Only Murders in the Building

Only Murders in the Building, often abbreviated as OMITB, is an American mystery comedy-drama television series created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman. The main plot focuses on a trio of strangers (played by Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez), all with a shared interest in true crime podcasts, who become friends while investigating a succession of suspicious murders in the Arconia, their affluent Upper West Side apartment building, and producing their own podcast about the cases, titled Only Murders in the Building. Its four ten-episode seasons premiered on Hulu in August 2021, June 2022, August 2023, and August 2024. The series was renewed for a fifth season in September 2024.

Only Murders in the Building
Genre	Comedy-drama Mystery
Created by	Steve Martin & John Hoffman
Starring	Steve Martin Martin Short Selena Gomez Aaron Dominguez Amy Ryan Cara Delevingne Adina Verson Michael Cyril Creighton
Music by	Siddhartha Khosla
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	35
Production
Executive producers	Dan Fogelman Jess Rosenthal Jamie Babbit Steve Martin Martin Short Selena Gomez John Hoffman
Producers	Thembi Banks Jane Raab Nick Pavonetti Kristin Bernstein Madeleine George Sas Goldberg Tess Morris Jill Risk Wolfe Joshua Allen Griffith
Cinematography	Chris Teague Dagmar Weaver-Madsen Kyle Wullschleger
Editors	Julie Monroe JoAnne Yarrow Matthew Barbato David L. Bertman Shelly Westerman Peggy Tachdjian Payton Koch
Running time	26–40 minutes
Production companies	Rhode Island Ave. Productions Another Hoffman Story Productions 40 Share Productions 20th Television
Original release
Network	Hulu
Release	August 31, 2021 (2021-08-31) – present (present)

The series has received critical acclaim since its debut, with reviewers highlighting its comedic approach to crime fiction as well as the cast performances. It has received nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series and Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. For their performances, Martin, Short, and Gomez have gained acting nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards and Golden Globe Awards.

Cast and characters

Main

• Steve Martin as Charles-Haden Savage, a semi-retired actor who was the star of the popular 1990s crime drama, Brazzos, and later, as a result of the podcast, its 2020s revival
  • Matthew Lamb as young Charles (season 2)
• Martin Short as Oliver Putnam, an ambitious but financially struggling Broadway director who spawns the idea of the podcast and becomes its director
  • Samuel Farnsworth as young Oliver (season 2)
• Selena Gomez as Mabel Mora, a young artist who is living alone in her aunt's unit and who was secretly best friends with the first season's murder victim, Tim Kono, throughout her childhood and teenage years
  • Madeleine Valencia (season 1) and Caroline Valencia (season 2) as young Mabel
• Aaron Dominguez as Oscar Torres (season 1), a friend of Mabel and Tim who was wrongfully convicted of the murder of their friend Zoe ten years earlier, has recently been released from prison, and dates Mabel for a while
• Amy Ryan as Jan Bellows (season 1; recurring season 2; guest season 4), a professional bassoonist who begins dating Charles, and later his stunt double Sazz
• Cara Delevingne as Alice Banks (season 2), an artist and briefly Mabel's love interest.
• Adina Verson as Poppy White (season 2; guest season 1), Cinda's ambitious but abused assistant. She later reveals her true identity as Becky Butler, the subject of the All Is Not OK in Oklahoma crime podcast
• Michael Cyril Creighton as Howard Morris (season 3–present; recurring seasons 1–2), a cat-loving resident of the Arconia whose cat died the same night as Tim Kono. He becomes Oliver's assistant in season 3 for his play.

Special guest

• Paul Rudd as Ben Glenroy (season 3; guest season 2), a Hollywood actor who is murdered on the opening night of his first Broadway play
  • Rudd also plays Glen Stubbins (season 4), Ben Glenroy's former stunt double.
• Meryl Streep as Loretta Durkin (season 3–present), a struggling actress and Oliver's love interest, who stars in his Broadway play, and later its musical reinterpretation
• Zach Galifianakis (season 4) as a fictionalized version of himself, portraying Oliver in the film adaptation of the podcast
• Eugene Levy (season 4) as a fictionalized version of himself, portraying Charles in the film adaptation of the podcast
• Eva Longoria (season 4) as a fictionalized version of herself, portraying Mabel in the film adaptation of the podcast

