Warning: Spoilers Ahead!
At the start of the latest season of Only Murders in the Building, one of the characters inquires to a critic about how their play went. In response, she says to him how much the play “just didn’t sing.” This is a fair assessment of the new season as well, given that it promised so much but very much underdelivered.
Only Murders in the Building is a particularly interesting show to me, as it is able to do what few shows can. It’s able to cross the generational gap by bringing in older 70s and 80s zany comedians like Steve Martin and Martin Short with the more modern comedic stylings of actresses like Selena Gomez. While many shows would struggle to combine these two styles, in either a stroke of genius or luck, this show was able to work and bring some of the best comedic television in recent years. But it’s not strictly a comedy, as the main focus of the show is the murder mysteries, which were engaging and led to some great tension and compelling action. With season three bringing in a new setting, the theater, and a new victim played by Paul Rudd, it was set up to be a very exciting entry in the show, following up on the first two season’s success and popularity.
Following the poisoning and subsequent death of their lead actor Ben Glenroy, the main trio of Charles, Oliver and Mabel have to find out what happened to Ben and who would do this. This season also differs as the trio are more on their own than ever before, with the middle episodes focusing on their individual arcs. Mabel meets Ben’s biographer Tobert and wonders if she still wants to hang out with Charles and Oliver. Oliver has to both deal with the death of his leading man and change his show to make it a hit while also sparking a romance with actress Loretta (Meryl Streep). Charles has to deal with his romance with makeup artist Joy, and the fact he has to sing a song for Oliver’s play.
While the first two seasons could effortlessly weave mystery clues and interpersonal plotlines together, this season had a noticeable focus on the characters. As such, the mystery seems to get shafted in the middle half, leaving the feeling that not everything we watched contributed to the ending. As a result, the end does not feel satisfying to watch, as it didn’t focus enough on the mystery to feel vindicated or even surprised by who the killer is. The main problem, however, is not that the show spends too much time on these character moments, but that they don’t contribute anything. The subplot of Mabel not feeling satisfied with working on the podcast and working with Tobert ends with him moving to L.A. and Mabel going back to working with the other guys. The same goes for the romances between Charles and Joy and Oliver and Loretta, as Loretta goes to L.A. for her career and Joy leaves halfway through the season with nothing changing for Charles and Oliver. This makes all the character development that was a part of the season feel like a waste of time to the viewer as the characters are still the same as they were in season two.
There are a few positives to discuss about this season. The performances all around are fantastic. Rudd plays the egotistical actor role very well and is perfect for the character he is given. The main trio all give solid portrayals of their characters, which is to be expected and still retain their great chemistry. Streep was excellent as a wannabe Broadway star, which is ironic if you know how many awards Streep has won over the years. The themes of sacrificing for your child, while a bit too heavy-handed, actually tie into the overarching mystery of the season. This is certainly an improvement over last season’s very loose themes of fame that didn’t fit in with the rest of the show.
While not boring, Only Murders in the Building season three suffers from the sin of being very forgettable. While the mystery is interesting in parts, the pointless character drama made it such a trivial season that it didn’t amount to a lot. Hopefully, season four can go back to its roots and bring us another great season.
Rocco Lippi is a first-year film, photography and visual arts major that thinks murder is really, really boring. You can reach Rocco at [email protected].