Does ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Need the Murder Anymore?

During the most recent episode of Only Murders in the Building, our trio of sleuths appears to have solved the murder of erstwhile mobster Nicky Caccimealio. The case isn’t really closed for Oliver, Charles, and Mabel, however. That was just one of the murders to solve this season. The remaining murder is that of Lester, the Arconia apartment building’s trusty doorman, who was found dead in a fountain. I’ll be excited to have the mystery resolved, but after a season of Italian accents, secret casinos, predatory billionaires, and a severed finger, does it matter? With so many delights to recommend it aside from the mystery, does Only Murders in the Building really need to murder anymore?

I’m not here to complain about the murder. I love murder (in a cozy mystery)! What I am here to do is argue that from the third season onward, Only Murders in the Building has used the inciting murders as a jumping-off point for the Arconia Three’s adventures in different worlds rather than telling stories about the murders themselves. The series has such evident fun imagining how the cast would act if they were involved in a Broadway show, a Hollywood movie, or a struggle against billionaires, that it doesn’t actually need the murders anymore.

In season three, Oliver, Mabel, and Charles solved the outlandish double-murder of Paul Rudd’s superhero movie star Ben Gilroy, who was killed by the producer of the play he was performing in. But the season is also a romp through the New York theater scene. Oliver has one last shot at theater greatness in the musical murder mystery Death Rattle Dazzle. He also gets to fall in love with a luminous Meryl Streep character called Loretta. The season is a send-up of the podcast industrial complex with Tina Fey’s malevolent true crime maven Cinda Canning, who antagonizes the trio. Charles reconnects with his love of acting and with his old friend and stunt double Sazz, played by Jane Lynch.

In season four, Oliver, Mabel, and Charles solved the tragic murder of Sazz Pataki and the mysterious death of Griffin Dunne’s Milton Dudenoff. But the season is also a romp through a film set as the trio sees their life rights signed away for a film adaptation of their adventures. They face the celebrities cast to play them and struggle with how they’ll be perceived. Much comedic mileage was made of Zach Galifianakis, Eugene Levy, and Eva Longoria playing big, exaggerated versions of themselves. Mabel resolved to use the money to make a major change in her life and move forward. Charles grieved the loss of his friend and the impact she had on his life. Oliver and Loretta’s relationship weathered the challenges of her new TV role, which took her to New Zealand. There’s also the West Tower of the Arconia, where a pack of weirdos played by Richard Kind, Kumail Nanjiani, Desmin Borges, and Daphne Rubin-Vega live in apartments paid for by the mysterious Dudenoff; an ultimately sweet story about a found family.

Now we come to the current fifth season, where the trio is solving the respective murders of Lester and Nicky. But the season is also a ride through the Arconia’s past and down into its secret casino in the basement. It’s also a satirical take on mafia media and the decline of the mob in America. The series posits that the new “mafia” is the billionaire class, represented by characters played by Logan Lerman, Renee Zellweger, and Christoph Waltz. The Arconia itself comes under assault as one of the billionaires buys it up and turns it into a hyper-chic hotel.

The thread that connects these seasons is that while a murder is always the inciting incident that all the plotlines tie into in some way, those plotlines don’t depend on the murders to be compelling stories on their own. Only Murders in the Building has done such a good job developing a whole world of stories and characters that murder is just a pretense. The show would be just as hilarious if they found any other reason to bring these characters together. Only Murders in the Building doesn’t really need its murders, but I’m happy for the excuse to re-enter the Arconia and its vision of New York.