Only Murders in the Building S5 Review: A murder mystery that still knows how to have fun

Only Murders in the Building S5 Review

‘Only Murders in the Building,’ directed by John Hoffman and Chris Koch began streaming on JioHotstar from 9th September and stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Teddy Coluca, and Bobby Cannavale.

A familiar yet fresh return

Season 5 of ‘Only Murders in the Building’ starts the way this show usually does—quietly, a little silly, and then suddenly you realize you’re knee-deep in another murder. Only this time it’s Lester, the doorman everyone in the Arconia knew but probably didn’t fully see until he was gone.

Three episodes in, the season feels like it’s picking at familiar threads—nostalgia, community, and the absurd comedy of death. It’s not racing anywhere yet, but it doesn’t have to. This is a show that trusts its own rhythm and lets the small details breathe before the bigger twists come into play.

The Arconia feels lived in, and that makes the mystery more grounded, even when it edges into the ridiculous.

The doorman’s death sets the stage

The first episode sets things off with Lester’s (Teddy Coluca) death, which quickly looks suspicious after the discovery of a severed finger. A hidden map, engraved on playing cards, pointing to a velvet room underneath the Arconia makes the case stranger.

The tone then completely shifts, slowing everything down for a tribute to Lester’s life. Through flashbacks, we see him in earlier days at the building, quietly forming bonds with tenants, including a young Mabel (Selena Gomez), and how he became the glue for so many residents without them realizing it. It’s less mystery, more memory.

By the third episode, things spiral again—Oliver (Martin Short) bungles his way into a corpse and stashes it in Charles’s (Steve Martin) apartment, Mabel notices inconsistencies about the time of death, and suddenly three billionaire newcomers—Jay, Camila, and Sebastian—enter the picture, bringing with them motives, secrets, and money that clearly tie into whatever is unfolding.

Balancing humour, heart and mystery

What’s good is that the show hasn’t lost its mojo. It still knows when to be sentimental, when to be absurd, when to just let the Arconia itself carry the mood. That second episode might divide people—it’s slower, softer, maybe even indulgent—but it packs information about Lester’s death in a way that makes the mystery matter.

The other two episodes are busier, crammed with hidden rooms and shady billionaires and mob whispers, and the show clearly wants to build something sprawling. Sometimes it feels like the writers are throwing everything on the board and trusting the charm to hold it together.

But that’s also what this series has always been: messy, funny, and strangely moving. It doesn’t need to be airtight; it just needs to feel like this strange little community is worth spending time with, and so far it does.

The trio hold the spotlight

Steve Martin plays Charles with more ease now, as if the character himself is finally comfortable in his skin and role in the group. Martin Short keeps Oliver’s clownishness just on the edge, which is why it works—he’s ridiculous, but you never stop caring about him. Selena Gomez gives Mabel a straight-faced wit that makes her the adult in the room, though she’s clearly carrying her own weight of loneliness and loss. Together, they still click, and their banter still feels unforced.

The new faces—Logan Lerman, Renee Zellweger, and Christoph Waltz (they all appear toward the end of the third episode)—don’t overrun the core, but they add a kind of glossy unpredictability that makes the mystery feel bigger.

And the way the show handles Lester, even in absence, is proof it doesn’t treat side characters as disposable. The tribute episode is quieter than anything the series has attempted before.

Also Read: Matthew McConaughey’s son Levi talks about working with his dad in debut film: The scenes were intense...

A slow burn with lasting charm

After three episodes, it’s too early to say whether this will be one of the stronger seasons, but the pieces are in place. The mystery is messy, the humour lands more than it misses, and the warmth is still there.

That’s really all this series has ever promised. If you’re here only for the puzzle, you might get impatient with the meandering. But if you’re here for the way it folds comedy into grief and the way three misfits stumble their way into friendship every time someone dies, then Season 5 is already giving you that.

It doesn’t feel entirely fresh, but it feels alive, and that’s the kind of comfort television you can settle into week after week.

Rating: 3.5/5