio are always core to proceedings, each season thus far has had one of them as the central character in the mystery: season one saw Mabel as the central focus as the friend of the victim, whereas season two focuses on Charles and his personal troubles (specifically, reuniting with his ex-girlfriend’s daughter Lucy, whom he hadn’t seen since their painful breakup). This third season is most definitely Oliver’s season, and Martin Short absolutely shines. Throughout his three seasons as Oliver, he is fabulously funny, but this newest season gives him a bit more meat to work with, and he delivers some truly heart-breaking moments as Oliver goes to desperate lengths to ensure that his big Broadway comeback actually makes it to the stage. In the wrong hands, Oliver could easily become a villain and this season does lean into his more callous tendencies, but Short is always quick to remind us of the vulnerability that lies beneath his bravado.
Mabel’s arc this season is one that will be relatable to many in their twenties and thirties. She struggles to figure out what she wants to do with her life, and feels increasingly more unmoored as Charles and Oliver are focused on the show (which Charles also stars in), rather than their podcast and solving the mystery of Ben’s death. In a season full of theatrics, it’s Mabel’s storyline that feels the most grounded and Selena Gomez’ performance brings out a new side to Mabel. In previous seasons, she’s full of sardonic wit and confidence, and though still present traits in season three, this time around Mabel is more vulnerable, lonely and full of self-doubt. Gomez is able to peel back the outer layer of confidence to show us these other layers underneath beautifully. An early highlight of Gomez’ performance comes in the second episode where Mabel has a conversation with a vision of Ben. She confesses her lack of direction and doubts where her life is going. It’s a very touching moment between Selena Gomez and Paul Rudd, making it a shame that they don’t get more moments on screen together because they have a lovely chemistry and a great rapport.
However, sadly Charles goes underutilised this season. Steve Martin delivers a fantastic performance as usual, and his final performance of the patter song ‘Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?’ (which torments Charles throughout the season) is truly a standout moment. However, Martin just isn’t given a whole lot of material to work with in this latest season, with his storylines largely focusing on his romantic problems and his struggles with performing this one big song for the show. It’s a shame really, because when it comes to the main trio, Martin unarguably has the best comic chops, as seen in films such as Father of The Bride.
Aside from the main trio, this season’s supporting cast is the best of OMITB‘s three seasons. Paul Rudd succeeds in this new role as this season’s murder victim, Ben Glenroy. Rudd’s character Ben is a highly egotistical, selfish, mean-spirited person, a far cry from the affable men Rudd is known for playing. Rudd seems to relish taking on this more villainous character and curating some sympathy as we discover more depth to Ben throughout the season. Meryl Streep puts on a phenomenal performance as Loretta Durkin, a struggling actress finally getting her dues. She delivers some of the season’s most emotional moments, especially her beautiful song ‘Look For The Light’ and her chemistry with Martin Short is brilliant and definitely a highlight of the season.
Oliver’s show takes up a huge amount of the focus this season, as he rebrands his play ‘Death Rattle’ into ‘Death Rattle Dazzle’, a musical. Many shows do one-off musical episodes, usually as a gimmick but the inclusion of a musical into this show fits, feeling an integral part of the backdrop to the season’s mystery. The musical he creates is (naturally) bizarre and the plot completely undecipherable, but the music, courtesy of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (of The Greatest Showman and Dear Evan Hansen), Sara Bareilles (of Waitress) and Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (of Hairspray), is beautifully written and the lyrics of songs like ‘Look For The Light’ and ‘For The Sake of A Child’ have a greater resonance once the mystery is fully unraveled. The musical is generally woven quite well into the murder investigation. Although, there are times when it does seem like the season loses a little focus on the actual murder in favour of the behind-the-scenes shenanigans, generally the two are intertwined very well. A particular favourite piece is the splicing together of Charles’ big performance of his patter song in episode eight with Mabel and Oliver frantically trying to gather evidence at the theatre—a well-woven sequence.
The mystery itself takes a very similar shape to previous seasons, we start off slow, and then ratchet up before building to the big climax in the final episodes. It’s clear however, that the progress of Oliver’s musical is driving the series forward more than the actual crime. If there is one thing this season struggles a little with, it’s that it’s balancing too many elements and sometimes seems to lack focus on the actual main point of the show: the murder. Despite this, the mystery itself, when it starts to unravel, is an engaging one. There’s an abundance of red herrings and false clues throughout, and yet as with all good murder mysteries, when the conclusion finally comes, it seems so logical and right in front of your face, that you wonder why you didn’t see it before. Only Murders in the Building does enjoy a complicated resolution, and this one was not exactly simple, but it made far more sense than the previous season’s conclusion, and the climax was no less spectacular as a result.
The Verdict
The third season of Only Murders In The Building is a fun watch. The theatre storyline brings a fun new setting and characters to the show and Martin Short shines with more material to work with. Meryl Streep and Paul Rudd are great additions to the cast, and the gamble of revolving this season largely around Oliver’s musical does generally pay off with some fantastic songs and an added theatricality to proceedings. In its third season, Only Murders shows no signs of going stale, and with a fourth season already confirmed, it seems we won’t be leaving the Arconia anytime soon.
Only Murders In The Building season one to three are available to stream on Disney+.
Words By Jo Elliott
Support The Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.