Recurring

• Julian Cihi as Tim Kono (season 1), a resident of the Arconia who dies in the first episode. The mysterious circumstances surrounding his death spur Charles, Oliver, and Mabel to do their own investigation.
• Da'Vine Joy Randolph as Donna Williams, a detective who ends up becoming involved with each of the mysteries. She is introduced when she initially closes the Kono murder case but becomes interested again after her wife starts listening to the podcast.
• Tina Fey as Cinda Canning (seasons 1–2; guest season 3), the host of the true crime podcast All Is Not OK in Oklahoma, a parody of Sarah Koenig and her true crime podcast Serial.
• Jackie Hoffman as Uma Heller, an ornery Arconia resident
• Jayne Houdyshell as Bunny Folger (seasons 1–2; guest season 3), the iron-fisted board president of the Arconia whose murder is investigated in the second season.
  • Houdyshell also voices Mrs. Gambolini (season 2), Bunny's pet parrot
• Nathan Lane as Teddy Dimas (seasons 1–2), an old friend and patron of Oliver's family, who has ties to organized crime and agrees to sponsor the podcast.
• James Caverly as Theo Dimas (season 1; guest seasons 2–3), Teddy's son
• Ryan Broussard as Will Putnam (seasons 1–2; guest season 3), Oliver's son
• Teddy Coluca as Lester (seasons 1–2 & 4; guest season 3), the Arconia's doorman
• Vanessa Aspillaga as Ursula (seasons 1–2), the Arconia's building manager
• Russell G. Jones as Dr. Grover Stanley (seasons 1–2), a therapist who lives at the Arconia.
• Jaboukie Young-White as Sam, Daniel Oreskes as Marv, Ali Stroker as Paulette, and Orson Hong as Grant (seasons 1–2), enthusiastic fans of the Only Murders in the Building podcast.
• Zainab Jah as Ndidi Idoko (season 1), Tim Kono's next-door neighbor
• Maulik Pancholy as Arnav Kapoor (season 1), Charles' next-door neighbor
• Olivia Reis as Zoe Cassidy (season 1), a friend of Mabel, Tim, and Oscar who died ten years earlier after falling from the roof of the Arconia.
• Zoe Colletti as Lucy (season 2), the teenage daughter of Charles' ex-girlfriend, with whom Charles has a tenuous father–daughter relationship.
• Michael Rapaport as Detective Daniel Kreps (season 2), a police detective investigating Bunny's murder
• Christine Ko as Nina Lin (season 2), Bunny's protégée and the Arconia's new board president
• Ariel Shafir as Ivan (season 2), a server at Bunny's regular diner
• Andrea Martin as Joy Payne (season 3; guest season 2), Charles' longtime makeup artist and love interest
• Jason Veasey as Jonathan Bridgecroft (season 3; guest season 2), Howard's neighbor and love interest, and an actor in Oliver's show
• Linda Emond as Donna DeMeo (season 3), a Broadway producer who funds Oliver's return to Broadway
• Ashley Park as Kimber Min (season 3), a young actress and influencer who plays Ben's love interest in Oliver's show
• Jeremy Shamos as Dickie Glenroy (season 3), Ben's adopted brother and manager
• Wesley Taylor as Clifford "Cliff" DeMeo (season 3), Donna's clingy son who co-produces Oliver's play
• Jesse Williams as Tobert (season 3), a camera operator hired by Ben to make a documentary about his Broadway debut and briefly Mabel's love interest
• Don Darryl Rivera as Bobo Malone (season 3), an actor in Oliver's show
• Gerald Caesar as Ty Wessex (season 3), an actor in Oliver's show
• Allison Guinn as K. T. Knoblauer (season 3), the stage manager for Oliver's show
• Gerrard Lobo as Detective Biswas (season 3), a police detective investigating Ben's murder
• Jane Lynch as Sazz Pataki (season 4; guest seasons 1–3), Charles' stunt double, who dates everyone he dates after him. She is shot by an unknown assailant at the end of the third season with a snipe ostensibly meant for Charles.
• Molly Shannon as Bev Melon (season 4), a producer at Paramount Studios, intending to make a film adaptation from the podcast
• Catherine Cohen as Trina Brothers (season 4), Tawny's twin sister and the co-director of the film adaptation of the podcast
• Jin Ha as Marshall P. Pope (season 4), the screenwriter of the film adaptation of the podcast
• Siena Werber as Tawny Brothers (seasom 4), Trina's twin sister and the co-director of the film adaptation of the podcast
• Desmin Borges as Alfonso (season 4)
• Richard Kind as Vince Fish (season 4), a resident of the west tower who wears an eye patch
• Kumail Nanjiani as Rudy Thurber (season 4), a resident of the west tower who decorates his apartment with Christmas decorations year-round
• Daphne Rubin-Vega as Inez (season 4)
• Lilian Rebelo as Ana (season 4)
• Melissa McCarthy as Doreen (season 4), Charles' sister who lives on Long Island

Guest

• Adriane Lenox (season 1) and Marie-Francoise Theodore (season 2) as Roberta Putnam, Oliver's ex-wife
• Sting as a fictionalized version of himself (season 1), an Arconia resident who was at odds with Tim Kono
• Roy Wood Jr. as Vaughn and Jacob Ming-Trent as Lucian (season 1), hosts of a horticulture podcast who give Charles and Oliver a ride
• Jimmy Fallon as himself (season 1)
• Mandy Gonzalez as Silvia Mora (season 1), Mabel's mother
• Amy Schumer as a fictionalized version of herself (season 2), who moves into Sting's former apartment and proposes a TV series to Oliver based on their podcast
• Ben Livingston as Charles' late father (season 2)
• Shirley MacLaine as Rose Cooper (season 2), Charles' father's lover and painter pretending to be Bunny's mother, Leonora Folger
• Mark Consuelos as Mabel's late father (season 2)
• Noma Dumezweni as Maxine Spear (season 3), a theater critic
• Adrian Martinez as Gregg Rivera (season 3), an obsessed fan of Ben's
• Peter Bartlett as Jerry Blau, a washed-up Broadway director and an old colleague of Oliver's (season 3)
• Matthew Broderick as a fictionalized version of himself (season 3), who is briefly cast in Oliver's show as Charles' replacement
• Mel Brooks as himself (season 3)
• Scott Bakula as himself (season 4)
• John McEnroe as himself (season 4)

Episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released
1	10		August 31, 2021 (2021-08-31)	October 19, 2021 (2021-10-19)
2	10		June 28, 2022 (2022-06-28)	August 23, 2022 (2022-08-23)
3	10		August 8, 2023 (2023-08-08)	October 3, 2023 (2023-10-03)
4	10		August 27, 2024 (2024-08-27)	October 29, 2024 (2024-10-29)

Season 1 (2021)

