Only Murders in the Building Season Two Review

When I started watching season two of Hulu’s murder mystery comedy Only Murders in the Building, I very quickly became worried that it had lost its mojo. It didn’t quite feel like the same show from season one – which was punchy, fun, quirky, and smart. Instead, it felt a bit lost in the woods – not a huge surprise for a series that solved its season one mystery only to thrust the show’s central three characters right into a new one. It needed time to build up its new story – but instead of building things slowly like it did in season one, season two seemed to jump right into a new mystery, throw in a new (and very dull) character, and assure us that no, Mabel didn’t actually kill Bunny, the head of the condo board – despite being found holding her bloody body at the end of season one. I even stopped watching for a period, sad that the series wasn’t holding my interest. But when I returned to finish up the eight episodes Hulu provided for review (out of ten), I found the season got progressively better and better – and the characters richer and richer – as it continued.

When we last left our heroic podcasting trio (that would be Charles-Haden Savage, Oliver Putnam, and Mabel Mora – played by Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, respectively), they had just solved the murder of Tim Kono by determining that Charles’ new girlfriend, Jan (Amy Ryan), was the culprit, only to have another murder thrown at their feet when the aforementioned Bunny (Jayne Houdyshell, who, as the victim, gets much more to do this time around as we delve a bit deeper into just who Bunny was) is found dead in Mabel’s arms. The trio are arrested, questioned, and let go rather quickly, and decide they need to embark on yet another investigation – this time to clear their names and avenge Bunny.

A number of the Arconia residents we met back in season one return in hilarious fashion, and we are introduced to several more (of note, Sting isn’t the only big-name resident of the building). We are also introduced to Cara Delvingne as a potential love interest for Mabel – and boy is that a casting misstep for the ages that nearly derails the early episodes of the series (Delvingne has yet to prove she has acting ability, and when you’re in a series that has such comic heavyweights as this one, her inadequacies are all the more clear – Gomez, who has come a long way with her character this season seems stymied every time they are in a scene together and the duo have next to no chemistry to boot). However, the show’s best new addition comes in the form of Lucy, played with just the right amount of youthful spunk and wizened knowledge by Zoe Colletti, the now teenaged daughter of one of Charles’s ex-girlfriends (you might recall Charles tried to reconnect with her last season). She returns to Charles’s life and interjects something special – and Colletti slots into this cast beautifully, making Lucy feel like a key element of the series who has been there since day one.*

*And, in a fun twist on the “Mabel thinks Charles and Oliver are relics” conceit, Mabel quickly realizes that Lucy’s Gen Z sensibilities are far removed from her own Millennial-ness and that no matter how hard she tries, Lucy won’t see her as cool.

This season doesn’t rely nearly as much on the podcast structure – while the trio are still putting out episodes (we get check-ins with their super fans periodically, which catch us up on what the pod is saying, since we rarely get to hear anything from it), they are much more concerned with clearing their names in real time and less with taking the time to record on screen for us to see – and we get more deep dives into supporting characters throughout than we did in season one (there’s some interesting tidbits about our victim, Bunny, as well as Howard – the man with the escaping cat – and Lester, the doorman, who spend some key time alongside the new condo board president when a blackout hits New York City). If you’re only watching the series to see Short and Martin play off each other, you might find less to enjoy this time around. But it you’re like me and are eager to see how this particular universe can expand as we spend more time in it, these minor diversions (don’t worry, the trio is still front and center for nearly every episode) only serve to enhance the series and make it even more interesting. As the season builds and the mystery comes to a head, there’s more than enough laughs to keep up with the heightened suspense.

As one of last year’s biggest breakout hits, Only Murders in the Building has a lot to live up to this time around. While it’s not perfect, it’s absolutely worth another trip with these zany characters. The performances are deeper, the characters are stronger, and the mystery might be a bit less interesting, but it’s still a must see television experience.

Only Murders in the Building premieres its second season on June 28, with episodes released weekly. Eight of the season’s ten episodes were provided for review.