Only Murders in the Building might be showing some plot fatigue in Season 5. The format of investigating a cosy whodunnit with some social media satire might be wearing thin. Steve Martin and Martin Short still deliver their zippy one-liners with sight gags and physical comedy but the effects are lame. And then there’s the “cameos” of other actors who pop into the plots.
Lucy Mangan of The Guardian wrote: “Now, with season five, the centre is failing to hold. We ended the previous season in the traditional manner, with our heroes finding another murder in the building (or at least its grounds): this time of Lester the doorman (Teddy Coluca). Then we have another. Then the clues (including a missing finger, a mafia connection and an elevator crank) and suspects (including Téa Leoni as an Italian widow and potential love interest for Charles, who is taking testosterone supplements for his health; three billionaires; and Lester’s wife, Lorraine – Dianne Wiest, her brilliance eternal) begin to arrive. But they feel randomly scattered rather than meaningfully laid. The podcast element falls by the wayside, the proportion of red herrings to genuine progress is off, the action is too often located outside the Arconia, and the core team are too often split up – not least by the return of Streep as Oliver’s now-wife, Loretta. I know that I am probably in a minority in feeling that: a) a little of Streep goes a long way; and b) she should, wherever possible, be kept away from comedy.”
After one episode, I have to agree with Mangan. GRADE: Incomplete, but trending towards a C.
No Hulu, but we were ready to give up after the second series.
Hope it goes well today.
Jeff, Diane and her sister, Carol, Patrick, Katie, and yours truly have done all we can to prepare for the Family Reunion extravaganza. Guests should be arriving in a couple of hours. We haven’t entertained 25 people at one time in a long while…
I hope you enjoy your family reunion more than you did episode one.
Selena Gomez is more attractive than Steve Martin or Martin Short in my opinion, so I’ll be watching the show.
Jerry, Selena Gomez is the sleeper pick of the litter in ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING. Half of the people attending this REUNION are folks I’ve never met. They’re coming from Florida, Syracuse, Ohio, and parts unknown.
I caught a few episodes of one of the seasons last year. It seemed overstuffed and trying too hard which seems to be the problem with most “cozy” product these days. From what I’ve read there have been way too many guest stars and cameos when one per season is plenty, not to mention that New York must be crawling with great character actors who could use the break. I have to agree with Mangan about Streep, I’ve never understood her appeal and success.
There seems to be an appetite out there for the this kind of show right now and it’s the kind of thing basic cable used to reliably provide but streaming hasn’t figured out how to be the kind of TV people just want to hang out with for a night.
Byron, as usual, your analysis is spot on! ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING kicked off a number of “murder club” series that attracts the older viewer segment streaming services want to lure to their channels. But Season 5 of ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING is off to a rocky start.
Too cute for me. I gave up after Season 1. Ann made it halfway through Season 2 before she lost interest.
Jeff, Diane and I are catching up on you and Ann with jettisoning ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING, SEASON 5.
Naturally, I don’t subscribe to HULU! Even if I did, I don’t watch anything with Streep in it! Have a nice family fest!
Bob, the REUNION was enjoyed by all 25 guests. They’re trying to talk Diane into host another REUNION next year! Yikes!
My wife’s family used to have a yearly picnic! The past two years it has been at someone’s house! Lots of good food but a lot of people live too far away to attend!
Bob, we had guests who traveled from Florida, Syracuse, Ohio, and some other adjacent states. A very good turnout!
Belated congratulations on an elaborate success!
Todd, thanks. It was a lot of work.