Main article: Only Murders in the Building season 1

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code
1	1	"True Crime"	Jamie Babbit	Steve Martin & John Hoffman	August 31, 2021 (2021-08-31)	1DWB01
2	2	"Who Is Tim Kono?"	Jamie Babbit	Kirker Butler	August 31, 2021 (2021-08-31)	1DWB02
3	3	"How Well Do You Know Your Neighbors?"	Gillian Robespierre	Ben Smith	August 31, 2021 (2021-08-31)	1DWB03
4	4	"The Sting"	Gillian Robespierre	Kristin Newman	September 7, 2021 (2021-09-07)	1DWB04
5	5	"Twist"	Don Scardino	Thembi L. Banks	September 14, 2021 (2021-09-14)	1DWB05
6	6	"To Protect and Serve"	Don Scardino	Madeleine George & Kim Rosenstock	September 21, 2021 (2021-09-21)	1DWB06
7	7	"The Boy from 6B"	Cherien Dabis	Stephen Markley & Ben Philippe	September 28, 2021 (2021-09-28)	1DWB07
8	8	"Fan Fiction"	Cherien Dabis	Matteo Borghese & Rob Turbovsky	October 5, 2021 (2021-10-05)	1DWB08
9	9	"Double Time"	Jamie Babbit	John Hoffman & Kristin Newman	October 12, 2021 (2021-10-12)	1DWB09
10	10	"Open and Shut"	Jamie Babbit	John Hoffman & Rachel Burger	October 19, 2021 (2021-10-19)	1DWB10

Season 2 (2022)

Main article: Only Murders in the Building season 2

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code
11	1	"Persons of Interest"	John Hoffman	John Hoffman & Noah Levine	June 28, 2022 (2022-06-28)	2DWB01
12	2	"Framed"	John Hoffman	Kristin Newman	June 28, 2022 (2022-06-28)	2DWB02
13	3	"The Last Day of Bunny Folger"	Jude Weng	Ben Smith	July 5, 2022 (2022-07-05)	2DWB03
14	4	"Here's Looking at You"	Jude Weng	Valentina Garza & Rachel Burger	July 12, 2022 (2022-07-12)	2DWB04
15	5	"The Tell"	Cherien Dabis	Matteo Borghese & Rob Turbovsky	July 19, 2022 (2022-07-19)	2DWB05
16	6	"Performance Review"	Cherien Dabis	Ben Smith & Joshua Allen Griffith	July 26, 2022 (2022-07-26)	2DWB06
17	7	"Flipping the Pieces"	Chris Teague	Stephen Markley & Ben Philippe	August 2, 2022 (2022-08-02)	2DWB07
18	8	"Hello, Darkness"	Chris Teague	Madeleine George	August 9, 2022 (2022-08-09)	2DWB08
19	9	"Sparring Partners"	Jamie Babbit	Kirker Butler	August 16, 2022 (2022-08-16)	2DWB09
20	10	"I Know Who Did It"	Jamie Babbit	John Hoffman, Matteo Borghese & Rob Turbovsky	August 23, 2022 (2022-08-23)	2DWB10

