‘Only Murders’ Season 4 Was a Self-Indulgent Blur
In " Only Murders in the Building " Season 4, Episode 9, Oliver (Martin Short) doles out a classic meta joke for the Hulu comedy. When it turns out that the movie he's investigating with Charles (Steve Martin) and Mabel (Selena Gomez) was directed by Ron Howard, Oliver exclaims, "Finally, a celebrity this season!"
The meta moment acknowledges the show's greatest ill at this point in time, but doesn't excuse or remedy it in the slightest. Howard shows up shortly, playing himself, the latest in a veritable parade of celebrity guests that made "Only Murders" Season 4 toe the line between entertainment and exhaustion, as IndieWire TV Critic Ben Travers noted in his review.
It's fun for the "Only Murders" team as well as the audience when a big name pops by the Arconia, as evidenced at the highest level by Meryl Streep joining Season 3. But Streep also made sense for the part of Loretta Durkin, an actress who spent years struggling despite immense talent and instantly bowls Oliver and the rest over with her performance. Paul Rudd was a wonderful choice for Ben Glenroy, a movie star who dabbled in franchise tentpoles but came alive due to Rudd's comedic aptitude.
In Season 4, as Travers noted, plenty of the roles Hulu is shelling out A-list pay rates for could have been paid by lesser-known names and newcomers, allowing emerging actors to cut their teeth among experienced performers while demonstrating what they can bring to the table. There may be nowhere else in Hollywood for the mega-famous Rudd to flex the Irish accent he's obviously very proud of, or for Melissa McCarthy to deploy her chaotic presence in a context that truly does not affect the plot at all, but accepting that will only benefit "Only Murders" in the long run.
The barrage of A-list guest stars did at least obscure the season's murderer: Marshall P. Pope, played by Jin Ha (watch "Pachinko" already, you cowards!) — but also sacrificed time that could have been spent establishing him further, or even just flexing Ha as a member of the ensemble (go back to Episode 5 and watch him collapse after leaning on a stack of papers. A young Steve Martin!).
Outside of casting, Season 4 begins to show its cracks (possibly because showrunner John Hoffman had to focus on weaving all those gratuitous guest stars into the story). The writing felt stilted, trapped — completely understandable for a show that has churned out one season annually since 2021 and looks poised to do it again. Creative burnout is real even with Disney footing the bill, and "Only Murders" Season 4 contrives ways to drive apart Oliver and Loretta, or force the Episode 9 argument between Oliver and Charles. Expository dialogue runs rampant (to the point where characters outright state where they're going before leaving a room), down to reading out texts and emails. To be fair, some of these quirks were present before — but as the show shifts focus to its shiny new faces, it actually draws attention to other shortcomings.
The biggest example of this might be Episode 6, the documentary made by the Brothers sisters (Catherine Cohen and Siena Werber). What could have been a creative experiment in the vein of Season 1's "The Boy from 6B" and a comedic found footage extravaganza ends up being largely surveillance video, a convenient cop out and dull explanation for how the Brothers recorded much of what they did. "Only Murders" used to be the kind of show that committed to a genre departure, that could have reached "American Vandal" heights with this installment — but Season 4 didn't lend itself to anything close.
I wouldn't be saying any of this if "Only Murders" itself hadn't set a high standard for genre-mashing mystery comedy, and I sincerely hope that it rekindles the spark for Season 5. Maybe it's time to return to Oliver, Charles, and Mabel's podcasting roots, or to take some extra time in development and outlining. It's definitely time to dial back the celebrities and find joy, once again, in hyperlocal murder mysteries.
Paul Rudd is welcome any time, though.
"Only Murders in the Building" is now streaming on Hulu.
