Spoilers below.
It is a shock people are still living in the Arconia considering how many deaths it has seen in the past few years. The building could easily be repurposed as a haunted house or a Spirit Halloween by now. But this is New York, and tenants here know how to suck it up through the worst conditions for a good deal. So that must be the only explanation: The Arconia rent must be so cheap (and stabilized!) for the residents to stay put season after season—including this next one.
With a fourth season of Only Murders in the Building on the way, yet another murder has taken place in Charles, Mable, and Oliver’s Upper West Side apartment complex. Here’s what we know.
Has Only Murders been renewed for season 4?
Yes! Hulu announced the renewal on October 3, 2023, the morning of the season 3 finale. “The trio's journey is far from over,” the series announced on social media.
Another renewal comes with no surprise, as Only Murders in the Building has received a slew of nominations in the past year year, like Emmys, Golden Globes, and Critics Choice Awards.
When does season 4 come out?
The new season premieres on Hulu on Tuesday, August 27, 2024. New episodes will drop weekly. Watch the first teaser below.
Who will be in the cast?
Going off of Hulu’s announcement, our lead trio is set to return: Steve Martin (Charles), Martin Short (Oliver), and Selena Gomez (Mabel).
Meryl Streep is coming back, too. Deadline reports the Oscar winner will reprise her role as Loretta Durkin, though further details still remain under wraps. In May, Deadline also confirmed that Paul Rudd will be returning.
However, the rest of the cast is still unconfirmed. It’s likely we’ll see some favorites, like Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Detective Williams), Michael Cyril Creighton (Howard), Ryan Broussard (Will Putnam), Tina Fey (Cinda Canning), Jackie Hoffman (Uma), Jason Veasey (Jonathan).
We’d love to see this past season’s guest stars, like Matthew Broderick, return for more, but that’s also still unclear.
As for newcomers, Variety reports that Eva Longoria and Molly Shannon have been cast for season 4. Details on Longoria’s character remain under wraps, but Shannon is said to portray a “high powered Los Angeles businesswoman who finds herself drawn into the world of the investigation in New York.”
Eugene Levy will also star in a recurring role for season 4, according to Variety. Details about his role remained secret. And according to The Wrap, Kumail Nanjiani is also joining the cast in an “integral’ recurring role, but it’s still under wraps.
In March, Deadline reported that The Hangover star Zach Galifianakis is joining season 4 with a recurring role, but they didn’t reveal any information about his character.
Three more cast members were announced in April, according to Deadline, including You're The Worst's Desmin Borges, A24 star Siena Werber, and newcomer Lilian Rebelo.
Melissa McCarthy and Richard Kind will be guest stars too, Hulu announced.
Then in June, TheWrap gave details on Longoria, Galifianakis, and Levy’s characters. They will each be playing themselves as Mabel, Oliver, and Charles in a blockbuster film about the Only Murders podcast.They shared a photo of the sets of actors, who were dressed in identical costumes.
What will season 4 be about?
The season 3 finale sets up the next whodunnit: At the opening night celebration of Oliver’s musical, Charles’ body double Sazz Pataki (Jane Lynch) swings by Charles’ apartment to pick up another bottle of wine when they run low on booze. However, upon arrival, she is seemingly shot through the window. (A close-up shows a bullet hole through the glass.) Sazz falls to the ground bleeding and dies in Charles’ kitchen. In season 4, the group will surely have to solve not only who killed Sazz, but also whether Charles was the real target and why.
There could be some development for the characters’ personal lives too. Mabel and Oliver’s love interests, Tobert and Loretta, move to L.A. for work with the chance of them going long distance. Streep makes an appearance in season 4 teaser, confirming we’ll see more Loretta next season.
While solving Sazz’s murder, the trio will also have a change of scenery. They head to L.A. after a Hollywood studio expresses interest in adapting their podcast into a film. “As our amateur sleuths race back to New York, they embark on an even more epic journey — traversing their building’s courtyard to delve into the twisted lives of the Arconia’s West Tower residents,” according to Hulu’s synopsis.
Where will season 4 take place?
Charles, Oliver, and Mabel will bid adieu to The Arconia and Manhattan as a whole for a change of scenery in L.A. Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich told Deadline:
“Well, I’m very excited to see Steve, Martin and Selena take a little break from the apartment building and come to Los Angeles. So in the same way that John Hoffman used the canvas of Broadway to tell what I think was one of the most unique seasons you’ve ever seen, the same unique Only Murders take will be applied to Los Angeles, which I’m really excited about.”
Watch Only Murders in the Building on Hulu now
When will production start on season 4?
On March 1, 2024, the series’ Instagram account shared pictures from the set, so it appears that production is already underway. In the short carousel of photos, Selena Gomez, Steve Martin, and Martin Short are seated on chairs on the street, where it appears to be a bit chilly.
The caption read, “The besties are back. Season 4.”
The next day they shared a video clip of the crew, which included Meryl Streep.
What has the cast said about season 4?
On May 1, Steve Martin gave People some teasers about the upcoming season.
“It’s star-studded,” he revealed. “And I’m going to say we’re about halfway through, and we are really enjoying this season.”
The actor added, “We think it could be one of our best seasons. Although they’re all flawless,” he quipped.
In June, Martin shared a picture that was then posted by Hulu of himself and Short in motion capture green screen suits and Gomez in a what looks like a kitschy stewardess costume.