Season 3 (2023)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code
21	1	"The Show Must..."	John Hoffman	John Hoffman & Sas Goldberg	August 8, 2023 (2023-08-08)	3DWB01
At an audition for Oliver's murder mystery play Death Rattle, a struggling actress, Loretta Durkin, amazes him with her performance. Four months later, at the play's read-through, the cast and crew meet for the first time, including Howard as Oliver's assistant, Charles in a supporting role, and Ben Glenroy in the lead role. Loretta fails to deliver her lines convincingly, so Ben urges Oliver to fire her, but Oliver is convinced of Loretta's talent. In the present, Ben is pronounced dead by the authorities after collapsing on stage. At the play's planned after-party, Mabel floats the theory to Oliver that Ben was poisoned and proposes a new podcast. A revived Ben appears at the party, attributing his clinical death to food poisoning. He gives a phony apology to everyone for his arrogant behavior over the last few months, but veiledly insults Loretta again. Afterward, Mabel tells Charles and Oliver that her aunt sold her apartment, so she is moving out of the Arconia in a month. As they take the elevator, Ben's dead body suddenly crashes down in front of them.
22	2	"The Beat Goes On"	John Hoffman	Ben Smith & Joshua Allen Griffith	August 8, 2023 (2023-08-08)	3DWB02
At Ben's funeral, Mabel and Charles meet Gregg, who claims to have worked for Ben as a security guard. Instead, Gregg is revealed to be an obsessed fan of Ben's, and kidnaps them. In Gregg's custody, Mabel tells Charles that Ben's murder is personal to her because one of his shows helped her overcome her father's death, while Charles reveals that the tension between him and Ben stemmed from when he unintentionally got Ben fired from Brazzos years earlier. Gregg intends to torture the pair into confessing to Ben's murder, but Detective Biswas arrives with the police and arrests him as Ben's killer. Mabel theorizes that since Gregg had Ben's handkerchief from the play and the body was found holding an identical one, Gregg could not have committed the murder. She and Charles agree to begin a third podcast to find Ben's real killer, about which Oliver is reluctant. Following a minor heart attack he suffered after encountering a critic who was planning to pan his play, he becomes inspired to turn the show into a musical.
23	3	"Grab Your Hankies"	Adam Shankman	Matteo Borghese & Rob Turbovsky	August 15, 2023 (2023-08-15)	3DWB03
Charles attempts to find out which cast member lost their handkerchief, believing that one could be the killer. Concurrently, Mabel goes to Ben's apartment looking for clues and meets Tobert, Ben's documentarian. They are forced to hide when Dickie, Ben's brother and manager, enters the apartment, during which Tobert reveals he intends to make a documentary about Ben's murder and that he has footage of Ben before he collapsed on stage. Meanwhile, Loretta tells Oliver she has won a television series role in Los Angeles that begins shooting next week. Not wanting to lose her, Oliver reminds her that she is under contract, but later agrees to let her go if she performs her character's lullaby to the producers, Donna and Cliff. Amazed by her performance, they agree to fund Death Rattle Dazzle, prompting Loretta to stay as well, and she and Oliver kiss. Tobert shows Mabel footage of Ben in his dressing room talking to someone off camera. At the same time, Charles discovers that cast member Kimber, who plays Ben's love interest, lost her handkerchief.
24	4	"The White Room"	Adam Shankman	J. J. Philbin	August 22, 2023 (2023-08-22)	3DWB04
The trio suspects that Kimber killed Ben due to an affair gone awry between them. Kimber, however, tells Mabel she only wanted Ben to promote her beauty products, and when he backed out at the last minute, she sold her handkerchief. She also reveals that Ben was upset on opening night about a red mark on his face until someone in his dressing room fixed it. Charles and Oliver break into Ben's dressing room, finding "Fucking Pig" written on his mirror with lipstick. Later, Cinda approaches Mabel with a job offer, but Mabel turns it down. Meanwhile, Charles has to perform a patter song in the play, but every time he rehearses it, he enters "The White Room", a comforting place inside his mind, while his body acts disturbingly without his knowledge. Oliver thinks this is caused by the pressure of his girlfriend, Joy, moving in with him, which Charles is not ready for. When he attempts to tell her that, Charles enters The White Room again, reemerging to discover he has proposed to Joy, while she recognizes the lipstick from Ben's dressing room as her own.
25	5	"Ah, Love!"	Chris Koch	Tess Morris & Noah Levine	August 29, 2023 (2023-08-29)	3DWB05
While Oliver goes on a date with Loretta, Mabel meets with Tobert at a restaurant to observe Jonathan, Ben's understudy and Howard's boyfriend. They see him exchanging something with a man, whom Tobert identifies as Ben's doctor. Meanwhile, following a fight between Charles and Joy about the lipstick, Charles is visited by Sazz, who gives him an impromptu therapy session about his relationship problems. Oliver and Loretta eat dinner at her place, but Oliver is surprised when Loretta calls Ben a "fucking pig" and confesses to him that she had a scuffle with Ben on opening night. Joy explains to Charles that she simply left her lipstick at Ben's dressing room after she fixed a mark on his face, which Charles reveals was because he punched Ben for his scuffle with Loretta. Charles also reveals that his proposal was accidental, causing Joy to break up with him. Mabel takes Tobert back to her apartment to show him her board of clues, and they kiss. Oliver and Loretta sleep together in her apartment, where he later finds a scrapbook full of news clippings about Ben.
26	6	"Ghost Light"	Chris Koch	Madeleine George	September 5, 2023 (2023-09-05)	3DWB06
After Howard claims to have seen the ghost of a deceased actor at the theater, the trio goes there to investigate. Mabel and Tobert confront Jonathan about his meeting with Ben's doctor; he confesses that he obtained the same cocktail of medications Ben used to cope with the pressure of being the lead, a role he never wanted. Oliver discovers that his former director friend, Jerry, pretended to be the ghost to hide that he has been living in the theater's attic for months. He also tells Oliver about the fight between Ben, Loretta, and Charles, which he witnessed firsthand. Despite growing increasingly suspicious of Loretta, Oliver chooses to hide his suspicion from Charles and Mabel, who find him trying to scrub the lipstick. An argument erupts, in which Oliver accuses Charles of not being forthcoming about the fight, frustrating Charles into quitting the play. Oliver also accuses Mabel of sabotaging his show with her investigation, causing her to reveal Cinda's offer and vow to continue investigating on her own.
27	7	"CoBro"	Cherien Dabis	Ben Philippe & Jake Schnesel	September 12, 2023 (2023-09-12)	3DWB07
Charles discovers that Uma stole the handkerchief from Ben's corpse; however, she sells it to an unknown buyer before he can retrieve it. Meanwhile, Oliver replaces Charles with Matthew Broderick, but soon fires him and rehires Charles after growing annoyed with Broderick's method acting antics. Elsewhere, Mabel learns from Dickie that he was adopted before his parents conceived Ben and that he was always overshadowed by Ben's success despite doing most of the work for it. Finding an old drawing of CoBro, Ben's most famous role, and looking at the signature below, Mabel theorizes with Tobert and Theo that Dickie could have created the character, giving him a motive to kill. Oliver shows Charles the scrapbook he stole from Loretta, and they decide to give it to Mabel, only to learn that Mabel has already moved out of her apartment and that she started the podcast's new season without them. Listening to the first episode, which details evidence that Gregg is not the killer, Detective Biswas decides to reopen Ben's case.
28	8	"Sitzprobe"	Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini	Pete Swanson & Siena Streiber	September 19, 2023 (2023-09-19)	3DWB08
Flashbacks reveal that Dickie is Loretta's biological son, whom she gave up for adoption to pursue her acting career. Nonetheless, she had always kept tabs on him by collecting news about him and Ben, and upon learning their involvement in Oliver's play, she auditioned for a role to be reunited with him. At the musical's sitzprobe, she decides to tell Dickie the truth in a letter, but the police arrive and lock down the theater, saying the killer is someone from the cast or crew. The trio make amends with each other and decide to work together again to find the killer. While Charles and Oliver secretly record Detective Williams' interrogations of the cast, Mabel helps Howard reassemble a shredded document that might be a clue. Loretta learns that the police and the trio suspect Dickie as the killer, which she refuses to believe. Charles and Mabel find Loretta's letter, while Oliver returns the scrapbook to her and confesses his love for her. During her rehearsal on stage, Loretta sees the police approaching Dickie, so she confesses to Ben's murder to save him. As she is led out of the theater in handcuffs, Oliver suffers another heart attack and collapses.
29	9	"Thirty"	Cherien Dabis	Elaine Ko	September 26, 2023 (2023-09-26)	3DWB09
Following Oliver's recovery, the trio learns that Dickie has an alibi for the time of Ben's murder. Using their knowledge and the clues they already obtained, they recreate the last 30 minutes before Ben collapsed on stage: Ben arrived late to the theater after being with his seamstress friends, who helped him make the handkerchiefs he presented to the cast and crew. Later, he overheard Loretta encouraging Dickie to quit as his manager due to the stress he was under, resulting in a fallout between the brothers and the fight between Ben, Charles, and Loretta. An upset Ben then fired Tobert and retreated to his dressing room, where he ate a cookie and wrote "Fucking Pig" on his mirror out of guilt for ruining his diet. Howard gives the trio the reassembled document, which turns out to be an early negative review of Ben's performance. The trio reaches the conclusion that Donna poisoned Ben to prevent the show and Cliff's career from being ruined. They run into the court to stop Loretta from pleading guilty, only to learn that Donna is among the witnesses.
30	10	"Opening Night"	Jamie Babbit	John Hoffman & Ben Smith	October 3, 2023 (2023-10-03)	3DWB10
After Loretta receives the missing handkerchief from Dickie, the trio uses it as evidence to force a confession out of Donna on the opening night of Death Rattle Dazzle. To their surprise, she readily confesses to Ben's murder but asks to see the play before she is arrested. Oliver takes the lead role when Jonathan cannot perform, having taken too much anti-anxiety medication, and Loretta finally tells Dickie she is his biological mother. Mabel notices Cliff going to the theater's attic after a conversation with Donna, and confronts him upon realizing he pushed Ben down the elevator shaft. A guilt-ridden Cliff insists it was an accident and attempts to commit suicide by jumping from above the stage but is stopped and comforted by Donna. The two are taken into custody as the show ends with a success. At the play's after-party, Dickie, Loretta, and Tobert reveal they all have upcoming gigs in Los Angeles, but the trio decide to stay in New York. Sazz comes to celebrate and tells Charles they need to talk before entering Charles' apartment, where she is shot by an unknown assailant.

