Only Murders in the Building
Quality
Comedy
Mystery
Crowd-Pleaser
Bingeable
AdultThe review
Only Murders in the Building centers on three residents of a grand Upper West Side apartment building — a fading TV star, a broke theater director, and a listless young artist — who bond over true crime and begin investigating the deaths that keep landing on their doorstep, podcasting as they go. Critics have been nearly unanimous that the series works because its heart is in the right place: the whodunit mechanics are a frame for a warm, funny portrait of friendship, loneliness, and found family across generations. The chemistry among the three leads is the engine, and reviewers consistently single out the deadpan interplay between the two veteran comedians and their much younger, drier foil, along with a dizzying rotation of guest stars who are given room to shine.
The series is best understood as cozy comfort television — it borrows the true-crime boom's trappings but lands on a gentle, whimsical comic tone, and its craft, from the lovingly detailed apartment sets to its showstopping musical numbers, is praised as consistently excellent. But the formula is also its most persistent weakness: reviewers repeatedly note that the mysteries themselves are the least compelling element, with red-herring suspects who get short shrift, plot threads that dangle, and pacing that sags in the middle of each season. Later seasons in particular drew complaints that an ever-growing guest-star roster crowded out the core trio and that the show's self-awareness sometimes tipped into self-indulgence.
Themes of isolation, aging, urban change, and connection run throughout, and the show is admired for balancing silliness with genuine feeling — critics often note that it cares about its characters' ordinary sadnesses even as it keeps the tone light. Reviewers genuinely split on the later seasons: some see the yearly repetition of the formula as the point, a reliable comfort ritual that the show wears on its sleeve, while others argue the series has lost some of the freshness and bite of its debut. There is broad agreement, though, that even a middling season remains easy to love, carried by the durable charm of its leads.
Seasons
- Season 1
The debut season established the template: three lonely Upper West Side neighbors bond over true crime and investigate a death in their building while recording a podcast, with the chemistry among the leads an instant highlight. It drew near-unanimous critical acclaim and quickly became Hulu's most-watched comedy. Its most celebrated episode was a largely wordless installment built around American Sign Language — a bold stylistic departure that anchored a standout guest performance.
- Season 2
The sophomore season opened with the trio themselves under suspicion for a new killing, pursued by a rival superstar podcaster. Reviewers judged it a confident follow-up that deepened the building's history and the characters' pasts without losing the wit. A blackout-set finale built around overlapping musical numbers and the show's running in-jokes became the season's signature structural experiment.
- Season 3
The series' biggest swing: the mystery moved to Broadway after the star of Oliver's play dies on opening night, and the season folded an entire musical into the show, with a major A-list addition to the cast. The Emmy-winning tongue-twister patter song performed by Steve Martin became the season's signature moment. Critics split — many loved the theatrical ambition and the new star's performance, while others felt the show drifted from what made its early seasons distinctive.
- Season 4
A Hollywood satire: the trio's podcast is being adapted into a movie, with actors playing them on screen, while they investigate the death of Charles' stunt double. The guest-star roster ballooned, drawing mixed reactions — some praised the escalating fun, others felt the core trio was getting crowded out. Critics broadly found it less cozy but still warm, with a more personal, human-scale mystery at its center.
- Season 5
The action returned to the Arconia itself, investigating the death of the building's beloved doorman and wading into a web of old-school mobsters, tech billionaires, and gentrification anxieties. Reviewers noted a welcome refocus on the core trio, though pacing complaints — plot threads left dangling for long stretches — persisted. The season's most-discussed texture was its portrait of a changing New York, set against a rotating cast of heavy-hitting guest stars.
Who it's for
Viewers who like cozy mysteries, true-crime podcasts, and warm ensemble comedies; fans of Steve Martin and Martin Short's decades-long comic partnership; anyone who wants a low-stress, reliably charming show to unwind with. The multi-generational trio makes it a natural pick for mixed-age viewing, and the guest-star parade (plus the season 3 Broadway arc) rewards people who enjoy star showcases and musical-theater flair.
Who it's not for
People who want a genuinely tense or hard-edged thriller — the murders are mostly comic MacGuffins and the show never gets scary. Viewers with low tolerance for whimsy, self-referential humor, or a deliberately repeated formula may find it cloying, and anyone who needs airtight mystery plotting with every clue accounted for will be frustrated. Late-season guest-star congestion may also test patience. — murder (comic treatment) · moderate violence · strong language · alcohol use
Birds of a feather...
- FilmKnives Out (2019)
Both are whodunits with a playful, satirical tone, populated by an ensemble of memorably flawed characters. They share a cozy surface that sharpens into social commentary, and both find humor in the performance of identity. Fans of the show's mix of wit and mischief will feel at home.
90% - TVMoonlighting (1985)
Both use a mystery scaffold purely as a vehicle for character banter and emotional revelation, and both adore genre pastiche (noir, musicals) and self-conscious storytelling. The warmth that blooms under the wisecracks echoes Moonlighting's sudden switches from farce to tenderness.
77% - TVNight Court (1984)
A warm, gently absurd comedy about people who keep failing together, with a shared investment in musical and stylistic experimentation. Both shows have a big heart for their oddballs, and both find beauty in small triumphs and everyday coexistence.
52% - TVDetectorists (2014)
Both are character-driven comedies about a shared hobby that becomes a means of forging connection and understanding. They share a warmth toward eccentricity and a belief that the act of searching — whether for treasure or truth — holds deeper value.
52%