‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 5 review: Who cares about murders when the vibes are this immaculate?

After five seasons of Only Murders in the Building, I’ve realized I don’t care much about the show’s murder mysteries anymore.

Yes, I gasp at every end-of-episode twist and give suspicious new characters the side-eye, but I’m not watching Only Murders for its murders. I’m watching it for the building.

More specifically, the community the show has built within the Arconia. At the center of it all is the trio of Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin), Oliver Putnam (Martin Short), and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez), a combination that still charms, five seasons in. The Arconia is more than just them, though. It’s a complex ecosystem of tenants and staff that gains enticing new details each season, from secret tunnel systems to the West Tower sqaud known as the Westies. Season 5’s additions prove extra juicy, giving Charles, Oliver, and Mabel new secrets to unravel, all while returning the show to its New York roots.

In Only Murders in the Building Season 5, it’s old New York versus new New York.

Steve Martin and Teddy Coluca in “Only Murders in the Building.”
Credit: Disney / Patrick Harbron

Over the course of its run, Only Murders in the Building started to give themes to its murder mysteries. Season 3 brought the show into the world of Broadway, while Season 4 plunged into the filmmaking industry.

In Season 5, the show shakes off its Hollywood glam and goes full “old New York,” as Charles and Oliver call it. Think mobsters, doormen, and wheeling corpses through Manhattan streets in a dry cleaning bin.

The first corpse on the Only Murders crew’s investigation list is that of Arconia doorman Lester Coluca (Teddy Coluca), whom they found dead in the Arconia fountain in the Season 4 finale. The police have ruled it an accident, but our intrepid murder podcasters aren’t buying it. A trail involving a severed finger and the long-missing mobster Nicky Caccimelio (Bobby Cannavale) leads them to suspect the New York mob has something to do with Lester’s death.

However, new suspects arrive on the scene in the form of three powerful billionaires: Sebastian “Bash” Steed (Christoph Waltz), who “owns the internet” and is obsessed with longevity; Camila White (Renée Zellweger), a hotel magnate and interior designer who never met a beige she didn’t like; and Jay Pflug (Logan Lerman), heir to a pharmaceutical fortune who’s infuriatingly obsessed with downplaying his billionaire status.

Only Murders paints these three as the new mob of New York, hellbent on shaping the city to their needs. Their visions of the city’s future don’t include New York staples like doormen. No, for them, robot doormen are the future! (Because even Only Murders has to tackle the AI debate.)

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The juxtaposition between the old and new mobs of New York makes for a delicious push and pull throughout the season, building atmosphere even as the mystery gets overly convoluted. The incorporation of a robot is already a bit much, for example, and the podcasting trio and the billionaire trio have basically the same exact conversation multiple times throughout the season. But what the season lacks in cohesion, it more than makes up for in pure, unadulterated vibes.

Murders aside, Only Murders in the Building remains a cozy comfort watch.

Steve Martin, Selena Gomez, and Martin Short in “Only Murders in the Building.”
Credit: Disney / Patrick Harbron

These vibes are shaped by the big new bombshell reveal about the Arconia: There’s been a massive, secret gambling den in its basement the whole time. That seems like a pretty tough thing to hide, and I’m beginning to wonder whether the foundations of this secret-tunnel-filled, secret-basement-having building are actually safe. But at this point, I’m willing to accept that the Arconia exists in a pocket universe where the laws of architecture and normal space don’t apply, and I’m at peace with that.

The gambling den adds to the season’s old New York feel, but it also give the Arconia more history, adding to the building’s storied past. How was Nicky’s in-building dry cleaning business tied to the gambling den? Then again, how was Lester? Only Murders Season 5 explores their shared past in its standout second episode, which focuses on Lester’s time at the Arconia throughout the years. Any time Only Murders spends an episode on a side character, you’re in for a treat, one that deepens the world of the Arconia beyond the viewpoints of Charles, Oliver, and Mabel. Season 5’s Lester episode is no different: a reminder of the stories of the people around you whom you may not notice, or even take for granted.

There’s more where that came from, with Only Murders looping in more members of the Arconia’s staff, including new doorman Randall (Jermaine Fowler). But it also leans hard on its core dynamic, and understandably so. Martin, Short, and Gomez remain an unlikely match made in TV heaven, with each getting intriguing new ground to cover this season. A new medication for Charles grants Martin more opportunities for outrageous physical comedy. Elsewhere, Oliver embraces his new married life with Loretta (Meryl Streep), leading to more adorable scenes between Short and Streep (who is game to do so many accents this season). Finally, Mabel reunites with middle school friend-turned-pop star Althea (Beanie Feldstein), ushering in waves of unexpected insecurity.

And of course, there’s nothing the show does better than letting us sit back and watch Martin, Short, and Gomez bicker over a crime scene. Only Murders‘ mysteries may not be hitting the same as they did in the first season, but the show’s team of amateur detectives and the building they live in are the TV gift that keeps on giving.

The first three episodes of Only Murders in the Building Season 5 premiere Sept. 9 on Hulu, with new episodes every Tuesday.