Season 4 (2024)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	Prod. code
31	1	"Once Upon a Time in the West"	John Hoffman	John Hoffman & Joshua Allen Griffith	August 27, 2024 (2024-08-27)	4DWB01
After finishing the podcast's latest season, the trio goes to Charles' apartment to celebrate, unaware of Sazz's murder as the body has already disappeared. The next morning, Charles texts Sazz and receives a reply that she had to fly to L.A. to double for Scott Bakula. The trio is approached by Bev Melon of Paramount Pictures with a proposal for a film adaptation of their podcast, and they fly to L.A. to discuss the deal. At a party thrown by the studio, they meet the actors who will play them, namely Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis, and Eva Longoria, with the latter advising a reluctant Mabel to use the money for her life rights to build something on her own. Charles runs into Bakula, who says Sazz never showed up on set, and upon visiting her Hollywood apartment, the trio finds mysterious notes revolving around Charles. Returning to New York, they discover blood prints and a bullet hole in Charles' window before locating Sazz's ashes and prosthetic parts in the Arconia's incinerator, while the person texting in Sazz's name sends an open threat to them.
32	2	"Gates of Heaven"	John Hoffman	Kristin Newman	September 3, 2024 (2024-09-03)	4DWB02
Suspecting the shot that killed Sazz came from one of the apartments on west side of the Arconia, Oliver and Mabel investigate some of its residents. They meet Vince Fish, a friendly eye-patch-wearing man, and a Hispanic family of three, Alfonzo, Inez, and Ana, who invite them to a board game called Oh hell and tell them about an always locked apartment belonging to someone only known as "Dudenoff". Mabel discovers that one of Sazz's notes contains the code numbers for the apartment's lockbox, so they break in, and find a pig in the bathtub and a ham radio. Meanwhile, as Charles mourns Sazz, he is visited by Jan, who broke out of prison and tells him that Sazz was poking around the building recently, fearing that another murderer might be targeting Charles. Jan escapes before the police arrive for her, and Charles reports Sazz's murder to them. While they investigate the incinerator, the trio uses luminol to locate where Sazz's body fell. They find that Sazz wrote "Tap in" on the floor with her blood, while Oliver realizes the code numbers spell "Oh hell" upside down.
33	3	"Two for the Road"	Chris Koch	Ben Smith & Pete Swanson	September 10, 2024 (2024-09-10)	4DWB03
With the FBI taking over Sazz's case, Detective Williams decides to help the trio's investigation, providing them with information about the gun the sniper used. Concurrently, Eugene, Zach, and Eva arrive to study the trio's characteristics for the film. Spending the day with Oliver, Zach views him only as a narcissist until Howard tells him about Oliver's fighting spirit despite his failures, giving Zach a new perspective on the character's depths. Meanwhile, Mabel and Eva investigate Rudy Thurber, a Christmas-loving resident, after finding a piece of tinsel in Dudenoff's apartment. Under Eva's provocation, Rudy admits he actually hates Christmas, only uses the theme for his bodybuilder videos, and reveals that the piece they have found is not tinsel as it is non-flammable. Elsewhere, Charles and Eugene discover that Vince has a group photo of his neighbors, with one of them holding a pig and having their face crossed out. Mabel decides to use squatter's rights to stay in Dudenoff's apartment and force them to come back. Later, the trio discovers a frequency on the ham radio and makes contact with someone who warns them to stop their investigation.
34	4	"The Stunt Man"	Chris Koch	Madeleine George	September 17, 2024 (2024-09-17)	4DWB04
The trio learns that Sazz visited a bar for stunt performers on the night of her murder, so they go there to ask some questions. With the help of Glen Stubbins, Ben Glenroy's former stunt double, Charles meets the bar's chiropractor, Dr. Maggie, who tells him that Sazz was planning to retire from stunt working. Meanwhile, after attempting to evict Mabel from Dudenoff's apartment, the residents of the West Tower confess to her that they are illegal tenants as all the west apartments are rented by Professor M. Dudenoff, who resides in Portugal, but lets them live in the Arconia for $200 a month. They also reveal the person who warned the trio on the ham radio was just Rudy's paranoid ex-girlfriend and that none of them had ever met Sazz. Charles performs as Sazz's double so that her stunt double friends can hold a proper funeral for her, and remembers Sazz's dream of opening a training camp for stunt performers after her retirement. As the trio goes to the location Sazz wanted for the camp, they are surprised to find Bev there, who points a gun at them.
35	5	"Adaptation"	Jessica Yu	J. J. Philbin & Ella Robinson Brooks	September 24, 2024 (2024-09-24)	4DWB05
Bev explains to the trio that she was trying to investigate Sazz's death because Sazz left her an unsettling voicemail about some problem with the film. Suspecting the killer is someone on the film, the trio interrogates screenwriter Marshall P. Pope, who is revealed to have been faking his appearance to look more like a creditable writer. Marshall proves he has an alibi for the night of the murder, and questions Charles' theory that the murder and the disposal of the crime scene could be done in 12 minutes. After Oliver fails to reenact the murder in that amount of time, Mabel discovers that, on the photos they took of the film crew, someone has the same shoeprint they saw in Dudenoff's apartment. On a photoshoot with the cast and crew, Eva helps the trio set a trap with tacky mats so that the shoeprints can be visible, while Charles realizes the murder is, in fact, feasible in 12 minutes if two people are involved. As the trio discovers that directors Twany and Trina Brothers have those shoeprints they are searching for, the lights suddenly go out and a gunshot is fired.
36	6	"Blow-Up"	Jessica Yu	Rick Wiener & Kenny Schwartz	October 1, 2024 (2024-10-01)	TBA
37	7	"Valley of the Dolls"	TBA	Matteo Borghese & Rob Turbovsky	October 8, 2024 (2024-10-08)	TBA
38	8	TBA	TBA	Kristin Newman & Jake Schnesel	October 15, 2024 (2024-10-15)	TBA
39	9	TBA	TBA	Ben Smith & Alex Bigelow	October 22, 2024 (2024-10-22)	TBA
40	10	TBA	TBA	John Hoffman	October 29, 2024 (2024-10-29)	TBA

