As we prepare for the 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards, Backstage is breaking down this year’s film and television ensemble nominees for your consideration.
Main cast: Michael Cyril Creighton, Zach Galifianakis, Selena Gomez, Jin Ha, Richard Kind, Eugene Levy, Eva Longoria, Jane Lynch, Steve Martin, Kumail Nanjiani, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Molly Shannon, Martin Short, Meryl Streep
Casting by: Tiffany Little Canfield, Destiny Lilly, and Bernard Telsey
Created By: John Hoffman and Steve Martin
Distributed by: Hulu
Right from the start, there were concerns about whether a show with such a specific conceit (it’s right there in the title) could maintain its charm across multiple seasons. But as “Only Murders in the Building” entered its fourth installment, that worry was matched with excitement about the new faces joining the cast.
This season, true crime podcasters Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez), Charles-Haden Savage (series co-creator Steve Martin), and Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) once again try to solve a murder in their upscale apartment building. This time, the victim is Charles’ longtime stunt double, Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch). Their quest to track down her killer is complicated by the arrival of a Hollywood cast and crew who are shooting a film adaptation of the podcast.
Martin Short Wants Just One More Take The production paves the way for a dizzying amount of guest appearances. Movie producer Bev Melon (Molly Shannon) brings in Eva Longoria, Eugene Levy, and Zach Galifianakis (playing caricatures of themselves) to portray Mabel, Charles, and Oliver, respectively. When our sleuths’ latest investigation points to residents on the other side of the Arconia, we meet a whole new set of neighbors, including the Christmas-obsessed Rudy Thurber (Kumail Nanjiani) and Vince Fish (Richard Kind), a man suffering from a serious case of pink eye.
It would be easy for our protagonists to get lost among all these new characters, plot twists, and general chaos (mostly coming from Oliver). But the center holds thanks to the show’s exploration of what makes the leads work so well together.
Directionless and hounded by prying questions about her identity from Longoria and the movie’s screenwriter, Marshall P. Pope (Jin Ha), Mabel is unsure how to define herself in a way that makes sense to her—let alone others. But when she’s able to escape the film crew and drill down into the whodunit, Gomez reminds viewers that she’s the stoic glue keeping her eccentric co-investigators on task. Considering that Charles and Oliver have a tendency to get caught up in personal dramas, this proves invaluable.
As Sazz’s longtime “number one,” Charles is crushed by guilt over her murder, which he fears might have happened because the killer mistook her for him. In between bouts of tidying angrily and creating elaborate murder boards, Charles asks himself whether he was actually a good friend to Sazz. Martin is a natural at portraying this kind of awkwardness, but he also makes his character’s somber emotional journey just as compelling. The actor handles grief with the same skill he brings to slapstick comedy.
Meanwhile, Oliver is fighting his own battle of self-doubt. As his love for Loretta Durkin (Meryl Streep) grows, so does his insecurity when she relocates to Los Angeles; his attempts to save their relationship lead him into characteristically unhinged territory. The story gives Short plenty to work with, from harebrained schemes to kinda-true anecdotes, delivered with frequent dramatic snorts.
As in the past, Season 4 foregrounds the friendship between Charles and Oliver. A scene in which the two discuss their longtime bond while hiding behind restaurant menus hits just the right notes of vulnerability and humor. The dynamic between these comedy legends has always been a high point of the series.
The “Only Murders” cinematic universe greatly expanded this season, and it’s all for the better. Rather than losing sight of the show’s premise, the larger cast highlights what charmed viewers in the first place: the magic that happens when strangers let themselves be truly known, flaws and all.
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