Production

Development

Steve Martin conceived of the idea for Only Murders in the Building ten years before its premiere. His original idea involved three elderly men who discover that they are all obsessed with solving crimes, but are too old and tired to go outside, so they decide to solve crimes that are only in the building. The idea later developed with one of the old men changed to a younger woman. In January 2020, it was announced that Martin and Martin Short would star in the then untitled Hulu series, created by Martin and John Hoffman, with Martin, Short, and Hoffman as executive producers, alongside Dan Fogelman, with 20th Television serving as the studio; Selena Gomez would then join as the series' third main lead. On September 14, 2021, Hulu renewed the series for a second season. On July 11, 2022, the series was renewed for a third season. On October 3, 2023, it was renewed for a fourth season. In September 2024, it was renewed for a fifth season.

Casting

Alongside the initial announcement, it was announced Martin and Short would star in the series. In August 2020, Gomez joined the cast and also serves as an executive producer. In November 2020, Aaron Dominguez joined the cast in a series regular role. In January 2021, Amy Ryan joined the cast in a series regular role and Nathan Lane joined the cast in a recurring role. In December 2021, it was reported that Cara Delevingne joined the cast as a series regular for the second season. In January 2022, Short announced that Shirley MacLaine and Amy Schumer were cast to guest star for the second season. In February 2022, Michael Rapaport joined the cast in a recurring role for the second season. In October 2022, Jesse Williams was cast in a recurring capacity for the third season. In January 2023, Meryl Streep was cast in an undisclosed capacity for the third season. In February 2023, Ashley Park joined the cast in a recurring role for the third season. In March 2023, Jeremy Shamos, Linda Emond, Wesley Taylor, Don Darryl Rivera, Allison Guinn, and Gerald Caesar were cast in recurring capacities for the third season. In April 2023, Michael Cyril Creighton was promoted to series regular for the third season. In February 2024, Molly Shannon, Eva Longoria and Eugene Levy joined the cast in undisclosed recurring roles for the fourth season. Kumail Nanjiani and Zach Galifianakis were added in undisclosed recurring roles in March 2024. In April 2024, Desmin Borges, Siena Werber, Lilian Rebelo, Richard Kind, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Catherine Cohen, and Jin Ha joined the cast in recurring capacities. In May 2024, it was revealed that Melissa McCarthy joined the cast.

Filming

The Belnord on West 86th Street on the Upper West Side is used for exterior shots of the fictional Arconia apartment building.

Principal photography for the first season began on December 3, 2020, in New York City, and concluded in April 2021. The Belnord was used for exterior shots of the Arconia. Filming of the second season began on December 1, 2021. Filming for the third season began in January 2023 and concluded in late April. Filming for the fourth season began in March 2024 and concluded in June 2024.

Music

A digital album for the score was released on August 27, 2021, four days before the series' debut. On July 15, 2022, the original song that was played briefly in the second season episode "Here's Looking at You", "Angel in Flip-Flops", was released online. It was performed by Steve Martin as his character Charles-Haden Savage, and written by Martin and Kirker Butler, with Paul Shaffer as producer. An album for the second season was released on August 12, 2022. An album for the third season was released on September 15, 2023, followed by a deluxe edition on October 4.

In September 2021, Canadian musician Nicholas Thorburn accused Siddhartha Khosla of plagiarism, alleging that the title music had been taken from music that he composed for the similarly themed podcast Serial.

The eighth episode of the third season's song "Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?" won the 2024 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics.

All music is composed by Siddhartha Khosla.

Only Murders in the Building: Original Score

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Main Title"	0:51
2.	"Mission Theme Pt. 1"	1:11
3.	"Arconia Elevator Theme"	0:37
4.	"Frozen Cat"	0:46
5.	"Aphrodite"	1:43
6.	"Vantage"	1:44
7.	"All Is Not Okay"	0:39
8.	"Oliver's Monologue"	1:57
9.	"Who Was Tim Kono"	3:21
10.	"Podcast Theme (Punk Version)"	1:24
11.	"Romantic Theme Pt. 1"	1:03
12.	"Romantic Theme Pt. 2"	1:31
13.	"Interrogation Fantasy Pt. 1"	0:56
14.	"Interrogation Fantasy Pt. 2"	0:45
15.	"Detective"	1:22
16.	"Mabel and Tim"	1:55
17.	"Pilot Ending"	1:43
18.	"Jan"	1:30
19.	"Charles"	1:16
20.	"Mission Theme Pt. 2"	1:02
21.	"Finale"	5:19
Total length:		34:03

All music is composed by Siddhartha Khosla.

Only Murders in the Building: Season 2 – Original Score

No.	Title	Episode	Length
1.	"We're Back"	"Persons of Interest"	1:16
2.	"Precinct Hang"	"Persons of Interest"	1:46
3.	"I Dream of Cinda"	"Persons of Interest"	1:50
4.	"A Death Threat"	"Persons of Interest"	1:15
5.	"Murder Board Suite"	"Persons of Interest"	1:57
6.	"Bunny's Painting"	"Persons of Interest"	1:29
7.	"History of the Arconia"	"Framed"	2:30
8.	"Vantage, in Paris"	"Framed"	4:47
9.	"Poor Lil' Bunny Rabbit"	"The Last Day of Bunny Folger"	3:04
10.	"Texting Lucy"	"Here's Looking at You"	1:49
11.	"Howard and the Knife Above His Head"	"Here's Looking at You"	1:43
12.	"Lucy Lurkin'"	"Here's Looking at You"	1:23
13.	"Son of Sam"	"The Tell"	2:17
14.	"Worse Than Watergate"	"The Tell"	3:01
15.	"Admission"	"The Tell"	1:11
16.	"Glitter"	"Performance Review"	1:40
17.	"Mabel's Dream"	"Flipping the Pieces"	3:31
18.	"Puzzled"	"Flipping the Pieces"	2:05
19.	"Flashback"	"Flipping the Pieces"	3:25
20.	"The Chase"	"Flipping the Pieces"	1:29
21.	"Gone Missing"	"I Know Who Did It"	2:20
22.	"What Lucy Saw"	"Hello, Darkness"	2:17
23.	"The Boxer's Lover"	"Sparring Partners"	3:53
24.	"You Gotta Be Kidding Me"	"I Know Who Did It"	0:57
Total length:			52:58

All music is composed by Siddhartha Khosla.

Only Murders in the Building: Season 3 (Original Soundtrack)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Performer(s)	Length
1.	"Look for the Light"	Benj Pasek, Justin Paul & Sara Bareilles	Meryl Streep & Ashley Park	2:31
2.	"Loretta"			2:57
3.	"Falling"			0:45
4.	"B Glenroy"			1:23
5.	"You Gotta Be F'n Kidding Me"			1:24
6.	"Church Entry"			0:33
7.	"Hashtag Bloody Mabel"			1:31
8.	"Mabel and Ben"			0:48
9.	"Heart Attack"			2:01
10.	"After KT Yelled at Him"			0:44
11.	"White Room"			0:42
12.	"The Very Beginning"			0:41
13.	"Memories Fade"			1:50
14.	"Punched"			0:53
15.	"In Love with Loretta"			1:33
16.	"Baby Elephant Story"			0:48
17.	"Ah, Love"			1:08
18.	"Banish Your Ghosts"			1:09
19.	"White Room, Again"			0:42
20.	"Cake"			3:26
21.	"Tender Ender"			1:23
22.	"Meaning of F Pig"			1:49
23.	"Father of the Bride"			2:00
24.	"Oh, Irene"			0:57
25.	"Arrested"			2:21
26.	"Opening Night"			1:02
27.	"It Was an Accident Mom"			2:38
28.	"Gives Birth"			1:51
29.	"Another Murder in the Building"			1:07
30.	"Something to Confess"			1:10
Total length:				43:00

All music is composed by Siddhartha Khosla.

Only Murders in the Building: Season 3 (Original Soundtrack) – Deluxe Edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Performer(s)	Length
1.	"Look for the Light"	Benj Pasek, Justin Paul & Sara Bareilles	Meryl Streep & Ashley Park	2:31
2.	"Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?"	Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman	Steve Martin	2:47
3.	"Creatures of the Night"	Benj Pasek & Justin Paul	Martin Short	2:34
4.	"For the Sake of a Child (Oliver Version)"	Benj Pasek, Justin Paul & Michael R. Jackson	Meryl Streep & Martin Short	3:14
5.	"For the Sake of a Child (Ben Version)"	Benj Pasek, Justin Paul & Michael R. Jackson	Meryl Streep & Paul Rudd	3:13
6.	"Love's Old Sweet Song"	James Lynam Molloy & Graham Clifton Bingham	Jason Veasey	1:20
7.	"Meet Me Tonight in Dreamland"	Leo Friedman & Beth Slater Whitson	Jason Veasey	2:22
8.	"Loretta"			2:57
9.	"Falling"			0:45
10.	"B Glenroy"			1:23
11.	"You Gotta Be F'n Kidding Me"			1:24
12.	"Church Entry"			0:33
13.	"Hashtag Bloody Mabel"			1:31
14.	"Mabel and Ben"			0:48
15.	"Heart Attack"			2:01
16.	"After KT Yelled at Him"			0:44
17.	"White Room"			0:42
18.	"The Very Beginning"			0:41
19.	"Memories Fade"			1:50
20.	"Punched"			0:53
21.	"In Love with Loretta"			1:33
22.	"Baby Elephant Story"			0:48
23.	"Ah, Love"			1:08
24.	"Banish Your Ghosts"			1:09
25.	"White Room, Again"			0:42
26.	"Cake"			3:26
27.	"Tender Ender"			1:23
28.	"Meaning of F Pig"			1:49
29.	"Father of the Bride"			2:00
30.	"Oh, Irene"			0:57
31.	"Arrested"			2:21
32.	"Opening Night"			1:02
33.	"It Was an Accident Mom"			2:38
34.	"Gives Birth"			1:51
35.	"Another Murder in the Building"			1:07
36.	"Something to Confess"			1:10
Total length:				59:00

Release

Only Murders in the Building premiered on August 31, 2021, on Hulu in the United States. Internationally, the series premiered on the same day on Disney+ under the dedicated streaming hub Star, as an original series, and on Star+ in Latin America. Disney+ Hotstar released the series in select territories on September 3, 2021. On Disney+, Disney+ Hotstar, and Star+, Only Murders in the Building episodes were scheduled to debut on a weekly basis. The second season premiered on June 28, 2022. The third season premiered on August 8, 2023. The first season made its broadcast television premiere on ABC on January 2, 2024; episodes were edited to meet broadcast standards and practices and follow FCC rules. The show was added to Disney+ in the United States via the Hulu hub beginning in December 2023. The fourth season premiered on August 27, 2024.

Reception

Audience viewership

On September 3, 2021, it was reported that Only Murders in the Building set a record for the most-watched comedy premiere in Hulu's history. On October 28, 2021, Hulu Originals president Craig Erwich said in an interview with Vulture that the show had become the most-watched comedy ever on Hulu "by a good measure." In the same article, Vulture reported that, according to Parrot Analytics, the show went from having around 16 times the audience demand in the U.S. as an average show when it debuted on August 31 to generating 37 times typical demand by the time the season 1 finale dropped on October 19. This meant that the day after the finale, the show ranked as high as 14th on the list of most in-demand shows in the U.S. and signaled a "massive" 135% growth rate that according to Erwich is mainly attributable to word of mouth. According to the streaming aggregator JustWatch, Only Murders in the Building was the most-streamed TV series across all U.S. platforms during the week ending October 24, 2021, and second during the week ending October 31, 2021.

According to Parrot Analytics, which looks at consumer engagement in consumer research, streaming, downloads, and on social media, Only Murders in the Building was the third-most in-demand streaming original series in the U.S. during the week of August 13 to 19, 2022, as well as during the week of August 20 to 26. According to Whip Media's viewership tracking app TV Time, it was the most-streamed TV series across all U.S. platforms during the week ending August 7, 2022, and during the week of August 28. According to the streaming aggregator JustWatch, it was the third-most streamed TV series across all U.S. platforms during the week ending July 3, 2022. Whip Media announced Only Murders in the Building was the fifth most-watched streaming original television series of 2023.

Critical response

Critical response of Only Murders in the Building

Season	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic
1	100% (108 reviews)	76 (34 reviews)
2	97% (119 reviews)	79 (25 reviews)
3	96% (114 reviews)	77 (33 reviews)
4	94% (69 reviews)	78 (29 reviews)

The performances of the main cast, namely (left to right) Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, have received critical acclaim.

For the first season, review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8/10, based on 108 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Only Murders in the Building's silly approach to true crime obsessives is at once hilarious and insightful, thanks in large part to its extremely charming central trio." Metacritic gave the first season a weighted average score of 76 out of 100 based on 34 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

For the second season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 97% approval rating with an average rating of 8/10, based on 119 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus states, "Only Murders in the Building gets a new lease on life with a knottier sophomore outing that retains the series' core charm and wit." Metacritic gave the second season a weighted average score of 79 out of 100 based on 25 critic reviews, signifying "generally favorable reviews".

For the third season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 96% approval rating with an average rating of 7.95/10, based on 114 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Relocating the action to the theatre, Only Murders in the Building can take a bow for yet another twisty mystery handled with a good-humored touch." Metacritic gave the third season a weighted average score of 77 out of 100 based on 33 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

For the fourth season, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 94% approval rating with an average rating of 7.9/10, based on 69 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus states, "The gang is back together in a more metatextual season full of famous faces, continuing Only Murders in the Building's reign as one of television's most delightful comedies." Metacritic gave the fourth season a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 29 critic reviews, signifying "universal acclaim".

Accolades

Main article: List of accolades received by Only Murders in the Building

The series has received 49 Emmy nominations, with seven wins. The first season received 17 nominations at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, with three wins, including Nathan Lane for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. Notable nominations included, Outstanding Comedy Series, Steve Martin and Martin Short for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, Jamie Babbit and Cherien Dabis for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, and Martin and John Hoffman for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.

The second season received 11 nominations at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, with one win in a technical category. Notable nominations included Outstanding Comedy Series, Short for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, Lane for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, and one nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.

The third season received 21 nominations at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards, with three wins at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Notable nominations included Outstanding Comedy Series, Martin and Short for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, Selena Gomez for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Paul Rudd for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, Meryl Streep for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Matthew Broderick for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, and Da'Vine Joy Randolph for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.

Additionally, the series aftershow Only Murders in the Building: One Killer Question has received two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series, winning once.

Companion podcast

In collaboration with Hulu, Straw Hut Media released an official behind-the-scenes companion podcast, Only Murders in the Pod, featuring interviews with cast, crew, and writers. While the first two seasons were hosted by Kevin Lawn and Elizabeth Keener, due to the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes in 2023, producers Maggie Boles and Ryan Tillotson hosted season three and interviewed directors and other crew members. Notable guests on the podcast include John Hoffman, Martin Short, Pasek and Paul, Shirley MacLaine, Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, Jackie Hoffman, and Amy Ryan.

External links

• Only Murders in the Building on Hulu
• Only Murders in the Building at IMDb 
• Official pilot screenplay